"iBoaterer" wrote in message
...

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.


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

In my smoker I burn lots of different woods. Apricot and Alder a lot, as I
cut down one of my apricot trees and I have two alders and they always drop
dead branches. Plus hickory. Left over from my hardwood floors. I have
hickory floors, and the wood is not treated before installation.

"JustWaitAFrekinMinute" wrote in message ...

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...


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

maybe you use Tan Oak? We use lots of oak in the area for smoking, and have
not had bad tasting meat from oak. Girl I dated in high school, her dad had
a very successful hamburger joint and the grill was oak chunks. Andy's Oak
Pit.

wrote in message
...

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.


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

Costco has a Traeger Road Show occasionally. Where I bought mine and was
maybe $180 less. Still expensive. Pellets are more expensive than
briquettes also. May get more usage out of a $17 bag vs. couple $5
briquette bags.

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.

John H wrote:
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.
Give him a break. He's trying to be part of the discussion. Roll with it!

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/

In article ,
says...

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

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.


Seen old pieces of food on the grill many times, but it
can't "fall on your food."
Depends on whether you clean up before or after. Meat
falls and wraps on the underside when you spatula for
flipping or removing what you're cooking. Sticks there
and cooks itself on. If you shut down there and then,
it'll be there when you come back.
No danger, since you'll burn most of it off with the new
preheating/cooking. Looks very unappetizing though, so I
clean it off before putting new food on.
I don't like any old greasiness on the grill when I start
cooking. Dry carnon only.
If there's plenty of heat left from the coals and I have
the time, I'll flip the grill and brush so it's ready for
the next cooking.
Most the time I cook/brush it clean when I start the new
cooking. Flipping and cleaning the underside is part of
my routine. I use plenty of charcoal when cooking for a
hot cook, and take the pre-clean into account.
Standard 22" Weber, been sitting outside 16 years now.

On 6/22/2013 1:17 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 18:08:17 -0400, John H
wrote:

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:30:45 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:



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

You know what? I never asked which oak. You may have something there. I'll have to check it out in a
little more detail. Thanks.

John H.

I think he is talking about black oak AKA pin oak. It is the one with
the skeleton like leaves.
White oak has rounder leaves without all the sharp points and makes
great fire wood or flooring because it has a very straight grain. You
can split a pretty big log with a hatchet.
Red oak is what they make a lot of furniture out of. The grain is not
as straight and it is stronger. It is good firewood too but harder to
split. I think I would want white oak for smoking but that is just a
guess.


Yeah, I am totally confused.. I have no idea which oak I am supposed to
use. Guess I will have to stick with the chunk of hickory I have here...

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 18:57:25 -0400, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:

On 6/21/2013 6:10 PM, John H wrote:
On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:33:33 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 6/21/13 5:29 PM, JustWaitAFrekinMinute wrote:
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...


Uh, what if you just want your steak, chicken or burger to taste
like...oh, a steak, chicken or a burger?

I put a little olive oil on the chicken parts I plan to cook on the
grill, then lightly salt and pepper them, and cook them skin side down
for about 20 minutes. Then I flip them over, put some barbecue sauce on
the skin side that is now "up," and cook them for maybe another 15 minutes.

No wood chips. Tastes just like barbecued chicken. No "smokey" taste,
either, which neither of us here like.


Wouldn't ever smoke a steak or a burger. Smoked chicken, on the other hand, is damn good. Much more
moist than from a grill. Smoked turkey is even better, although a rotisserie turkey over charcoal is
pretty damn good also.

No need to smother the meat in sugarfied barbecue sauce to give it some flavor.

John H.


Back on another tangent I like these auger smokers with the temp control
and the pellets... Looks like they finally figures out the difference
between smoking and cooking. Controls that start at 150F up to 500... I
would def use one instead of the manual smoker I have now although it's
still cool to sit outside with a six pack and the snow coming down for a
few hours to smoke some Kielbasa...

They were selling some of the pellet smokers at that festival in WV, but I thought the pellet idea
in a smoker was just some new-fangled thing that would fade away. It's interesting that some folks
here have them, and like them. Might have to look harder. That festival is in September, I think.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!

On Fri, 21 Jun 2013 20:49:51 -0400, Earl wrote:

John H wrote:
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.
Give him a break. He's trying to be part of the discussion. Roll with it!

Actually, it was just a question. I couldn't figure out what he was saying.

John H.
--

Hope you're having a great day!