Need some grill-buyin' advice and wisdom

[tddeangelo]

So, I have a low-cost gas grill. It does what I want....in other words, it's easy to get started, makes the grills hot and cooks stuff. Over the three years I've had my current one, I've learned its hot/cool spots, and actually make use of them for direct/indirect cooking purposes.

I also have an MES30 for smoking purposes.

My wonderful wife went and bought me a Char-Broil Gas2Coal 3-burner for Father's Day. She gave it to me and said that she wanted me to look at other grills and we'd return this one (it's unassembled and sealed in the box yet) if I wanted something else more. She'd heard me mention I wanted a charcoal option a few times. She's definitely a keeper.

In looking at how the Gas2Coal works, I'm not completely sold on the concept. I guess it makes sense and would get some smoke into the mix for your cooking, but seems really limiting in what it can do (if you're unfamiliar, it's essentially a 3-burner gas grill with a sheet-metal tray that's tented/vented to use with charcoal...you have to pull out the cold grills, fill/place the charcoal tray, replace grills, light burners, wait 10-15 min, then shut off gas and use the lit coals). There's no damper since it's a gas grill, and no way to adjust the distance from the coals to the grills. Nor can you add coal if needed, as you'd be dealing with hot grills with food on them.

Neat idea, but I don't think it's what I want. I think I'd be better off recouping some of the money spent on the Gas2Coal and getting a comparable gas grill and calling it a day (for 3 years till it rusts and then get another... I know....she isn't ready to spend real money on a grill at this point...change comes slowly for her... lol)

Of course, the fact that I'm even on this forum should tell you I'm not one to readily leave well enough alone, nor accept things as they are. ;)

While I have the MES, it's space-limiting for bigger runs of things like snack sticks and the like. A buddy of mine says he has been really pleased smoking sausage, sticks, etc on his Traeger pellet grill/smoker, and that short of searing, it does all he wants from a grill as far as cooking goes, except he does pan-sear steaks before they go to the Traeger.

It looks like a smaller, but adequate for my needs, Traeger will run about a c-note more than she spent on the Gas2Coal.

Or...I can get equivalent quality in a 3-burner gas grill and a better charcoal (separate) grill and come out maybe $20-$50 more than the Gas2Coal, although she's not convinced on the idea of having two grills sitting around, lol.

So....my interest in smoking, plus favorable reports, are nudging me toward a Traeger. I'm near a cabela's and they have attractive pricing on a Traeger and a Pit Boss. The Pit Boss has some really bad reviews on Amazon (around 25-30% are under 3 stars).

Any words of wisdom/insight on this whole deal? Is a pellet rig going to be convenient enough that when the family wants some hotdogs grilled on a thurs after work, I'm not at it for an hour+ to cook 6 hotdogs? (So...does it come close enough for most folks to the convenience of gas?) Will it help me out with my lack of room in my little MES (can run more stuff, or split batches between the two...which brings a host of other questions, for sure)?

Sorry for the long post...but appreciate any thoughts/feedback.

:)

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Well since you have an MES 30 for smoking then unless you really want more room for that type of cooking then it seems you are covered there. I don't own or use a pellet grill so I will leave that for others to comment on but if you are a fan of the flavor that charcoal gives and you don't want to mess with gas at all, then I might suggest that you exchange that combo grill for the best charcoal grill around and Weber Kettle. You can do your hot dogs or a brisket on that thing. There are tons of accessories that can expand it's usefulness. You can get these anywhere from the basic version at 22" for about $100 up to the premium cart unit for about $400. Or you can buy a larger size like the 26" if you need to cook a lot of food. This is just my suggestion if you are looking to move away from gas to a charcoal solution. I'm not sure how the pellet grills work for doing something like a burger or hot dog but my question for you is do you need that much tech to make a burger or hot dog? If you want it for the smoking aspect then I would consider a pellet grill or larger MES but it sounds like you are looking at the grilling aspect more than the smoking one. Just my two cents. I'm sure that you will see many other comments.

George

 

[phatbac]

I'm with George, the Weber Kettle is an awesome grill. you can get some grill baskets for 2 zone cooking, you can get a vortex for super hot and fast. you can get a rotisserie attachment or a pizza attachment and the base unit is about $90 and up. You can get into a good grill that will last 20 years for little money and trick it out for as much as you want to put into it. I love my Weber Kettle much better flavor than a gas grill and i have owned several. and you can smoke on it too if you want!

Happy Grilling,
phatbac (Aaron)

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

I have 2 smokers(a MES40 and a SV24) and a Broil King Gas grill.

I'm going to have to say that I would spend a few extra bucks and get a nice gas grill I.E. a Weber or a Broil King.

