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[2009] Gas Grill

dioxide45

dioxide45

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We bought a new gas grill because the handle on our old one busted off and it was getting in rough shape. Well after laboring over the assembly for a couple of hours I read that they don't recommend using charcoal briquettes or lava rock in the grill. We have never had a grill that you didn't have briquettes in. We don't want to loose the flavor that they add. The book does recommend a smoke box with wood chips. This seems like a pain, having to soak the chips for 30 minutes first.

Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? Why couldn’t you use briquettes in it?
 
Why couldn’t you use briquettes in it?
Click to expand...

With a gas grill - there is really no place to put briquettes, or need for briquettes, because the gas provides the heat source, so they are not designed to use briquettes. It's really easy to use the wood chips. The wood chips will create smoke and flavor, but not heat. Soaking it is what causes it to give off smoke and flavor - it's not burning. However, briquettes put in the same pan won't do anything, because they aren't burning and I'm guessing that a gas grill is not designed to hold burning briquettes.
 
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DeniseM said:
With a gas grill - there is really no place to put briquettes, or need for briquettes, because the gas provides the heat source, so they are not designed to use briquettes. It's really easy to use the wood chips. The wood chips will create smoke and flavor, but not heat. I'm guessing that a gas grill is not designed to hold hot briquettes.
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Correct. There really isn't a place to put them in the new grill. Our old grill had room on each side of the burner for a row of briquettes. I am not talking charcoal that you would use in a charcoal grill, but ceramic briquettes that don't break down much over time.
 
I can see how ceramic briquettes would radiate heat - but how do they add flavor?
 
DeniseM said:
I can see how ceramic briquettes would radiate heat - but how do they add flavor?
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I think it comes from all the grease and ash that gets coated on them. Sounds gross. Guess we will return the briquettes that we bought when we bought the grill and get a smoker box and some chips.
 
This is why when my gas grill died, I bought a Weber grill.

I used the Weber more last year then I ever seemed to use the gas grill.

I guess I love to sit in the backyard and dream I am some sort of BBQ King that ought to be on the Food Network! :D
 
dioxide45 said:
I think it comes from all the grease and ash that gets coated on them. Sounds gross. Guess we will return the briquettes that we bought when we bought the grill and get a smoker box and some chips.
Click to expand...

I sorta' wondered the same thing when I bought my Weber gas grill. But I found that the Flavorizer Bars work great!

It says:
  • Patented steel bars create delicious, barbecue flavor
  • Works by vaporizing juices and fats to create smoke
 
dioxide45 said:
I think it comes from all the grease and ash that gets coated on them. Sounds gross. Guess we will return the briquettes that we bought when we bought the grill and get a smoker box and some chips.
Click to expand...

Oh, I see - you may get some of the same effect from your gas grill - what is above the flame in your grill? On our gas grill there is a metal thing that catches the fat and burns it off.
 
DeniseM said:
Oh, I see - you may get some of the same effect from your gas grill - what is above the flame in your grill? On our gas grill there is a metal thing that catches the fat and burns it off.
Click to expand...

Ours has the same. The old grill also had the flat V shaped bar that went accross over the burner.
 
We have a build-in natural gas grill with a side burner, a Weber, and an electric smoker. You know how Jerry is about having all the perfect cooking tools...

We also have bags of several different flavors of wood chips.

Fern

ricoba said:
This is why when my gas grill died, I bought a Weber grill.

I used the Weber more last year then I ever seemed to use the gas grill.
Click to expand...
 
Stick with the gas grill. Charcoal grills create air pollution and something about the fat dripped on the charcoal creates a carcinogen on the meat. You are much healthier without the charcoal briquettes.

Deb
 
Save $3 On Propane Tank Exchange.

DebBrown said:
Stick with the gas grill.
Click to expand...
Click here for a Blue Rhino $3 tank exchange mail-in rebate coupon.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
Buy a Big Green Egg!!!
Ours is 6 years old, nothing needs to be replaced or cleaned. Great tasting food. It is the last grill we will ever own. :)
 
New $3 Mail-In Rebate Coupon. (Old Coupon Expired.)

Click here for the new Blue Rhino $3 rebate coupon -- good through December 31, 2011.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
One of the big advantages of a gas grill is the ability to control the temperature of the grill. My first gas was a three burner model; my second one is a four burner model.

