What Are You Smoking?? (meats and vegetables, not intoxicants)

[IDBillzFan]

On 5/19/2022 at 8:30 AM, KD in CA said:

 

Cool, thanks.  That'll do for now, but yeah, would love something you leave in that syncs to the phone, but they all seem to have middling reviews wrt to accuracy and range.

 

Saw this on WOOT today via Amazon. It actually has a lot of good reviews (for whatever that's worth online anymore), but for $11, it might be worth a shot.

[Alaska Darin]

I bought a Blackstone yesterday that I'm weirdly excited about.

[Billsandhorns]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

I bought a Blackstone yesterday that I'm weirdly excited about.

I got one earlier this year and have not been disappointed. I plan to cook some fajitas on it this week.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

I bought a Blackstone yesterday that I'm weirdly excited about.

 

Got one last year.  Use it a lot.

 

It's incredible for marinaded items.  Almost want to get a 2nd one to have at the campground.

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, Taro T said:

 

Got one last year.  Use it a lot.

 

It's incredible for marinaded items.  Almost want to get a 2nd one to have at the campground.

I am a full on carnivore (only thing I really eat that's not meat is some berries once in awhile).  I'm pretty excited about making big meaty omelets and searing my sous vided stuff.

[KD in CA]

Just pulled a pork butt (~ 7 lbs) off the Egg at 9.5 hours.  Wrapped and in the cooler.

 

-Baked beans are in the oven

-Corn is soaking in husks and will go on fire in ~20

-Cornbread is standing by.

-On my second margarita (had a hankering for one today)

-Not sure if I'll go w/ beer with the meal;  also have a Syrah standing by.

 

Beautiful day...overcast and cool this morning for the annual Dipsea trail race (some of these &#%$ers run 7+ miles over the mountain in 45 minutes...lol);  warmed to sunny and 75 this afternoon.

 

My kind of Sunday.  Only thing missing was football.

[IDBillzFan]

On 5/31/2022 at 10:21 AM, Alaska Darin said:

I bought a Blackstone yesterday that I'm weirdly excited about.

 

Masterbuilt finally released a griddle cover for my gravity grill. There are a shit ton of accessories for cooking on a griddle, but I'm old enough to know better than to buy all the toys.

 

Is there anything you ended up getting that you found helpful? The basting domes look to have value, but is there anything else you found helps you do to a better job cooking on a griddle?

[Alaska Darin]

14 hours ago, IDBillzFan said:

 

Masterbuilt finally released a griddle cover for my gravity grill. There are a shit ton of accessories for cooking on a griddle, but I'm old enough to know better than to buy all the toys.

 

Is there anything you ended up getting that you found helpful? The basting domes look to have value, but is there anything else you found helps you do to a better job cooking on a griddle?

I'm probably not the best person to ask because I generally use my griddle for just finishing and cooking eggs/ bacon...but the melting dome, a couple of sharp stainless spatulas and a warming rack have all been pretty valuable.

 

I don't cook with seed oils (only animal products) so things like squirt bottles have no meaning in my life.

[IDBillzFan]

2 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

I'm probably not the best person to ask because I generally use my griddle for just finishing and cooking eggs/ bacon...but the melting dome, a couple of sharp stainless spatulas and a warming rack have all been pretty valuable.

 

I don't cook with seed oils (only animal products) so things like squirt bottles have no meaning in my life.

 

Thanks. The last time I bought canola oil my wife made sure it was the last time I bought canola oil. 

 

After 30 years in CA, I'm still adjusting to having a "grilling season," so needless to say I'm eager to be cooking outside again. There's something about patio drinking and grilling that I took for granted on SoCal.

[Fansince88]

On 3/22/2023 at 3:11 PM, IDBillzFan said:

 

Thanks. The last time I bought canola oil my wife made sure it was the last time I bought canola oil. 

 

After 30 years in CA, I'm still adjusting to having a "grilling season," so needless to say I'm eager to be cooking outside again. There's something about patio drinking and grilling that I took for granted on SoCal.

My Charcoal grill is in my screened in gazebo. So relaxing retreating to that to cook. 

[KD in CA]

What types of smokers are you guys using?   I have an Egg that is pretty old and beat up.  Still works, but at some point might transition to something easier like a pellet smoker.

 

I really only use the Egg for low and slow cooks;  it's just not worth the hassle to fire it up to cook a steak for less than ten minutes, so for that I'm using the gas grill.

[IDBillzFan]

28 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

What types of smokers are you guys using?   I have an Egg that is pretty old and beat up.  Still works, but at some point might transition to something easier like a pellet smoker.

 

I really only use the Egg for low and slow cooks;  it's just not worth the hassle to fire it up to cook a steak for less than ten minutes, so for that I'm using the gas grill.

 

This is probably WAY too much info, but grilling is like football to me; I can talk about it all day.

 

Until recently, I had an Egg, a Traeger and a Weber Kettle, the latter of which worked for food that was on and off the grill quickly. I stopped using the Traeger because no matter what I was smoking and what wood I was using to smoke it -- it all tasted like Traeger. Waste of money.

 

The newer Traegers can get hot enough to sear, so that's cool, but in the end, I wanted something that could get the coals going quickly, without having to break out charcoal and fill a chimney EVERY TIME, and ultimately settled on the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 Grill. 

 

You load the charcoal brickets or lump charcoal in the cylinder on the right (holds almost a whole bag), light it from the bottom, and two fans circulate and heat up the grill. Digital thermometer to set and hold the temp. Can get to 700-degrees (for searing) in about 15 minutes. If you want to smoke, you layer in wet wood chunks in with the charcoal, but again, it's digital, so set it and forget it for low-and-slow.

 

I use it quite a bit, and I'm pretty happy so far, but I'm also happy I didn't spend more than I did because it has some flaws.

 

1. If the charcoal are too compact in the chamber, it can take forever to heat up. Stick to lump and this problem goes away.

 

2. If it's filled with charcoal, and THEN you decide you want to smoke something, you essentially need to pull charcoal out so you can add wet wood chips in layers with the charcoal.

 

Decent introductory video.

 

 

3. There are two metal slides you pull out when you fire it up, and have to put them back in when you're done to cut off the oxygen. If you forget to put them back in, even if you turn the unit off, your charcoal will do a slow burn and waste a bunch of charcoal. If you drink when you cook, have your wife remind you about the metal slides.

 

4. There is NO fire under the grill. It's basically like an oven, so while you don't have flareup, you don't get that charcoal flavor I like on burgers, etc.

 

5. Don't be a manly man and get the 1050 because it's bigger. Get the 850 because you'll save $100 AND it comes with a griddle you can put in place of the grill. I had to buy a separate griddle accessory for the 1050.

[IDBillzFan]

On 4/21/2023 at 1:23 PM, IDBillzFan said:

The newer Traegers can get hot enough to sear, so that's cool, but in the end, I wanted something that could get the coals going quickly, without having to break out charcoal and fill a chimney EVERY TIME, and ultimately settled on the Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 Grill. 

 

For whatever it's worth, I want to change my mind on this piece of shit. Things started getting a little sketchy with operation, including the fan, which is unfortunately required if you want to actually cook something. Four months out of warranty, and now the digital controller shits the bed.

 

Starting to read that this is a common problem. No way I'm throwing any more cash into this thing. I've written, yelled and complained, all to no avail. Expensive lesson learned.

 

You know the worst past? You can't even use it as a charcoal grill on its own. Reminding me of the old Mitch Hedberg quote: "An escalator will never let you down because even if it stops functioning, it's still stairs."