It will last a lot longer than 3 years before rusting out. I've had mine for 4 years I've never replaced one part on it and there is not one speck of rust on it. It sits outside under a grill cover when not in use. It gets used several times a week and I use the side burner to cook bacon etc...in the cast iron.

You can come home from work fire it up and be cooking hot dogs in 5 minutes. You don't have to mess with lighting charcoal and waiting for it to heat up.

I don't own a pellet grill so I cant really attest to that but from what I hear you don't get the same smokiness with them as you do other smokers and there are a lot of parts that can go bad easily.

Just my $.02 but figured I would throw it in there.

Dilly Dilly

 

[SonnyE]

I would say she done good! She tried to get you a combo grill. She did damn good.
But it sure sounds like a gift card might have been a better option for you. It's OK, you two work it out.

I'm a MES 30 (HIGHLY modified) smoker dude, with a Char-Broil Gas grill running on natural gas.
Something I find attractive to me is the combo units that have a gas side, and a charcoal or wood side. To me, looks like the most versatile combo-mambo.
May not be, but for a quickie during the week, bam with the gas.
For a lazy weekend with a cooler iced down with brewskies, use the coals or wood.

I can say I'm not exactly a Traeger fan myself. I have a BIL who has one and I wasn't overly impressed with his tri-tip he fixed us. And he is a BBQ Master usually.
I considered a Pellet Grill before buying my MES 30, but for what I do the MES 30 covered the range I wanted.
I like the convenience of my gas grill.

 

[tddeangelo]

Well, I'm doing what I often try to do....pack in as much capability (options) as I can. Not always the best idea...which is why I reality check myself often!

I use gas now because, well, gas only takes a few minutes to light, heat, etc. Charcoal takes a bit longer, which is where my concern for moving away from gas originates. I have no qualms about ditching gas other than the convenience when I am short on time.

Honestly, I think my ideal is something like Oklahoma Joe's Longhorn....smoker offset firebox on a charcoal grill, and a gas grill all sorta strung together. Lets me have gas for when I don't have a ton of time, but charcoal when I do, and smoking capabilities for things that don't fit in the MES.

I liked the concept of "set and forget" temp that the pellet rigs promise, yet reading user reviews, it seems most units don't really deliver on that, and need to be monitored with varying degrees of frequency.

I'd also thought, as mentioned, about separating the two fuels into two separate grills. One gas, one charcoal.

 

[tddeangelo]

I would say she done good! She tried to get you a combo grill. She did damn good.
But it sure sounds like a gift card might have been a better option for you. It's OK, you two work it out.

I'm a MES 30 (HIGHLY modified) smoker dude, with a Char-Broil Gas grill running on natural gas.
Something I find attractive to me is the combo units that have a gas side, and a charcoal or wood side. To me, looks like the most versatile combo-mambo.
May not be, but for a quickie during the week, bam with the gas.
For a lazy weekend with a cooler iced down with brewskies, use the coals or wood.

I can say I'm not exactly a Traeger fan myself. I have a BIL who has one and I wasn't overly impressed with his tri-tip he fixed us. And he is a BBQ Master usually.
I considered a Pellet Grill before buying my MES 30, but for what I do the MES 30 covered the range I wanted.
I like the convenience of my gas grill.

She and I went shopping today.


Returned the Gas2Coal and walked out with an Oklahoma Joe Longhorn that has side offset firebox, charcoal, and gas.

Irony is my oldest daughter told my wife to get that one from the start. Lol

We shall see soon how I like it. :)

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Congrats on the new grill. Remember to season the inside and outside of the smoker side. Rubbing oil over the entire external surface of the firebox top and bottom plus the cooking chamber will be your best bet to avoid having the paint peel before you light it for the first time. If the firebox is anything like the Highland, you will want to turn the firebox charcoal grate the other direction to raise your charcoal up and have better airflow around your fuel.

George

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Good luck with the new rig and congrats!

Post some pics of the maiden voyage!

I’m thinking brisket and cold beer but hey...just sayin haha

 

[tddeangelo]

Thanks!

I would assume the firebox is similar to the Highland based on the little I saw on the pics online. Supposedly they have the Highland at the local Cabela's...if I'm up there I'll take a peek and see.

We have a retirement shindig for my father-in-law on Saturday, so I'm hoping to get the thing together and seasoned by then, but we'll see how that goes. If so, I'll probably do something boring like hot dogs for the kiddos on it to start, lol.

I do have to get a pork butt prepped. We heard today more people are coming than we anticipated and our catering is sort of "set in stone" now. I figured a pork butt added to the food options can go a long way. I've done them before in the MES, and now's not the time to learn on the new rig, but soon....

