Any BBQ pros on here? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Any BBQ pros on here?

M

mimico_polak

Well-known member
Site Supporter
When we moved to our new place one of the things we got rid of was the old BBQ. It was burning from the inside out, and it was time to move on.

Looking for recommendations on a new BBQ as currently we have nothing at all. I would love the Big Green Egg...but price is rather a concern on that one. Not sure about other options as this is fairly early in the search.

Would love a smoker, and am willing to learn the craft, but also need something that's easy to fire up and go when needed. My BIL uses the BGE and he lets it run for 11hrs or more to get the right meat flavour (which is phenomenal).

I think simply due to price we may stick with a non-smoker BBQ as it seems the simplest option. However, I'm willing to look at all viable options.

Any recommendations? Thanks!
 
The egg is very nice and worth it if that style of bbq/grill hits the sweet spot for you, but it's limited overall.

I submit my Weber Summit E470. Supremely flexible and hands off, it does it all... rotisserie with dedicated ceramic burner, smoker, direct, indirect, 12-18 hour cooks with water trays, high temp sear station, 700 F capable and 10K BTU side burner. On natural gas for a basically limitless cheap fuel source. It's a bulletproof setup (I have hundreds of hours on it); Weber is well known for a premium warranty and reputation as well (in my experience as well). Long term parts support, etc. I'm on my third Weber grill, all handed down and the first from in the family is now 28 years old. It's still going on the original burners and owned now by a friend.

Check out my grill cooks on the dinner thread here in the Romper room; from rotisserie turkeys to pizza, I use my grill weekly with lots and lots of posts and meals
smile.gif
.

amazingribs.com

Weber Summit E-470 and S-470 Gas Grill Review

Here's an upgraded model in Weber's top of the line gas grill series, aptly named Summit. We had high expectations when we reviewed the S-470. With a few minor exceptions, we were not disappointed. It cooks beautifully and has great features earning our AmazingRibs.com Platinum Medal.
amazingribs.com

Want bigger
laugh.gif
?
amazingribs.com

Weber Summit E-670 and S-670 Review

The E-670 and S-670 are upgraded models in Weber's top of the line gas grill series, aptly named Summit. We had high expectations when reviewing their smaller S-470. With a few minor exceptions, we were not disappointed. Summits It cook beautifully and have great features earning our...
amazingribs.com


See what others post too. Lots of options out there.
 
Last edited:
We have a 1998 Weber Genesis 3100 Natural Gas, that the previous owner's left behind, years ago.
I've replaced the flavorizors, burners, and handle, over the last couple of years, and it still works fine.
Not much in the way of fancy stuff on it, it has a 10,000 BTU side burner, that I've never used,
and only has 424 sq in main cooking area, but you can't beat free, plus maintenance costs.
 
The red flag deals crowd go gaga for the Costco sold green egg lookalikes. I have a Weber stainless steel propane Summit and I like it but the side burner is the only downside for me. Not enough fine control or low simmer control for sensitive cooks. Great for boiling water for corn etc. Couple of issues with the controls cracking, stainless in parts doesn’t seem the best but the warranty might replace those. The burners in the grill box are top notch and the heavy stainless grill bars are amazing.
 
I've had Viking Professional for more than 20 yrs. Stainless steel burners / shell. Rotisserie, smoker etc. It's still like new, and the only thing I've had to replace is the 9V battery for the ignitor.
One drawback is price. They're over $10K new. Kijiji is your friend.
amazingribs.com

Viking 36" VGBQ Review

Viking produces luxurious indoor and outdoor kitchens. Six outdoor grills are offered in sizes ranging from 30" to 54". We reviewed this large, powerful three burner which has 25,000 BTU stainless steel burners. High quality stainless construction all the way around including the cooking grates.
amazingribs.com
 
ever try a charcoal kettle grill?
takes a little longer to get going
but you can really good results on longer cooks
versatile too as you can use them as a smoker

Weber has this nice setup with the kettle in kart
nice counter area for prep, and propane ignition system for easy starting
 
Look at Crown Verity. Love ours. Will probably outlast me. Built in Brantford.
 
kwtoxman said:
The egg is very nice and worth it if that style of bbq/grill hits the sweet spot for you, but it's limited overall.

I submit my Weber Summit E470. Supremely flexible and hands off, it does it all... rotisserie with dedicated ceramic burner, smoker, direct, indirect, 12-18 hour cooks with water trays, high temp sear station, 700 F capable and 10K BTU side burner. On natural gas for a basically limitless cheap fuel source. It's a bulletproof setup (I have hundreds of hours on it); Weber is well known for a premium warranty and reputation as well (in my experience as well). Long term parts support, etc. I'm on my third Weber grill, all handed down and the first from in the family is now 28 years old. It's still going on the original burners and owned now by a friend.

