Thread: BBQ Advice

I threw away my propane grill last weekend. I am going to buy a new Charcoal Grill next week and am looking for some advice on what brand I should get... and any good BBQ websites where I can learn the ropes of cooking with charcoal.

Thnaks

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2...Performer.aspx

this is the grill that I want. propane to start the charcoal, bin to hold your charcoal, table to prep the food. Weber makes a great grill. In fact they have their own restaurants where everything on the menu is cooked on a weber charcoal grill.

If you want some great receipes, I have Bobby Flay's cookbooks "Boy meets Grill" and "Boy gets grill" They are great and have everything you need to make some unbelievable dishes on the grill. Also, look at foodnetwork.com for some more great dishes.

I had to get rid of my grill due to local ordinances and now have the Weber Q. I just don't think you can go wrong with a weber.

A Weber will be my next grill. I don't own one now due to apartment restrictions. No charcoal allowed. But I prefer cooking on charcoal. I have the patience to wait until the coals are ready.

RT

Agreed. I have had a plain jane Weber kettle drum grill for years, and keep changing the old one for a new one (same or similiar model) every few years. Nothing beats it. I have a Kingsford cookbook and a book that is just about grilling on charcoal only. Great stuff, just have the patience to work with it, and you'll be fine.

While there are better and more expensive charcoal grills and smokers, I am very happy with my New Braunfels Silver diamond. This is a very versatile cooker which can be used as a smoker, indirect grill or direct grill. I use the firebox for smoking ribs, pork shoulders, and briskets. For bone in chicken, I put the coals in the middle of the main section and put the chicken around the coals. This provides higher heat and quicker cooking then smoking but still not directly over the coals so the chicken doesn't burn to crisp on outside while still raw in the middle. For steaks, I put the coals in the firebox and grill directly over the coals for highest heat, quick cooking.

I bought my grill at HD for $99 back in 2000. A few years back, charbroil bought the NB line of grills. They are still sold at HD. Same grill just new manufacturer and higher price.

On another note, the charcoal used is as important as the grill. Use a "lump" charcoal that does not contain black coal and fillers. These fillers can import a bitter taste to the meat when smoking or cooking over indirect heat.

There's 'Barbequing' and there's 'Grilling'.

Cooking directly over the coals is 'Grilling'. Barbeque requires 'low' and 'slow' - low temperature for a long period of time. I cook chicken for 4-5 hours and brisket for 8-9 hours. The meat is tender and juicy, not dry at all like most restaurant bbq. I use a New Braunsfels Luckenbach.

Steaks, burgers, hotdogs, etc are easily grilled, but heavier meats require the 'low' and 'slow'.

The New Braunsfels smoker mentioned in a previous post is your best choice. By building the coal fire in the fire box on the side, the meat never comes near the hot fire. The meat cooks by the indirect heat that drifts up from the fire box and by the smoke from the coals.

If you do want to grill, there is a grate in the fire box for quick cooking directly over the coals.

Tom

Texan and barbebue afficianado!

Charcoal is essential, and the Weber is a good all around choice. More importantly get a charcoal starter. Its a steel tube you put two pieces of newspaper in and light the charcoal up on the grill without using any lighter fluid (a clear indication of an amatuer). Have fun and get some mesquite wood chips, water them down and throw them on the charcoal too.

If you think about using gas, kill yourself first and save your friends from the lousy tasting food.

Get a good book too, its worth the money.

Good info above too. I need to follow Tom's advice soonest. I need both grills.

I got given a welded steel x-frame (an x at each end) a few years ago, so I went and "found" a 55gal steel drum from somewhere local and cut it in half with a disc cutter. I used some SS fixings to suspend a grill on the top and it's served me very well for 3 or 4 years so far.

Try here for some good 'Q tips. Another good source. I personally run my pit about 500 degrees if I'm doing yardbirds, less than half that for regular 'Q. I only use charcoal to start the main fire (Klose offset w/ceramic fiber insulation).


Wayne

I just bought a classic Weber kettle-grill. Once mosquito season is sort of over, I'll be firing it up!

You may also want to consider a cast-iron hibatchi. My dad and cousin both have one, and really like it. Of course, cooking up massive piles of meat may be hard, but for a small group ...
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