 

[tddeangelo]

Congrats on the new grill. Remember to season the inside and outside of the smoker side. Rubbing oil over the entire external surface of the firebox top and bottom plus the cooking chamber will be your best bet to avoid having the paint peel before you light it for the first time. If the firebox is anything like the Highland, you will want to turn the firebox charcoal grate the other direction to raise your charcoal up and have better airflow around your fuel.

George

For seasoning....not sure if it matters...I've read of some using plain old Pam spray. OK Joe's site says to use a light coat of vegetable oil, Pam, or peanut oil on just the horizontal cook chamber internally and light a wood chunk fire in the firebox for "a few hours."

I'm guessing, though, it doesn't hurt to do the offset plus the cook chamber, in and out....? Give it all a light oil coating, light some wood in the firebox, and let it burn for a bit? Anything more to it than that?

Lots to learn here, which is kinda exciting. I've gotten some good results from my MES (I've been making PA Dutch sweet bologna that people ask for constantly), but this is a whole new thing to learn! :)

 

[SonnyE]

Have fun with the big new combo!

My Son-In-Law showed me a really cool way to keep his new Weber clean after I had thoroughly cleaned it after Fathers Day feasting.
I got a Pork Loin roast out for dinner and he stuffed it with fresh mashed garlic, Rosemary, Tyme in knife holes. Then he browned the meat in a medium CI dutch oven. Then we put the dutch oven on the Weber at 400 for about 1/2 hour, and reduced to ~ 250 til done.
A bit dry, but the Daughter and I liked it fine.
Very tasty, and the Weber was still clean as a whistle. ;)

I suggested gravy to combat the dryness of the pork loin meat. Yummie!
Pork, the other white meat! :D

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

For seasoning....not sure if it matters...I've read of some using plain old Pam spray. OK Joe's site says to use a light coat of vegetable oil, Pam, or peanut oil on just the horizontal cook chamber internally and light a wood chunk fire in the firebox for "a few hours."

I'm guessing, though, it doesn't hurt to do the offset plus the cook chamber, in and out....? Give it all a light oil coating, light some wood in the firebox, and let it burn for a bit? Anything more to it than that?

Lots to learn here, which is kinda exciting. I've gotten some good results from my MES (I've been making PA Dutch sweet bologna that people ask for constantly), but this is a whole new thing to learn! :)

Yes PAM or any other oil in a spray can will be perfect. I tried brushing the oil on for my Highland and that was a mistake. I didn't get good coverage. What I suggest is you get a couple of large cans and spray the surface on the interior lightly with it and then spray the exterior of the cooking chamber and the firebox liberally. Then rub the oil in with a paper towel on the outside. Do the oil application just before you light it for the first time. Spray the inside of the firebox as well but just lightly. If you have some charcoal use about a chimney full and have it fully lit and ashed over before you add it to the firebox. Leave the firebox vent open about halfway and the smokestack wide open. Then watch the heat for about 20 or 30 minutes. It should hit whatever peak that it is going to reach by then. For the seasoning you really don't want it to run super hot. After the 20 or 30 minutes if the temp is over 300 then close the vent about half of whatever amount it is open and check again in about 20 minutes. If you can get it down to about 250 then just try to hold it there for a couple of hours. You can add some wood chunks of whatever type you like after the first 30 minutes or burn time and then just let the smoke coat the chamber for the next hour and a half or more. After about 2 hours of burn time you should be good to go. You can of course burn longer if you like. Just don't move the vents too much so that you can see how your smoker works without alterations. It will give you a clue as to how much you might need to adjust it when there is actually some food inside. I would let it cool and clean out the ashes from the seasoning before you actually cook anything in the smoker but that is your decision. Enjoy your new pit. I am certain you will be having a ton of fun in no time at all. Have a great day.

George

 

[tddeangelo]

Was able to get it seasoned....did the charcoal side and lit the fire in the charcoal grill side, not the firebox...d'oh! I'll run it again on the firebox, but I was able to get the charcoal grill to about 300 and hold it for 2 hours pretty solidly.

So I get more practice. That's not a bad thing.

Did a cook with just simple burgers and hot dogs on the charcoal side. Used the gas to sear the burgers, then moved them to the charcoal side to finish. Dogs were on the charcoal side from the start. Worked great....love it.

Planning a smoke for it, probably some sweet bologna. I figured I should do something I've successfully done in my MES so that I'm not totally learning the recipe/process plus the smoker. This way I can focus more on the smoker than learning the process of the thing I'm making, since I've done this one a few times.

I'll update with results.

 

[Jeff Wright]

Sounds like a fun ride, learning new things. Kid in a candy factory! Enjoy.