Propane Grill Recommendations?

[ccoon520]

A few quick questions.
Do you have an idea of how large you want/need the cooking surface to be?
Do you have a budget in mind?


I also find that perfect grilling weather is whatever it happens to be whenever I decide to grill and do so year round. I currently do not have a gas grill but have nothing against them and will probably end up getting one myself. I just didn't have the budget to get a decent one at the time and would rather deal with some inconvenience than having to replace a grill every 3 years because I went cheap. However, if money weren't a dilemma I think I would end up going with one of these: https://coyoteoutdoor.com/product/30-s-series-grill-fs/

It outputs up to 70K BTU and has 700 sqin of cooking space.

I don't know if it is too expensive, too large, or too small for you. A year ago or so I got one of their Asado Smokers and it is well built, reliable and the customer service I have received from them on a warranty issue has been nothing short of phenomenal.

The smoker I have came with one of their "signature grate" things and it has a lot of contact area for a good sear on the meat. Granted that is an additional option that you have to buy for the linked grill.

If it is too big/ too expensive for you they do have a smaller 28" free standing grill as well but it's btu output is a little lower than your old webber at 40K BTU and a larger surface area at 640sqin.

either one of their grills have a huge amount of options so if you don't want the side burner you don't need to get it, and

I don't have experience using their LP/Natural Gas stuff but I do have experience with their smoker and it is a very good product so I would (and probably will when I get tired of starting charcoal all the time) buy a gas grill from them.

 

[lugbolt]

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just set it on top of the original wire grates

if u get something with wire grates get them in stainless if they're offered. The higher the grade of stainless the better. Most are 304 which is a lower grade, but still way better than plain old (and inexpensive) mild steel which falls apart in a year or three. Stainless lasts a LONG time.

As said I kept and still occasionally use my 20+ year old weber kettle, I think I gave like $28 for it a long time ago. They're closer to $100 now. Had to replace the cooking grates twice and the charcoal grate once. The last grate I bought was stainless; which was in 2011. Still looks almost brand new, just a different color (stained from grilling obviously).

the grillgrates I listed above are awesome. I actually just used them flipped smooth side up to grill some fresh sea scallops and big gulf shrimp. Yum. My neighbor goes to Alabama 3 times a year and loads his reefer truck with fresh seafood, and I get enough to last me a little while. Still have quite a bit left and I've got a ton of stuff to do tomorrow and Thursday so no grilling, but I guarantee you friday, the fish goes on the grill-and probably some more taters. Taters have been my favorite food on the pellet grill

 

[lmpres]

I have a 10yo Webber Summit and I can honestly say it has been my least favorite grill I have ever owned. It was $1,500.00 at the time. My main complaints is low isn't low enough and even on low, gets blown out regularly. I honestly can't believe I have owned and complained about it for as long as I have. Just stubborn over what I paid would be my guess.

After reading Lugbolt's post I am researching pellet grills.

What pellet type do you use?

I bought the Pit Boss 1100 at Lowes 2 years ago for $599. I use the Competition blend pellets they sell also. Couldn't be happier!

 

[lmpres]

One of my main complaints too.... don't like the grates, and just too small, but that's on me.

I got mine for $900 (October?), but list was $1,500 too ~10 years ago.

I complained less about $300 Walmart jobs that lasted 3 seasons.....

As far as pellet grills, one thing I've seen is that they don't sear well - not enough heat. No idea if true. High-heat is as important to me as low-heat.

I did finally check Vermont Castings, and their gas grill selections are no-where near what they were 20+ years ago. That one was my favorite by far.....

For what it's worth, they do have some nice looking pellet grills.

Grills

Fuel your passion for grilling with premium gas BBQs by Vermont Castings

www.en.vermontcastingsbbq.com

My Pit Boss sears great. There is a slotted door in the middle you can open to get direct flame onto the meat. Just slide it open when you want it.

 

[RCW]

I looked at a Pit Boss grill at Tractor Supply this morning.
Looks pretty solid.
Didn’t care for the auger much, but I’m used to the auger on my Harman XXV stove that runs 7 months a year non-stop.....not a fair comparison.

 

[NHSleddog]

I ended up ordering a
Traeger Pro 780

 

[Jon_Snow]

All this talk about BBQ's, grills and steaks but not one mention of beer, what's the world coming too

 

[PaulR]

Beer deserves it's own thread. ....So does Whiskey.

I'm fortunate enough to live in Western Mass, 45 minutes from Tree House Brewery.

