Outdoor grills advice: pellet vs. gas vs. charcoal

Taste the meat, not the heat

 

Sale this weekend for Vision grills kamado. Good review on Consumer Reports, but Home Depot reviews said it might leak air
https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/vision-grills-classic-kamado-ceramic-charcoal-grill?

 

Love charcoal...who doesnt. But it's simply not practical if you grill multiple times a week. And if you're cooking mostly burgers, steaks, etc, it's really hard to tell a diff between gas and charcoal.

Pellet grills are for the ladies wtf

 

True snobs cut their own firewood. I've got stacks of oak/mesquite/pecan.

Truer snobs make their own charcoal, which I've tried but is a total pain in the ass.

 

For my personal smoker I do a mix of charcoal (or lump depending on what I’m cooking) and hard wood.

for the cookoff trailer we use hardwood for brisket/ribs then have another smaller cooler for other events.

 

Ya my propane grill is more of an extension of my gas stove but still comes in really handy. In a cast iron, you can’t do more than one nice size ribeye at a time vs unlimited space on the grill. Also the side burner for deep frying, cooking salmon, etc...is good for cooking and not having your place smell for days.

 

OP, sounds like you should go for a pellet - Traegers are preferred. I disagree with the people saying it’s a woman’s grill. I know a lot of people who have a Weber charcoal, offset smoker, and a Traeger, and they use all three. Pellet grills are versatile and relatively fast.

 

'cookoff trailer' huh? I may have more respect for you now.

 

Am I dumb? I have a charcoal kettle grill and it seems like it never gets hot enough with the lid on and the vents open. I use chimeny starter, let it run for like 15 minutes, then close grill for 15 minutes to heat up. But unless the lid is off, it doesn't cook worth squat.

 

Assuming when you close the grill it is limiting the airflow and making your charcoals cooler.

 

let’s see what kind of rig he has first

 

Do you wait until the top briquettes are smoldering? Turning gray? That's when I dump them. I also add extra fuel to keep the heat going. In a 22" Weber Kettle, to keep a 350ish heat source going for a couple of hours I use a full chimney and about twice as many briquettes for extra fuel. I put the lid on and leave the vents up top and down below a little more than half open. If you want it hotter, open the vents up more. If you want it cooler, close them more, but not all the way.

 

Kamodo grills are great. A friend of mine is a BBQ enthusiast and bought a $5,000 smoker. That thing produces award winning BBQ.

 

Hell yea. We do all the random cookoffs in the golden triangle.

 

I use my propane grill 90% of the time because it’s quick, easy, good heat control, and easy clean up.

I use my Masterbuilt smoker for special occasions. Maybe 8% of the time. Then I have a Weber charcoal I love for burgers and the off chance I need to transport the grill somewhere like camping etc.

I think for daily use, propane is the way to go but if you can get a smoker too if you got the room for it you’ll love it. Just a pain to clean and takes awhile to get good at getting your method down.

 

oh, "golden triangle"...nevermind

 

They don’t mess around when it’s gator time!

We’ve qualified for houston rodeo before but man that spot is expensive.

It’s my BIL’s team, he has the cash. We may start traveling around for fun.

 

Living on the road my friend, is gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron and your breath is hard as kerosene

 

Sometimes. But I don’t have enough briquettes based on your description. I just do the chimney and call it a day.

 

I'm partial to charcoal. I have a Weber Smokey Mountain that I use for longer smoke sessions, and then a Chargriller Akorn Kamado for quicker cooks, but use it to smoke as well.

I'm always tempted to get a pellet grill, to be able to "set it and forget it", but don't feel like spending the money. I guess if I started with just that, I could have not bought the other two at all.

I'm also considering getting a griddle. If you're wanting to do burgers and steaks and fast cooks, those seem like a good option.