You do lose some amount of smoky flavor. But if smoky flavor is what you want then you should be using a smoker box anyway, regardless of whether you are cooking with gas or with charcoal. Soaking chips for 30 minutes isn't that big a deal, particularly given the payoff. And as I said, if you want smoky it doesn't make a difference whether you're using gas or charcoal.

+++++

I also have a charcoal smoker. But I stopped using that in favor a smoker made from a metal garbage can and a hot plate. and about $10 worth of hardware from Home Depot. Works wonderfully.
 
I do have and use a gas grill- especially when I want something quick. Like searing some ahi tuna, or a fillet Mignon, but I'm using my Louisiana Pellet grill most of the time. It burns hardwood pellets, starts electrically, holds controlled temp as long as necessary. It makes wonderful jerky, I've smoked turkeys, many slabs of ribs, salmon fillets and more. Cranked up to 500 degrees it makes wonderful wood-fired pizza.

The genre is maturing with new makers entering the marketplace. When I get rich and/or famous, this is my current heartthrob: http://pelletgrilloutlet.com/inc/sdetail/40819/?xtr=emailer

Jim Ricks
 
T_R_Oglodyte said:
+++++

I also have a charcoal smoker. But I stopped using that in favor a smoker made from a metal garbage can and a hot plate. and about $10 worth of hardware from Home Depot. Works wonderfully.
Click to expand...

Hey Steve, what kind of rack system did you come up with ? I think this would work great for big salmon fillets. We were using an old fridge but keeping it clean was a lot of work.
 
easyrider said:
Hey Steve, what kind of rack system did you come up with ? I think this would work great for big salmon fillets. We were using an old fridge but keeping it clean was a lot of work.
Click to expand...
If you google, you can find plans for electric garbage can smokers.

In mine, the hot plate sits on the bottom. Next to the hot plate I have a couple of long bricks standing one end. That's where I put the smoker box with the chips. A bit less than halfway to the top of the garbage can I drilled some four small holes and inserted some threaded rods that run parallel to each other. Wing nuts hold these in place. The holes are located so that the rods will support the drip/water pan.

About two-thirds of the way I installed four brackets to support cooking grill. The cooking grill is just an ordinary round cooking grill that are available as replacements for kettle types of BBQs.

Also at the bottom there is a hole in the side for the electric cord to the hot plate. I've got a notched stick that I can insert through the hole to adjust the temperature of the hot plate if need be. That hole also provides an entry for air at the bottom of the cooker.

Then there are two holes in the lid, for ventilation. I usually hang a meat thermometer in one of the holes so I can monitor the temperature.

The only issue I've had is that the hotplate seems to be a bit undersized. To get to 170 deg I have to wrap the garbage can in insulation.

I've mostly smoked poultry, including turkeys, and some roasts. I'm planning to do some fish this summer.
 
T_R_Oglodyte said:
If you google, you can find plans for electric garbage can smokers.

In mine, the hot plate sits on the bottom. Next to the hot plate I have a couple of long bricks standing one end. That's where I put the smoker box with the chips. A bit less than halfway to the top of the garbage can I drilled some four small holes and inserted some threaded rods that run parallel to each other. Wing nuts hold these in place. The holes are located so that the rods will support the drip/water pan.
Click to expand...

Alton Brown makes something very similar with large terracotta planters, a portable electric burner, a pan, and wood chips.

If you search around, you can find the Good Eats episode that demonstrates this.

As for me, I have a 4-foot wide Kitchenaid system that throws mega BTUs and uses a smoking box -- usually filled with mesquite, because that's what I have available.

Next time I go to Key West, I'll get a hundred pounds of Buttonwood (legally, from an arborist) -- which is probably the best smoking medium on earth.
 
The last grill I bought was a Holland. That grill is idiot proff. Heat it up,put the food on , set the timer, then take the food off. Perfect !
 
BBQ

I have a Weber gas grill and use the smoker box with wood chips, sometimes soaked, sometimes dry and always get a nice smoky flavor.
 
I just bought these Apple wood chips, and the back of the bag said to use 'em dry. (Didn't know you could do that...)

So I fired up the Weber, put the dry chips in my heavy-duty chip box -- and what a treat (both flavor and smell !)
 
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