 

[lugbolt]

recteq is what I bought RT340 (the smallest one). It's just me and the cat, and occasionally the GF so I didn't need a huge grill. Plus the small grill doesn't use a lot of pellets. I get a few weeks out of a 20lb bag, if I grill 3-4 sometimes 5 times a week.

had a shipping issue (damage)....recteq took care of it, on a SUNDAY I got a call from one of the owners of the company apologizing for the inconvenience, and they overnighted the stuff I needed. PLUS, also got some goodies with it that I did not ask for nor did I expect. That was a big plus.

Almost all of the pellet grills are chinese including traeger. my old boss had a Traeger. Junk. I replaced the controller several times and the igniter at least 4 times in 2 1/2 years. When he ordered and then received them, they were in no-name packaging, just some chinese "writing" on them. The controllers are universal, meaning you install it and it has a bunch of settings you have to go through in order to get it to work properly. My friend bought a Pit Boss and used it a while, then his mother (who lives not far from me, he is in Oklahoma) wanted it and he gave it to her. She likes it but it's so heavy that she can't really move it. He bought an Oklahoma Joe's grill. It's also heavy, not really portable. He liked the steel wheels but those steel wheels? They are like a floor jack---holds up 8,000 lbs but will NOT roll over the tiniest pebble. Mine has skateboard wheels which are sweet. Rolls easily. Also the 340 is portable, the legs fold up and then you just pick the whole thing up & roll it into the truck. Hmm. I think I may take it to my gf's dad's house this Sunday and cook a dinner for his 78th birthday. But I will have to use the tractor to put it into the truck, I can pick it up myself but it's pretty heavy, around 100 lb as I remember. The whole GRILL is stainless steel, legs and hopper are powder coated mild steel. Really nice quality.

many say that they don't need the wifi feature and I did too but it's NICE. Basically once you set up the wifi, you can leave the grill wherever (outside) as long as it's within range of the router. In my case, I'll turn it on when I leave work and by time I get home it's hot & ready to go. No waiting; although waiting for it to get hot isn't a big deal, takes under 5 min. Another nicety about Recteq is that the controllers are USA made. It works VERY well. Maintains temp to +/- 5 degrees at the most. Now keep in mind that on a hot July day with the grill sitting in the sun, it's not going to keep at 200 degrees, I typically have to open the lid and put a foil ball between the lid and main body to let some air in, and then it'll stay 200-201 until it runs out of pellets. Nice when you're smoking some kind of meat. Sunday I smoked a steak. Yummy. Cowboy ribeye. Smoked it until the internal temp was 120. Remove from the grill, turn the grill up to 500+, while it's heating up I put some olive oil on the steak. Once hot, sear it both sides until temp is 148-150 internal, pull them off and add a pat of butter while it sits. Melts in your mouth every.single.time. Makes grilling very very easy and that is good for me since I tend to burn water while cooking.

 

[lugbolt]

thought I'd bring this back to life

last Monday I did a thing. I cooked a frozen pizza on the pellet grill. Never go in the oven again and that's all I'm saying.

Just use it like an oven the first time I did it. Second time, I set it to "smoke" (about 200) and let it soak up some hickory flavor for about 10 minutes. Then turned the heat up to 400, 20 minutes and done.

Try it. I just used digornio risin crust supreme FWIW, cause that's what I had but I would imagine any pizza would be about the same.

Very slight hint of smoky flavor from the wood

Got salmon filet on the halfshell out on the grill as we speak. Trick there? 375 degrees. Cook it skin side up initially. After about 5 minutes or so, flip it skin side down and let it cook until internal temp is around 160. Once it's hot, I like to put a pat of real butter on the meat and let it melt all over. GF likes to have some Lemon zest in the butter but I don't care for it on salmon, though it's pretty good on Crappie, Bass, Walleye, and Trout (Brown).

halfshell is where it's at for scaled fish, those listed PLUS snapper, grouper, etc. All are wonderful

 

[JimmyJazz]

Not an issue with me, I'm not eating meat laced with ethyl mercaptan anyway. Terrible thing to do to good meat and who knows, it might even give you cancer because it sure as heck stinks.

One of the guys I hunt with caught his ex wife screwing around with another man who just happened to own a Corvette. My buddy followed them to a motel and while they were in there doing the dirty, he dumped a bottle of propane odorant, ethyl mercaptan, on the upholstery of the Vette. Guy had to sell the car for salvage as you cannot get the stink out no matter what you do.

Stinking car, srinking steak, same difference.

Picture of the wife?

 

[BX23S-1]

Ah come on Flip and tell us what you really think about propane. ??

LOL, he`s right you know.
I wont eat anything thats been cooked on open flame propane.
I only BBQ with hardwoods. Anything other than that, i walk away.