Check out my grill cooks on the dinner thread here in the Romper room; from rotisserie turkeys to pizza, I use my grill weekly with lots and lots of posts and meals
smile.gif
.

[/URL]

Want bigger
laugh.gif
?
[/URL]


See what others post too. Lots of options out there.
Click to expand...

Ouch $3K to cook like a caveman.
 
Two friends have bge knockoffs. They love the flavor, but found their use slipped off quickly with family's. The time required was just too much and they relegated their use to special occasions and bought a conventional gas bbq for daily use (with costco traeger wood chips when they want more flavor). If you dont use the bge style grille for a while, it fills up with mold. Yippee, just what you want on your cooking surface.

I am running a decade old propane ducane. No complaints, replaced one heat distribution plate and the ignitor (just the box, not the wires). I personally hate how most Weber's run the burners from the side tray. It wastes an entire work surface and I find it much easier to split things up left/right instead of front/back (meat at lower temp on left, veg seared at high temp on right). The ducane is not a very hot bbq, I normally leave at least one burner on high. A weber spirit at the inlaws is ridiculously hot. Leave the burners on low and you are over 400. Most cooking requires you to turn off at least one burner to keep the temps under control.

Propane vs ng I am not convinced about. If you have an ng tap obviously it is super convenient. Some friends complain about they dont get hot enough ( which shouldnt be a problem, that is a design issue) and I know people that have accidentally left them on for days (turned them to high to burn off the remnants and then forgot to go out and turn it off, discovered it was on next time they went to bbq).

I would get a side burner on my next one. My wife likes boiled corn on the cob and it kills me to have a vat of boiling water in an air conditioned house. Also helps during power outages.

I built a bbq enclosure at the last house. I miss it every day. Having a roof, lights and a seat means you bbq at least 3 times as often. I would go cheap bbq and enclosure over good bbq anyday.
 
Nice grill @Gary!

nobbie48 said:
Ouch $3K to cook like a caveman.
Click to expand...
The title of the thread is "bbq pros"
wink.gif
. It was nice to buy ten years ago. Best money I ever spent; these things get handed down in families they last so long. I grill year-round from -30 to +30.

That's nothing for price. I'd love to get a Kalamazoo hybrid at some point. >$25K US for this one.

K750HS Freestanding Hybrid Fire Grill with Side Burner

K750HS:Awesome firepower, custom dragon burners, enhanced heat circulation and live fire cooking capabilities. Nothing...Learn more!
kalamazoogourmet.com kalamazoogourmet.com



Custom laser cut grill surfaces

GreyGhost said:
I personally hate how most Weber's run the burners from the side tray. It wastes an entire work surface and I find it much easier to split things up left/right instead of front/back (meat at lower temp on left, veg seared at high temp on right).
Click to expand...
FWIW, they haven't done that for years on the Weber grills, all the way down to the Genesis line.



In ten years with the Summit now, the only things I've done is igniter batteries once and replace a broken door magnet clip (from new). I didn't bother fixing the door clip until a few years back and Weber sent it to me with a spare for free. You can still get spare parts for Weber grills that are 25 years old.
 
I have a Vision grille, love it. It's less than $1000, build and design quality is better than a Green Egg IMHO and it includes all the necessary accessories - crate, side tables, pizza stone, double layer grilles, and quality cover. I also added a gas kit ($300) which makes slow smoking idiot proof, and winter BBQ use a snap -- no waiting for coals to get ready. The only thing I like better on the Green Egg is the cast iron cap -- it's smoother to operate.

It does require a bit of annual maintenance and there are wear parts (gaskets, control knobs have a 5 year lifespan) -- but they are easy to replace.
 
I have a weber Q3200 also......whatta pos!
Six yrs old. Already replaced the burners.
Two heat / temp controls to control a round burner. There is NO way to have one side warmer / cooler than the other......it's plainly stupid engineering.
Hence, I'd never buy another weber product.
 
M_P do you have a NG hookup?

