"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...

On 6/21/13 12:05 AM, Califbill wrote:
wrote in message ...

On Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:56:01 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:


I'm only an occasional "griller," and I'll be the first to admit my
knowledge of the care and keeping of a barbecue grill is minimal. To
wit, the problem is keeping the grill spiffy enough to satisfy even my
minimal non-OCD male standards of cleanliness.

OCD cleanliness and grills don't go together

To start with, the only part that needs to be somewhat clean is the
grate the food goes on but you are supposed to bring it all up to heat
before you start cooking so it is not a germ thing.

I brush mine when I am done and wipe them down again before the food
goes on. Beyond that, I clean the grill once or twice a year (take it
apart in the yard and hit it with a pressure cleaner)

I have a 10 year old stainless Sams gas grill that I abuse by putting
wood chips and occasionally charcoal in. If it finally does rot out, I
will buy another one and burn it up.
I have bought new burners, flame tamers and grates a couple times over
that time.
This thing gets used 2-4 times a week, year around. More in the summer
when I don't want cooking heat in the house. My oven and water heater
are outside the A/C envelope too.


---------------

My SS gas grill, that the Traeger replaced had a $100 replacement heater
tube. I modified it to use Walmart replacement tubes, but still was
always having problems. So I cut the top of the case off, welded the
side burner to the cabinet, and put a marble top on the cabinet. Now I
have a side burner and a nice prep table. Holds the propane tank.


Wow...you guys are really serious about grilling! I got a steal two
years ago on a huge Weber gas grill, a model that was being upgraded,
and Home Despot apparently had a lot of inventory. A kazillion pieces
and parts in a really heavy box.

Anyway, we just use it as an outdoor cooker on the deck cooker,
typically for chicken or fish and some veggies in a pan, and once in a
while for a burger or steak. We don't eat a lot of beef, so we're not
into "high level" barbecuing.

The grates are now clean, thanks to the self-cleaning oven, and the only
messy part left is the big drip pan at the bottom of the grill that
supposedly channels the goop to a tossable aluminum foil tray.
I have to clean the grill on the deck by disassembling it partially and
taking the parts inside or into the yard. I don't want a big mess on the
deck.


-------

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:02:05 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.

That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.

I have tried soaking the chips and using them dry. I can tasted no difference in the flavor. Now I'm
cutting up chunks of oak for the smoker. Work and taste well.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:02:05 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.

That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.

I have tried soaking the chips and using them dry. I can tasted no difference in the flavor. Now I'm
cutting up chunks of oak for the smoker. Work and taste well.

John H.

I burn nothing but oak and hickory in my smoker, except for an
occasional apple or pecan log for seafood.

On 6/21/2013 3:08 PM, John H wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:02:05 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.

That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.

I have tried soaking the chips and using them dry. I can tasted no difference in the flavor. Now I'm
cutting up chunks of oak for the smoker. Work and taste well.

John H.


Oak will make your meat sour... Be very careful not to get any bark in
there either...

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:18:36 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:08:28 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:02:05 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.

That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.

I have tried soaking the chips and using them dry. I can tasted no difference in the flavor. Now I'm
cutting up chunks of oak for the smoker. Work and taste well.

John H.

In a gas grill, dry chips just burst into flames.

I never tried oak. I did get a bag of mesquite and that is not a
flavor I am trying to achieve. Some around here say buttonwood and
orange are good but I haven't tried that either.

Oh, I was thinking a smoker. For the gas grill I wrap the chips in tin foil, punctured several
times. Works pretty well.

At one of the Bluegrass festivals, 'Pickin' in the Panhandle', there was also a BBQ contest. It was
like the ones you see on TV, with the trailer mounted smokers and grills - big hummers!

There was also a 'pulled pork' contest for amateurs. Each of the contestants were given half a pork
shoulder, about a ten-pound chunk, to prepare for judging.

I took a walk amongst those folks and asked lots of questions, like 'What kind of wood do you use?'.
Almost all of them used oak - regular chunks of oak firewood. Since I've got about two cords of the
damn stuff chopped up in my back yard, it's quite handy. I just chunk it up with a chop saw.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 15:08:28 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 13:02:05 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I have tried soaking the chips and using them dry. I can tasted no difference in the flavor. Now I'm
cutting up chunks of oak for the smoker. Work and taste well.

