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BBQ and Outdoor Cooking Thread

Nicegy525 said:
so long but interesting story involving BBQ and in-laws...

My Father-in-Law (my wife's step father) Is a very Kind and patient man. I have watched him, over the 15 years ive known him, routinely and without hesitation or complaint put the needs and wants of his wife and family over his own.

His wife (My mother-in-law) is also a very kind person but definitely wears the pants in the relationship and often takes her order giving too far with this poor saint of a man.

I have made it my mission in life to give this guy a little more support and appreciation in life. I will often ask what he wants to do and if he gives the slightest hint of an interest in anything, I try hard to give him the opportunity to experience or do what he wants vs. what his wife thinks is best. Now I dont do this with intent to drive a wedge in the family, just subtle ways to give him more of a voice.

Anyways, recently, he expressed an interest in learning how to bbq on a ceramic egg/kamado style cooker. When he brought it up with the family, his wife immediately dismissed it and said he doesnt need one of those things. they are very well taken care of and can certainly afford one so this is not a money issue.

I took to the internet to research some ceramic bbq's hoping I might find one I could afford to buy for him. WOW these things are expensive!!! The cheapest one I could find was $400 and did not look like a good option at all. I settled on the Grilla Kong model ($800) and sent it to all the siblings asking if they would be willing to pitch in and buy this for their dad/step-dad. All responded with a no. All of my wife's siblings earn income equal to or above what we earn and no one is struggling financially.

It makes me sad that this man cant enjoy his own hobbies and interests. I still havent given up though. I may save up for a couple months and buy the thing anyways.
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Sorry to hear. Hope you can help him out in some way or another. I've done quite a bit of research on Grilla and have come to know that the Kong is killer! Would be a sweet gift!
 
Simple night for me - beef burgers over lump charcoal. So very tasty!
 
What kind of charcoal do you guys use? Lump charcoal or briquttes? Last time I tried briquettes and can't say that it was good. We made chicken wings and they had some chemical smell. Could it be because of the charcoal we used? And in comparison with lump charchoal briquttes produse more ash
 
I use almost exclusively lump charcoal these days because my two cookers are a Big Green Egg (which recommends lump) and a Napoleon gas grill. I think briquets can work great but I wouldn't ever use brands like 'Match Lite' or others that are impregnated with lighter fluid. I don't even like using lighter fluid. Get yourself a chimney - they work extremely well and there won't be any aftertaste or smell in your foods.
 
Nicegy525 said:
so long but interesting story involving BBQ and in-laws...

My Father-in-Law (my wife's step father) Is a very Kind and patient man. I have watched him, over the 15 years ive known him, routinely and without hesitation or complaint put the needs and wants of his wife and family over his own.

His wife (My mother-in-law) is also a very kind person but definitely wears the pants in the relationship and often takes her order giving too far with this poor saint of a man.

I have made it my mission in life to give this guy a little more support and appreciation in life. I will often ask what he wants to do and if he gives the slightest hint of an interest in anything, I try hard to give him the opportunity to experience or do what he wants vs. what his wife thinks is best. Now I dont do this with intent to drive a wedge in the family, just subtle ways to give him more of a voice.

Anyways, recently, he expressed an interest in learning how to bbq on a ceramic egg/kamado style cooker. When he brought it up with the family, his wife immediately dismissed it and said he doesnt need one of those things. they are very well taken care of and can certainly afford one so this is not a money issue.

I took to the internet to research some ceramic bbq's hoping I might find one I could afford to buy for him. WOW these things are expensive!!! The cheapest one I could find was $400 and did not look like a good option at all. I settled on the Grilla Kong model ($800) and sent it to all the siblings asking if they would be willing to pitch in and buy this for their dad/step-dad. All responded with a no. All of my wife's siblings earn income equal to or above what we earn and no one is struggling financially.

It makes me sad that this man cant enjoy his own hobbies and interests. I still havent given up though. I may save up for a couple months and buy the thing anyways.
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You sound like a great son-in-law. That being said, I don't know man, that sounds like a family dramafest waiting to happen :oops: Have to wonder if the reason no one wants to participate in funding it is because they don't want to be identified as a target of the post-gifting wrath of Mom, lol... You're a braver man than I am!
 
AlexCaro said:
What kind of charcoal do you guys use? Lump charcoal or briquttes? Last time I tried briquettes and can't say that it was good. We made chicken wings and they had some chemical smell. Could it be because of the charcoal we used? And in comparison with lump charchoal briquttes produse more ash
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I use 100% lump now. I tried a couple briquettes in the past and always found they had that chemical taste you mentioned. Everything lit using a chimney starter.
 
I also now stick to a lump one. At first we thought this chemical taste was because of bad chicken but it repeated two or three times. Then we tried different marinades, still nothing worked. And I accidentally found an answer in some random article about the pros and cons of cooking with lump charcoal vs charcoal briquettes. (Here: https://www.smokedbbqsource.com/lump-charcoal-vs-briquettes/)

Now we are experimenting with different kinds of lump charcoal :D Looking for something good and cheap.
We already tried Kamado Joe (the best one for now but a little expensive), Weber, and Rockwood. I also heard Jealous Devil is good. I found this article with a review on high-quality lump charcoals even with its pros and cons but I usually don't trust this kind of articles. So I think I will try it by myself. Have you tried any of them or maybe you know some good and not very expensive lump charcoals to give them a try?
 
