BBQing Reefers - What's on your grill/smoker?

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Reef Junky try Costco they have a small section with higher quality meat, also when they have a roadshow they have the better meat.

 

[Reef-junky]

Reef Junky try Costco they have a small section with higher quality meat, also when they have a roadshow they have the better meat.

Thanks

 

[shred5]

Shred5 Do you have a budget for the pellet grill?
http://www.blazngrillworks.com/
These guys make their Pellet grills in the US look for the Black Friday sale.
Rec Tec are made in China but have lots of loyal fans read the Amazon reviews

Yea I do have a budget I also need to get a new gas grill soon.
I have found a few made in the USA but they are all really expensive and do not want to pay that much for my first pellet grill.
They all seem to be built like tanks and most very large. I just have to imagine the augers can not last all that long on these grills.. Lot of moving parts.

Right now I am leaning towards Green Mountain, Pit Boss Pro or Camp Chef.

The Green Mountains seem really well built but info is slim since they do not sell at online retailers. Those that I find really love them.
Hard to tell how many grills they sell or large they are. I worry about there being so many pellet grills companies they will be here today and gone tomorrow as some are weeded out.
They are defiantly higher quality than the rest I am looking at.

Pit Boss reminds me of one of those companies that tries to do much with lots of features with to low of a price points and to get them all in quality may suffer.

Camp Chef it really is hard to find anything bad about them...

 

[Brew12]

Camp Chef it really is hard to find anything bad about them...

Had I not gotten the Yoder, I think this is the route I would have gone. They do seem well made. I also love the idea of the sear burner on the side.

 

[shred5]

I decided to do burger on the gasser this weekend.
19 degrees out.

 

[shred5]

Had I not gotten the Yoder, I think this is the route I would have gone. They do seem well made. I also love the idea of the sear burner on the side.

Yea I saw that and it is nice feature.
At the moment my Gas grill has a separate searer on it. I am hoping to get another year out of it maybe two. It may not make it through the winter though who knows. It cooks fine, just the firebox is starting to break through.
The searer has a burner above and below.. It is the only grill I have seen a searer on like this before.
Not sure the upper does much.
The searer is a add on for the camp chef models I am looking at so I can add it at any time too which is nice.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Shred5 watches some of the videos on the Blaz'n Grillz they have as option or included in the price the lid insulator for the cold winter days. They have promo through the year and add different options for free, but black Friday is the best.

 

[shred5]

Just want to thank everyone for the help and Greg I hope it is ok to ask questions in this thread. I just do not want to derail the thread if this is not ok.

 

[Opus]

So what’s a higher quality steak to buy?

Costco and Sams both have good steaks. If you are willing to pay, the Nolan Ryan 34 Prime is amazing if you have a Krogers and they sell it.

 

[Opus]

I guess someone thought I needed to step up my game when it comes to putting my meat on display. Thanks to my dear friend @ndrwater for this spectacular butcher block!!! Now if I can just get myself to put meat on it instead of fearing that it gets dirty. Nah, bring on the meat!!!!!

I have the same issue. Bought a nice 2" board made by a local guy a few months ago. Looks so good I actually put my old cutting board on top of it when cutting.

 

[Robert@MD]

Thanks for the thread @gcarroll! Funny how all of us have more than one thing in common, fishing is another one that I find many reefers enjoy.

Here are some of my posts from the last year. I use a homemade rig and do it Texas style. More of a low and slow BBQ instead of low-heat smoke only. My fire box is directly under the grill about 36" from the rack on one side and the other is offset so I have the option of cooking both ways.


I like that my fire box is large and I can manipulate temperature quite easy without disrupting the cook. Personally, I think the art of BBQ and smoked meats is all about the fire and temperature control, it is not an easy feat when working with wood alone. I do everything old school, build a fresh fire for a coal bed then lay logs every few hours to keep it going. The whole process is therapeutic for me at times and the best part is impressing my friends with some quality cooked meats!



Here is a couple of links to short vids on my IG channel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7eSKmBqMBB_cuKiaKHojUOJ5q_UUxenyJR_Y0/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhjq6_sBS8zkNIOwNXUEDjCcsNjRbsn01LxV200/

I will certainly share more, I just received a fresh batch of Red Oak from my friend in the Central Valley. In fact, he is a reefer too @drewslagoon!