I'm downsizing everything in the spring and moving up to the lake
have a 3 year old NG Cuisinart that will be surplus in April
you can have it then if you don't mind driving to Belleville to pick it up
nothing fancy about, but it's decent...cast grilles, side burner, everything works
I liked it so bought a propane version for up at the camp - they cannot be converted



1575133060417.png
 
we cover all the bases over here . There is a Crown Verity at the cottage. Its awesome commercially built, completely rebuildable, but I recieved it as a gift otherwise I would never have it ($5,000k new) . We grill a LOT and I would never pay over a grand again . At the house here we have a 4burner Broil King, I believe it mostly Canadian made, maybe assembled, it was about 1k all in. It has 3/8 stainless rods as grills, for a daily use grill only buy a stainless grate, cast flakes, rusts and imo just takes too much maintenence for the time involved.
We had a BGE, they do everything well, I liked it but kept running out of surface area for parties.
NG burns about 3-400d cooler than propane so you just get less heat, you have to plan your cook times, that said, we had a Ducane that was nice, lasted 15yrs, a Weber that was nice , lasted 15 yrs. Had both at the same time. dont ask why... Now i buy BroilKing ( possibly one of the hottest BBQs we have owned), 1k ish and I know its lasting 8-10 yrs.
Dont get me wrong, I love those 8ft long feed 20 people, roast a whole cow grills. Unless your running a business, have a need for a grill that costs the same as a new Kia, you can do better.

I also have a charcoal fired combo grill/smoker. Its the barrel style with the offset smoker box, on wagon wheels, cast grills since thats how it came. Its a very versatile toy, for an afternoon steak adventure you can do no better, and if you have any Portuguese or Italian friends you will need a charcoal grill in your future. Using a chimney style lighter its ready to grill in 20 mins. This one in nice shape will NOT be moving to my new house in February, space concerns. Yours (MP) for a 6pk of Hienekin, delivery available ( thats why I own an F150 you granola eating EV folks).
 
Last edited:
I have a plain old Weber round charcoal bbq.

Been using it for well over 10yrs and it doesn't have any rot, not a spec of rust, and have not had to replace a thing in it.

Also have a newer, larger, barrel style charcoal grill that we use if we need to cook up larger amounts, or we use in conjunction with the roundie.

And nothing quite like manning 2 grills at once to make you feel like a boss!

I also am not a fan of gas, and only use lump hardwood charcoal.

Things just taste better, and I get more satisfaction knowing that I had to lovingly build and tend to the coals.

...plus you get to have a few drinks while you're waiting for the fire to get going! *thumbs up*
 
J_F said:
ever try a charcoal kettle grill?
takes a little longer to get going
but you can really good results on longer cooks
versatile too as you can use them as a smoker

Weber has this nice setup with the kettle in kart
nice counter area for prep, and propane ignition system for easy starting
Click to expand...
My neighbour has it and i have bbq envy. I have the old bbq the previous neighbour left... one burner is cracked...so i use it to finish or just...high concentrated heat if needed.
I also have a tiny weber charcoal bell.

but his is superior. by far
 
We spend a lot of time when we are down at Deal's Gap trying to find the best BBQ. Ok, that's what we spend most of our time doing. Strong enthusiast would be appropriate if you will.

Our previous grill was a Napoleon cast iron lid + grates 3 burner that went strong for 10 years until eventually the frame rotted out. Replaced the burners once under warranty. I'm sad you can hardly find cast iron lids anymore. I miss that thing.

Now we have a two year old Weber Spirit II (2 burner) which is a piece of garbage. They say 10 year parts, but I have yet to believe it will make it more than a season or two more. Starter is broken, steel is ultra cheap, flavouring plates are rusting like a banshee, even with seasoning. Stainless still lid flexes too much, and there is not enough heat power. I would not recommend it.

For smoking we use a Karubecue C-60 (wood smoker) Home - KBQ (made in Texas) and have for the past few years.
Commercial grade 304 stainless. The unit is very well built. Not inexpensive, but good value given the quality of it IMO. The auto-temperature control thermostat works great. The nice part is the meat comes out red, not black, but has full wood flavour. Excellent for pulled pork, ribs, prime rib and bacon. I'm still mastering brisket and have yet to decide if this is the ideal unit for that yet. For chicken you need to half smoke half regular bbq, it needs direct heat, but turns out well.

Ribs:
20190101_170203.jpg
AAA Prime Rib:
20181010_185410.jpg

More ribs:
IMG_20170722_154052.jpg

20190511_181311.jpg
 
Last edited:
If you have 4 rocks and an old oven grate or shelf out of a fridge you have a grill. Its all uphill from there. It all depends on how much work you want to be in for. Thats why we have a NG grill, charcoal, pizza oven, smoker since all take a different effort.

It the prep and quality of what your cooking, a 5K grill will not make a $4 steak taste better. ever
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom