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1 grill to compromise them all....


52-80

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On 9/13/2018 at 1:07 PM, CO Horn said:

Based on your username, I'm assuming you may live in Colorado.  If that's the case, it is basically impossible to smoke on an offset smoker from October-April.  I had an offset and would spend about $20 on fuel every time I wanted to smoke.  With the BGE, I would say it closer to $5. Due to the lower temps and low humidity it is extremely expensive to smoke on the offset.  I never grilled on an offset, but don't think the cost would be that different, since your cooking over direct heat.

Yep.  I have smoked in sub zero temps on my BGE.  

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5 hours ago, elfenix said:

my setup posted above uses a cast iron dutch oven as the water pan.  dump coals on one side, light one end, cast iron helps hold the heat.  the dutch oven couldn't have cost more than $20 at academy. 

i also have a smokenator, which works fine.  compared to a 1/3 ring of coals with the cast iron, using large chunks of wood is more difficult, as is refilling the coals. 

Sounds interesting . . . got any interior photos?

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18 hours ago, irishtexan said:

Apparently you can buy Vince Young's Big Green Egg for $750 in lockhart with a cart

https://austin.craigslist.org/for/d/the-big-green-egg-large-grill/6696704331.html

Jeff Fisher must be selling that.  Doesn't realize what he's got.  Probably replaced it with an electric Brinkmann and claimed his shitty BBQ was the Green Eggs fault.

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On 9/13/2018 at 10:05 AM, Sam Lin said:

You say you had a WSM - what about it didn't fit your needs? Use just the bottom section with a grate and you have a grill, and then add the middle section when you want to smoke.

This is what I did before my BGE.  You can also use a charcoal chimney on the lower grate and cook on the middle rack for high heat cooks.  I still have my BGE and WSM but if I could only keep one, it would be the WSM. 

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51 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

https://langbbqsmokers.com/lang36/lang36_hybrid.html

 

There ya go. One unit, smoker/grill hybrid. If you’re spending money, might as well make it worth the investment.

jaysus that is a monster.

 

picked up the performer deluxe today.  they only carry black  - not the cool green, blue, or copper colored ones.  then my colleague told me about the Napoleon grills.  a french-named canadian company started by a german-named dude.  it looks like they basically rip off Weber designs, but apparently they use better construction and manufacturing e.g. metals are thicker-gauge.

 

https://www.napoleongrills.com/

 

i have half a mind to eventually get their version of the bullet.  some say its got functional improvements over the real WSM such as with double-doors, more modularity, etc

https://www.napoleongrills.com/grills/product-details/productid/23/ccd/en-ca/apollo-sup-sup-300-span-black-span

 

ps_Main-A300k-2stack_1072_S.jpg

 

thoughts?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Grilled it for a couple of times, and even smoked a brisket (successfully!) this weekend.  Some thoughts:

  • Tuckaway lid holder is not more effective than just using the hook on the lid.  Needs to be improved
  • Heavy duty table is great.  I would have appreciated if it was even larger
  • Built in charcoal basket equally great.  Like pretty much everyone else, I use it to hold accessories (brush, gloves, etc) rather than charcoal
  • Tool hooks sucks, should be more like true hooks than those knobs
  • Lid thermometer should have glow in dark face, or integrate a remote thermometer to the built-in backlit timer (which is otherwise useless)
  • One-touch system pretty fucking cool.  Would be better if the flames came out as a line, rather than as a spot.  As it is, it's more effective lighting a chimney than the Char-Baskets
    • You will want a Chimney; lighting 1 or 2 Char Baskets is pathetic
  • Removable center grate is a bit of a gimmick IMO
  • Hinged portion of grate is too small
  • I can imagine they  built a spiral slider system to adjust height of cooking grates or charcoal to control the direct heat distance....

Performance is as you'd expect from the kettles.  For price I think it presents a pretty poor value compared to the Master-Touch kettle.  Esp for me at local prices is almost 700 USD.  But the convenience of having that table, bin, and one-touch is worth it - just barely.  Room for improvement on the next generation.... or for a competitor like Napoleon if they improve their Rodeo Pro model

 

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7 hours ago, 52-80 said:

Grilled it for a couple of times, and even smoked a brisket (successfully!) this weekend.  Some thoughts:

  • Tuckaway lid holder is not more effective than just using the hook on the lid.  Needs to be improved
  • Heavy duty table is great.  I would have appreciated if it was even larger
  • Built in charcoal basket equally great.  Like pretty much everyone else, I use it to hold accessories (brush, gloves, etc) rather than charcoal
  • Tool hooks sucks, should be more like true hooks than those knobs
  • Lid thermometer should have glow in dark face, or integrate a remote thermometer to the built-in backlit timer (which is otherwise useless)
  • One-touch system pretty fucking cool.  Would be better if the flames came out as a line, rather than as a spot.  As it is, it's more effective lighting a chimney than the Char-Baskets
    • You will want a Chimney; lighting 1 or 2 Char Baskets is pathetic
  • Removable center grate is a bit of a gimmick IMO
  • Hinged portion of grate is too small
  • I can imagine they  built a spiral slider system to adjust height of cooking grates or charcoal to control the direct heat distance....

Performance is as you'd expect from the kettles.  For price I think it presents a pretty poor value compared to the Master-Touch kettle.  Esp for me at local prices is almost 700 USD.  But the convenience of having that table, bin, and one-touch is worth it - just barely.  Room for improvement on the next generation.... or for a competitor like Napoleon if they improve their Rodeo Pro model

 

You had to pay 700 for that?  Where do you live?

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Thanks for mentioning the Napoleon brand - I just saw the Napoleon grill and smoker in Thailand this past weekend and wouldn't have bothered to look otherwise. Definitely a hobby of love at these prices, I've been wanting at least a grill for years now, and just can't get myself to pay the markup. Might try to bring one as checked baggage next trip, I can't seem to find good info on shipping box dimensions of each of these. I know the WSM had no hope of being checked baggage, but maybe the Napoleon could be broken up and checked in multiple bags with its extra segment of barrel.

 

Thailand prices for Napoleon:

$500 for the kettle grill:

https://www.napoleongrills.com/grills/product-details/productid/1730/ccd/en-ca/pro-charcoal-kettle-grill-span-black-span

$750 for the large "wsm-style" smoker, $500 for the smaller one:

https://www.napoleongrills.com/grills/product-details/productid/23/ccd/en-ca/apollo-sup-sup-300-span-black-span

Didn't get a lot of time to disassemble them and get a feel for build quality, but the swing-up grate on the kettle was a nice idea and the whole assembly was solid and sturdy. The access doors on the smoker weren't any thicker material than the shitty stock fuel door on the WSM. The latches holding segments together and the lid on were sturdy.

 

For comparison, the Performer Deluxe is $900 here:

http://www.bbqthai.com/weber_charcoal.html

 

While we're at it, how about $3000 for the large Kamado Joe?

http://www.bbqthai.com/kamado_joe.html

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