 

[BX23S-1]

I don't Darren. I use one of those chimney starters you put a couple pieces of wadded up newspaper in (the bottom) with the chunk charcoal on top and light it and in 10 minutes, the chunk charcoal is ready to go.

I have a 20 year old Brinkman grill, one of the ones that was made from a length of 1/8" wall pipe. It weighs at least 250 pounds. Think I've replaced the cooking grills and charcoal grates at least 5 times but the grill itself is just fine.

Oh man, i can relate to what your saying...
I bought a Brinkman Cimarron Deluxe side box smoker about 20yrs ago. It was actually built by Oklahoma Joes for Brinkman back then, same cooker, just the name plate says Brinkman. Mine is the deluxe, has the removable propane side burner for crawfish boil and a propane stick to start the fire with, even though i`ve never used the propane to start the fire. I use a weber chimney. I still use it today. Thing is built like a tank! Its built from 1/8in steel. Its definitely a wood hog for sure though. Mine has the 15 inch full steel wagon wheels too. Takes 4 people to lift it up into the back of my truck.

Todays similar models dont even compare. Todays BBQ`ers are made out of thin sheet metal! Use them for a year or two then throw`em away. But this old brinkman will still be cookin long after i`m dead and gone.

When i BBQ for just my wife an i, i use my weber kettle (deluxe performer), and it works awesome. It has never disappointed me. Its so easy to hold the temps with it.

Hardwoods and charcoal baby! Its truly the ONLY way to smoke or cook meat!

This my Weber Kettle

 

[BX23S-1]

I may get a pellet grill if my Brinkman ever wears out

NOOOOOOO!!!! If that Brinkman wears out, you weld that sucker up and keep on runnin it Flip!!!! Dont you dare leave the Brinkman Smoker family, or we`ll cook you on a spit using PROPANE!!!!

 

[BX23S-1]

One of the guys I hunt with caught his ex wife screwing around with another man who just happened to own a Corvette. My buddy followed them to a motel and while they were in there doing the dirty, he dumped a bottle of propane odorant, ethyl mercaptan, on the upholstery of the Vette. Guy had to sell the car for salvage as you cannot get the stink out no matter what you do.

Stinking car, srinking steak, same difference.

Now imagine what SHE must have smelled like when SHE got home after the ride

 

[BX23S-1]

As far as pellet grills, one thing I've seen is that they don't sear well - not enough heat. No idea if true. High-heat is as important to me as low-heat.

If you`re looking for searing, most "average" pellet grills fall WAY short of that. They have a tiny fire pot, usually in the middle of the grill grates. If you`re going to sear one steak at a time, then it will do it, but dont expect it to be mind blowing, because its not. Searing steaks is not their strong point.

Other than that, pellet grills smoke meats fairly decent. You`ll go thru some pellets though on some models just to keep the heat temps up. Not all pellet grills are created equal. Make sure you look for one that is sealed up good, otherwise there is no point to them. If you`re going to try to use one year round, look for the insulated ones. Non insulated dont hold the heat very well during the winter.

 

[RCW]

I was a restaurant cook for years as a youngster. Still cook a lot and enjoy it.

I am looking for high heat capacity/sear, but also want low and slow when necessary.

 

[Daren Todd]

I was a restaurant cook for years as a youngster. Still cook a lot and enjoy it.

I am looking for high heat capacity/sear, but also want low and slow when necessary.

If your looking for options, they have combo units. My brother in law has one from Oklahoma Joe. Propane grill on one side, charcoal grill / wood smoker with side box on the other. Gives you the best of both worlds.

And with a readily available source for maple available (wink, wink, nod, nod), and easily sourced apple, you can break into smoking meats pretty easy

 

[Thunder chicken]

I got tired of BBQ’s rusting out, crappy pizzas, and not knowing what to do. So, we built this. It’ll cook anything. Pull the coals out to use like a grill. Heat it up and bake. 900° pizzas cooked in 90 seconds. Make a small fire inside and roast a hotdog or marshmallow. Put the door on and smoke. (Haven’t tried that yet and know it won’t work like a good smoker but maybe a special door?)
2-3 days after it’s been fired you can still throw a dutch oven in and slow roast a chicken or a stew.

 

[bearbait]

I got tired of BBQ’s rusting out, crappy pizzas, and not knowing what to do. So, we built this. It’ll cook anything. Pull the coals out to use like a grill. Heat it up and bake. 900° pizzas cooked in 90 seconds. Make a small fire inside and roast a hotdog or marshmallow. Put the door on and smoke. (Haven’t tried that yet and know it won’t work like a good smoker but maybe a special door?)
2-3 days after it’s been fired you can still throw a dutch oven in and slow roast a chicken or a stew.

Wow, that is awesome, very nice work!!