"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.

In article ,
says...

On 6/21/13 11:18 AM, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:
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.

I figure it is dangerous enough eating barbecue without having bits and
pieces of year old food from previous grillings falling onto it. I
don't mind a "patina" of grease and whatever on the grill, though I do
like keeping the grates reasonably sanitary.

After they reach a certain temp they are sanitary.

On Thursday, June 20, 2013 8:09:05 PM UTC-4, JustWaitAFrekinMinute! wrote:
On 6/20/2013 4:25 PM, wrote:

On Thursday, June 20, 2013 1:50:51 PM UTC-4, Califbill wrote:



Or get a Treager,



Their patent has expired, so now you have better choices than Treager if you want to go the wood pellet route.





Have you looked into the "clones"? Any reccomendations? I looked at the
Treager and it's nice, but the price is stiff...

A friend has a Green Mountain and really likes it.
http://greenmountaingrills.com/
Not really much of a diff in price, though.

In article ,
says...

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 12:10:20 -0400, iBoaterer
wrote:


I figure it is dangerous enough eating barbecue without having bits and
pieces of year old food from previous grillings falling onto it. I
don't mind a "patina" of grease and whatever on the grill, though I do
like keeping the grates reasonably sanitary.

After they reach a certain temp they are sanitary.

One sixty according to the guv'mint but I get the grill hotter than
that before I ever get the food on. That is particularly true of
steaks and burgers. You want them to be assaulted by the heat to sear
in the juices.
One of my favorites lately is Mahi steaks. You really want the grill
hot for that. You want a little crust on the outside and the inside
just starting to turn opaque. They will continue to cook when you take
them off the grill so don't overdo it. Scallops and shrimp are the
same way.

Yes, fish in general.

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 11:26:10 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/21/13 11:18 AM, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:
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.

I figure it is dangerous enough eating barbecue without having bits and
pieces of year old food from previous grillings falling onto it. I
don't mind a "patina" of grease and whatever on the grill, though I do
like keeping the grates reasonably sanitary.

How would your bits and pieces of year old food from previous grillings fall onto your food? My bits
and pieces fall through the grate, and I don't ever put new food under the grate. In fact, I've
never even heard of that.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

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 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!

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 6/21/2013 4:14 PM, John H wrote:
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.


Ooooops. it's white oak that makes it sour... **** oak we call it or
swamp oak... Sorry for the other post, I am sure it will turn into a
huge pee pee measuring contest for some here