Boone said:
I use almost exclusively lump charcoal these days because my two cookers are a Big Green Egg (which recommends lump) and a Napoleon gas grill. I think briquets can work great but I wouldn't ever use brands like 'Match Lite' or others that are impregnated with lighter fluid. I don't even like using lighter fluid. Get yourself a chimney - they work extremely well and there won't be any aftertaste or smell in your foods.
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Lighter fluid should be illegal.
 
why?
 
For those who like beef ribs, Porter Road has some Dino Ribs available, which are generally hard to find. I snagged some for a labor day smoke.
 
buckeyewalt said:
For those who like beef ribs, Porter Road has some Dino Ribs available, which are generally hard to find. I snagged some for a labor day smoke.
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Fantastic online butcher shop
 
AlexCaro said:
What kind of charcoal do you guys use? Lump charcoal or briquttes? Last time I tried briquettes and can't say that it was good. We made chicken wings and they had some chemical smell. Could it be because of the charcoal we used? And in comparison with lump charchoal briquttes produse more ash
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I use both... like others have said, charcoal chimney, never lighter fluid. I always like getting the coals white before meat goes on. Can always add more. Also important to let the grill get good and hot after dumping the coals in. There can be residual stuff in the grill and always a chance that something has gotten rancid. That can definitely add some funky flavors to food...

The lump stuff is great too and has been so much better priced now that its so common.
 
Sometimes, when I’m not sure what to make for dinner, I like to wander the store and see what speaks to me. These Ribeyes jumped into my cart and followed me home. #demgrillmarks


4092501C-F3CB-441C-9F58-92DFB3D5844A.jpeg
 
88 cents a pound at the grocer? Alright, might as well cook 18 pounds of pork butt and freeze some. I injected and rubbed the pork and let sit overnight. 2 hours smoking at 225 so far; I will probably smoke for 5 hours before wrapping at 165 degrees internal temp. I will add some spices and juice to a pan and cover the pork and I bump the temp up to 275 and cook until 203 internal temp. Then I let rest an hour or so before shredding. After shredding, I mix some of the “liquid gold” with a little bbq sauce and put on the shredded meat and then back on smoker at 165 to give a little more smoke.

One tip: I drain the juice when I bring inside to rest into a bowl and then put that in freezer. That way I can skim the fat before I incorporate it with bbq sauce and put back on meat. Some people will put that liquid in ice trays and then you can grab a cube and add it in a pan when cooking other dishes down the road.
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oumagic said:
88 cents a pound at the grocer? Alright, might as well cook 18 pounds of pork butt and freeze some. I injected and rubbed the pork and let sit overnight. 2 hours smoking at 225 so far; I will probably smoke for 5 hours before wrapping at 165 degrees internal temp. I will add some spices and juice to a pan and cover the pork and I bump the temp up to 275 and cook until 203 internal temp. Then I let rest an hour or so before shredding. After shredding, I mix some of the “liquid gold” with a little bbq sauce and put on the shredded meat and then back on smoker at 165 to give a little more smoke.

One tip: I drain the juice when I bring inside to rest into a bowl and then put that in freezer. That way I can skim the fat before I incorporate it with bbq sauce and put back on meat. Some people will put that liquid in ice trays and then you can grab a cube and add it in a pan when cooking other dishes down the road.
View attachment 8959835
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Looking good.
 
I think i'm going to buy a baby Webber since there's only two of us. I miss the Charcoal taste on my steaks. I know it's a little overboard but I'll have propane, smoker and charcoal to choose from. Anybody else have all three? :oops:
 
Yep. I have to have all three. Usually want charcoal on a Weber but not always the most convenient.
 
Platoon said:
I think i'm going to buy a baby Webber since there's only two of us. I miss the Charcoal taste on my steaks. I know it's a little overboard but I'll have propane, smoker and charcoal to choose from. Anybody else have all three? :oops:
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No on the charcoal but, I do have a wood fireplace outside at camp with a good grate.
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The pork butts took 6 hours at 225 to get to that 160-170 internal temp. Wrapped and been cooking about 1 1/2 hours and roughly 180 degrees now. Wife said I earned a drink, but since it is before 5, I put the whiskey in my coffee cupimage.jpg
 
Pulled pork turned out great. This is the small one6259FDD9-4301-4BA8-A0C1-CA4821164867.jpeg
About ready to shred the second one
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Platoon said:
I think i'm going to buy a baby Webber since there's only two of us. I miss the Charcoal taste on my steaks. I know it's a little overboard but I'll have propane, smoker and charcoal to choose from. Anybody else have all three? :oops:
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I have a propane, pellet and standard Weber kettle. Use all 3 regularly.
 
Bought a Blackstone today, just what I neeed, another grill haha
 
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