John H.
In a gas grill, dry chips just burst into flames.

I never tried oak. I did get a bag of mesquite and that is not a
flavor I am trying to achieve. Some around here say buttonwood and
orange are good but I haven't tried that either.
You can't smoke properly in a gas grill. I have one, but I also have a
dedicated smoker - the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM), as well as a Weber
kettle grill. I use the gas grill most often for steaks, burgers,
chicken, and brats. I prefer the kettle when I have more time. The
WSM is for smoking only. I also never use briquettes of any kind - real
lump charcoal without the fillers and other crap.

Check out this site for smoking info:

http://virtualweberbullet.com/

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler. We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.

"Earl" wrote in message
...

wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:46:37 -0700, "Califbill"
wrote:

We bbq mostly chicken, pork and fish. If you have a wood burning grill,
then you will get more flavor. Gas, you might as well use the broiler.
We
have an electric skillet with a broiler lid, so not even a lot of mess to
clean up.
That is why I throw hickory chips in there.
I have a spare "floater" from my spa that I drop in a bucket of water
with a handful of chips and let them soak an hour or so and they smoke
up real good.
For chicken or ribs I sometimes use charcoal. Put the charcoal in,
fire up the gas and when the charcoal is good and hot, turn off the
gas. Just be sure to use pure charcoal, not that chemical laced "match
light" stuff.
I use my smoker about once a month. There is no need to soak the
smoking wood. It's actually better to get as much early smoke as
possible. When the meat is "sealed" from the heat it can't absorb much
more smoke. I learned this many years ago but started with the same
theory as you - to provide constant smoke by soaking the wood.
-------

Not soaking the chips get flames and little smoke in my experience.

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 10:53:09 -0400, wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 06:08:51 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

Wow...you guys are really serious about grilling! I got a steal two
years ago on a huge Weber gas grill, a model that was being upgraded,
and Home Despot apparently had a lot of inventory. A kazillion pieces
and parts in a really heavy box.

Anyway, we just use it as an outdoor cooker on the deck cooker,
typically for chicken or fish and some veggies in a pan, and once in a
while for a burger or steak. We don't eat a lot of beef, so we're not
into "high level" barbecuing.

The grates are now clean, thanks to the self-cleaning oven, and the only
messy part left is the big drip pan at the bottom of the grill that
supposedly channels the goop to a tossable aluminum foil tray.
I have to clean the grill on the deck by disassembling it partially and
taking the parts inside or into the yard. I don't want a big mess on the
deck.

Mine is always such a mess when I get around to cleaning it that I
have to take it to a part of the yard away from anything I care about
I take out the grates and burners, tip it over and blast it with the
pressure cleaner. Crap goes everywhere.
The drip tray that came with it gave up the ghost a while ago so I
made a new one from 18ga galvanized. That seems to be doing OK.
Other than that the thing seems to be doing OK

I use a Weber 220 for the house gas grill, a 120 for the trailer. Clean the big chunks off the
inside about once a year. The grill is porcelainized cast iron. High heat and the metal brush keep
it clean. The Weber spray on 'No Stick' works well.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

On 6/21/2013 10:53 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 06:08:51 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

Wow...you guys are really serious about grilling! I got a steal two
years ago on a huge Weber gas grill, a model that was being upgraded,
and Home Despot apparently had a lot of inventory. A kazillion pieces
and parts in a really heavy box.

Anyway, we just use it as an outdoor cooker on the deck cooker,
typically for chicken or fish and some veggies in a pan, and once in a
while for a burger or steak. We don't eat a lot of beef, so we're not
into "high level" barbecuing.

The grates are now clean, thanks to the self-cleaning oven, and the only
messy part left is the big drip pan at the bottom of the grill that
supposedly channels the goop to a tossable aluminum foil tray.
I have to clean the grill on the deck by disassembling it partially and
taking the parts inside or into the yard. I don't want a big mess on the
deck.

Mine is always such a mess when I get around to cleaning it that I
have to take it to a part of the yard away from anything I care about
I take out the grates and burners, tip it over and blast it with the
pressure cleaner. Crap goes everywhere.
The drip tray that came with it gave up the ghost a while ago so I
made a new one from 18ga galvanized. That seems to be doing OK.
Other than that the thing seems to be doing OK


Again, I am in the same boat... It's bbq for ****'s sake. It's suppose
to be down and dirty.