 

[gcarroll]

Just want to thank everyone for the help and Greg I hope it is ok to ask questions in this thread. I just do not want to derail the thread if this is not ok.

No problem at all this is just as much a thread to learn from each other as it is to show off to each other!

 

[alton]

My son sent me this picture this weekend, I thought I raised him better? He probably has alexa turn it on and tell him when the meat is done too. He has an exterior camera pointing at it so he can check it with an app on his phone.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks for the thread @gcarroll! Funny how all of us have more than one thing in common, fishing is another one that I find many reefers enjoy.

Here are some of my posts from the last year. I use a homemade rig and do it Texas style. More of a low and slow BBQ instead of low-heat smoke only. My fire box is directly under the grill about 36" from the rack on one side and the other is offset so I have the option of cooking both ways.


I like that my fire box is large and I can manipulate temperature quite easy without disrupting the cook. Personally, I think the art of BBQ and smoked meats is all about the fire and temperature control, it is not an easy feat when working with wood alone. I do everything old school, build a fresh fire for a coal bed then lay logs every few hours to keep it going. The whole process is therapeutic for me at times and the best part is impressing my friends with some quality cooked meats!



Here is a couple of links to short vids on my IG channel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo7eSKmBqMBB_cuKiaKHojUOJ5q_UUxenyJR_Y0/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhjq6_sBS8zkNIOwNXUEDjCcsNjRbsn01LxV200/

I will certainly share more, I just received a fresh batch of Red Oak from my friend in the Central Valley. In fact, he is a reefer too @drewslagoon!

That is a serious setup! If only my wife would let me.....

 

[jkcoon]

Reef Junky try Costco they have a small section with higher quality meat, also when they have a roadshow they have the better meat.

Give Snake River Farms a try too... sign up for their emails, they always have a sale and top notch meat. If you do go the costco route (which I often do), be sure to buy loins as the precut steaks are "mechanically tenderized", even on the prime; which theoretically you should cook to a higher temp, which I simply can't do out of pride

 

[shred5]

So what’s a higher quality steak to buy?

Personal preference. Filet mignon is what some people would say. Personally, I like ribeye. NY strip is a nice complement between the two in terms of fat content. Porterhouse is a strip steak on one side and a filet on the other. A T-bone is the same as a porterhouse but with a smaller filet on it.

I agree with this totally.
To me Filet does not have allot of flavor but it is very tender.. I would much rather have one of the others you listed.
What I do like to do with Filet is make it and reheat at work for a steak sandwich for my lunches.. It reheats well and is so tender for a sandwich, a expensive sandwich at that.
I like to make a horseradish sauce for it.

 

[shred5]

Reef Junky try Costco they have a small section with higher quality meat, also when they have a roadshow they have the better meat.

We have several butcher shops around and are a great place to get good meat.
Not as cheap as a chain but the quality is more consistent and fresh.
Plus they usually have great fresh sausage.

Also we have some higher end market places that have great meat.

I do buy meat from Costco especially when we have others over.

 

[jkcoon]

muck more important than the cut is the grade, I'd take a Prime Sirloin over a Select Filet any day of the week... my favorite is a Prime or Waygu (American - too poor for Japanese) ribeye.

 

[Brew12]

Walmart and Sam's club can be a great way to get good meat if you know what to look for. You do need to be willing to walk away if you don't like what you see. And never buy meat if you can't see it through the packaging.

Walmart negotiates as low a price per pound of beef, pork, and chicken, as possible without regard to quality. Their supplier are contractually obligated to sell them a certain number of pounds per week/month. This means the suppliers sell their lowest quality product to Walmart/Sams and the higher quality stuff to higher paying customers. Where you can work this to your advantage is that these suppliers always end up selling some of their higher quality meat to Walmart. Some months more than others, but they do this to make sure they don't get stuck with any low quality stuff. So, if you know what to look for, you can get some very high grade meat at lowball prices.

 

[Reef-junky]

Probably going to pick up a few cheaper steaks to get the hang of what I’m doing then switch to the better stuff.