Grills

First of all I would really like to thank Weber for building a halfway decent product. Buyer beware on this item as I think that this grill is likely to eventually rust out if exposed to too much moisture like my backyard in Florida.

Fortunately I didn’t have to buy this product, but I would purchase it if I weren’t going to leave it out in the rain. A $100+ dollar product should not be left out exposed to the elements.

I love the fact that these grills seems to be fairly reliable. We have three of these in our backyard right now despite the fact that one of them has seen better days.

I love my Webers so much that I am reluctant to throw any of them out, even the one that has fallen apart we still use the bottom half of what is left of it. The worst Weber that seen better days is probably about five or more years old. So we still use it as a “fire pit” in the winter. We just use some sort of strange metal ring we had lying around as the base. I guess it isn’t particularly sturdy anymore, but I am reluctant to throw stuff out.

The latest Weber, the version on this site, was found as the neighbors were throwing theirs out. Not a bad deal for free, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, other than the wheel fell off. A hose clamp fixed that problem, however I might be a little perturbed if I paid $100+ and had my wheel fall off. Then I might be a little upset. Alas, can’t complain if I didn’t have to pay for anything except a hose clamp.

Although when we grill on ours we put the charcoal up where the food is supposed to go and use two bricks as spacers and use a separate porcelain grill top for the cooking surface. I think we had to pay $30 for that special grill top.

I highly recommend these relatively inexpensive grills if you like charcoal. I love using mine with hickory. The ash catcher is a nice feature and being made out of aluminum, adds to the overall value. If you’re lucky you might just find one being thrown out in your neighborhood right before trash day. Just take a bicycle out and about and look. Just make sure you keep Weber your grill happy by not exposing it to the elements and it will last, and last, and last. Happy grilling. My favorite Weber moment is smoking hot dogs or hamburgers with hickory.

I bought this in a 40% off sale. My dad does the best smoked salmon in the world, being from the NW, near Roslyn Washington where the salmon run wild along with the people. Anyway, he has an expensive set up. I tried his recipe this weekend and frankly, it turned out great without a lot of problems. I did go to the Web, since the instructions were missing. I agree that they should have put a temp. gauge instead of “good, bad and ugly” (just kidding) on the temperature, but my results turned out fantastic by just putting it in the middle zone. Not having directions, I put the alder sawdust on the bottom inside the unit with 1/4 cup of water. I think that the low temperature is perfect for smoked salmon. I thought that maybe ribs or meat would not work as well. It was easy to use and since I sprayed it with oil and put the fish on foil, the clean up was easy. There appeared to be enough smoke which surprised me. On line I did find a person who recommend this unit with a pellet-type forced smoke add on to impart more smoke. I know there are better units out there but this kept the temperature even and the fish uniformly smoked and moist, even though I had it on both racks. I have a tendency to get impatient and overcook everything so this was ideal for me. Other people have said that a con is that the temperature can not be turned up. In an effort to hurry things along, I did try to max out the temperature, but alas, it would only stay at the same temperature…which was a good thing for me and therefore is a Pro rather than a Con. The racks are hard to get to since they are stacking on top of each other instead of a door opening. Considering the price and ease I would recommend. Also, it did not hurt to have Bobcat’s recipe…Thanks Dad!

I have always lived in apartments where storage space is limited. Having things outside is not usually an option for me. Having a compact Weber Smoky Joe grill, the size did not always satisfy my needs. So I decided to shop for a new grill, one that was slightly larger yet still compact enough for some portability. I found what I was looking for at an Ace Hardware.

What came in the box:

We just got the updated, 2007, Masterbuilt Smokehouse Smoker which we ordered direct from their offices in Columbus, GA. See web site for toll free number. We dealt with a lady named Kim and she was wonderful.

I like to grill.

I like to grill a lot. I like to grill so much I almost wanted to use MrGrill as my handle here. All of the faithful know there is a great divide amongst afficionados of grilling. This divide would be the never ending charcoal vs. gas debate. I will figuratively throw some wood on the fire here and make my stand for charcoal. Charcoal, whether it be briquets or actual charred wood imparts a bewitching aroma and savory taste one cannot achieve using mere gas. There’s more to a barbecue than BTU’s ! That being said, let me tell you a bit about my Weber Ranch Kettle Grill.

Through the years we have had several grills. The first ones were hand me downs from family members who had purchased something new for themselves. Most of them didn’t last long as they were pretty worn out to begin with. Eventually, we decided to buy one for ourselves. We chose a Weber charcoal grill with about a 22" grill. We have had it for many years now, with the simple replacement of the larger top grill. It was shot from so much use but replacement was inexpensive and certainly better than purchasing a whole new unit.

I purchased the Brinkmann Smoke ‘n Grill Double Charcoal grill this past summer.

I kept hearing all of these different people talking about how much they loved smoking food at home. I had to give it a try and you know what, it is fun to do! There’s just something good about it. I remember my Grandfather talking about the old smoke house on the farm where he grew up. Well, since I don’t have a smoke house, I figure this is the next best thing.

The price was right and it looked easy to set up and use. I purchased the smoker, some good quality charcoal, and various types of wood chips. I took it home and set it up in the backyard. First, it needed to used without food inside to burn off any excess oils from the factory. No problem, I was able to get a fire going inside easily. Then, it needed to be coated in vegetable oiled, that includes the entire smoker/grill and it’s inner accessories (such as the grill plates). Here’s where I ran into a notable snag. I oiled the water pan and I believe that was a mistake. Either it was a mistake or I used too much. I came to find that the water had difficulty turning to steam due to the fact that the oil had mixed in with the water. So be aware of that and definitely don’t use too much oil on that water pan.

The smoking itself was easy enough but it is sort of tricky to get the fire going and keep it going once everything is in place. I had to use long handled tongs to add charcoal and wood chips.

All in all, the food turn out to be excellent. The first thing I smoked was a beef brisket and I didn’t even season it, yet it came out tasting so incredibly flavorful.

I purchased the BGB36. Within the first few weeks of using the product the plastic on the front knobs melted and I had to have them replaced. Recently I was grilling some burgers on the grill and left it unattended for 8-12 minutes. The grill became so hot the aluminum knob melted and fell onto the deck. In my opinion this is a very dangerous design and could have resulted in serious damage if I did not come out as the knob was melting off the grill. The repair person who came out said it is common on this grill to have to replace the knobs due to excessive heat and stated other manufacturers have made wind breaks to protect the units. The tech also stated the grill was in good condition and the fire did not result from lack of care or maintenance. In the manual they talk about a PREFERRED direction of wind so I did face the grill to the south. This happened during the winter with a light breeze coming from the north. I guess DCS grills can only be used half the year as I have serious concerns about using this product with only a very light breeze coming at the back of the unit directly or indirectly. Even during the summer time with the winds out of the south or no wind I have had the plastic on the front burner knobs curl up from the heat.

OK, so it was cheesy, but I hate making up titles…

But yeah, that does pretty much describe this grill/smoker. For one low price, you get a grill and a smoker - you gotta love that! And on top of it, I found it at K-Mart when they were having a closeout sale (they were closing the store so everything was discounted) so I got it for like $30! Even better deal, huh?

I bought this grill for my darling husband who insisted that a man is not a man without a grill. Unfortunately, when you live in a high rise with a small terrace and sticky co-op rules against charcoal, gas and propane, your options are quite limited. I also wasn’t too keen on having an eyesore taking up my precious view. But, I saw the Char-Broil Caddie in a local hard ware store and it was the answer to everything. It’s sturdy, electric, and not bad looking.