Low & Slow / Fast & Hot: The All-Purpose BBQ Thread

I’m not sure how much enthusiasm there might be for such a thing, but the trajectory of @spontaneous’s recent thread about buying a new grill made me think it might be fun to have an ongoing general-purpose all-things-bbqing thread. So here it is. Let’s use this space to talk about anything to do with your grill, fuel, gadgets, recipes, techniques – whatever you want to discuss about outdoor cooking.

I’ll get the ball rolling.

I’ve been grilling since whenever my dad decided I could be trusted to light the fire. With very little exception, I’ve always been a charcoal guy. For years and years I used your standard Weber kettle grills. A year or two after moving to Maplewood I also bought a low-end offset smoker on sale at Home Depot, just because I thought it would be fun to learn how to tend the fire for low & slow cooks. Using the offset really got me interested in the process, and opened me up to smoking and grilling all sorts of things, rather than only our proteins.

Last winter (’15) the bottom vent adjustment on my latest Weber finally rusted solid, after years of cooking in the rain/sleet/snow, and I decided to bite the bullet and get a kamado. My intention at the time was to keep the offset, but after just a couple cooks on the kamado I realized I’d never use the offset again. Gave it to a neighbor.

In addition to the usual steaks, burgers, and chicken, some of my favorite things to grill or smoke are pulled pork, mac & cheese, buttermilk biscuits, chicken pie, cornbread, and roasted vegetables.

OK, enough from me for now. What’reyougrilling?

Ooh! Sounds good. I have an R2-D2 water smoker. I would love something like that. Chicken wings are great on the smoker.  

eta: baby back ribs are on sale at ShopRite for $1.99/lb. this week. Regular ribs are $3.49/lb. Go figure...

How does the kamado differ from a Weber other than being made of ceramic and weighing a lot more.

tjohn said:

How does the kamado differ from a Weber other than being made of ceramic and weighing a lot more.

There are a lot of subtle differences, but the main things are moisture retention and temperature stability. The two factors you mention -- ceramics and weight -- keep the environment so tightly sealed and the airflow so restricted that the moisture doesn't escape as readily as in the Weber. No need to foil ribs, for example; no need for water pans for low-temp cooks; that sort of thing. And once the temp is dialed in and the ceramics get heat-soaked, the temperature is absolutely rock solid. Easily the hardest part of my transition to the kamado was learning to leave it alone. I'd spent 10 or 12 years tending the fire in the offset, and I simply couldn't let the kamado do its thing. 

One other major difference is fuel consumption. The kamados positively sip charcoal. It was not at all unusual for me to go through an entire bag of lump to smoke a pork butt for 10 hours in the offset. I've burned the kamado for 12 hours on a half bag of lump, and had fuel left over for the next cook. It's pretty amazing.

I have both a Weber Kettle, which I use for grilling and a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker, which I've tricked out a bit to limit air loss and also use a little vent fan and thermostat to regulate temperature. I've smoked in the the Smokey Mountain with water and without, overnight for things like brisket and have also quick smoked ribs in both the Kettle and Smokey Mountain. 

Brick Pig,  

Which brand of kamado did you buy?  the slow cooking sounds interesting.

I went with Kamado Joe. I think you can't really make a bad choice as long as you stick with the major brands. Big Green Egg obviously has the name recognition. Primo is another great company. I went with Kamado Joe because all the accessories you need (cooking grates, heat deflectors, ash tool, etc.) are included. Some of the others are more of an a la carte experience.

If you get the itch to buy, PM or email me and I can give you more details

I use a combo with an offset fire box and love to grill and / or smoke just about anything (meat, veggies, fruit).  

For direct cooking beef, I refuse to use anything but mesquite lump charcoal (which I have to typically order online) because it imparts a great flavor.  As such, I typically can't eat a steak out, since it's never as good as cooked at home.  

Also, this is the best website around... http://amazingribs.com/ 

lanky said:



Also, this is the best website around... http://amazingribs.com/ 

If you boil ribs the terrorists win

lol.

lanky said:

I refuse to use anything but mesquite lump charcoal (which I have to typically order online)

Snob alert.

Amazing that grilling and smoking has become as snob infused as wine.

Gilgul said:

lanky said:

I refuse to use anything but mesquite lump charcoal (which I have to typically order online)

Snob alert.

Amazing that grilling and smoking has become as snob infused as wine.

It's okay to be snobby about food. I am, but I don't actually like the mesquite flavoring. I prefer apple wood or hickory. I'll still eat a steak at a restaurant, especially if someone else is paying...

As noted in the other thread, Gilgud confuses snobbery with enthusiasm.

Now, the barb about ribs vis a vis terrorists is another matter. But as someone who gives regular ol' ribs a head start in the oven before finishing them on my regular ol' Weber kettle over regular ol' Kingsford, I can laugh along with everybody else.

I do not confuse snobbery with enthusiasm. They are very different. Flaunting expensive rigs and talking about how the only way to cook something is with a difficult to obtain charcoal is not "enthusiasm", it is snobbery. 

Does the wood you use impart hints of cat pee?

Lanky said it was the only way he did it. Unless I missed it, neither he nor anybody else here (that third-party rib tickler excepted) told me it was the only way I should do it.

Gilgul said:

Does the wood you use impart hints of cat pee?

See, this is just 'cue resentment. I recommend (but do not wish to impose on you) enthusiasm.

A steak cooked with direct heat is going to be on the grill at most 8-10 minutes (and unless very think will be well done by 10 minutes). Given that speed the substance used as fuel is not going to have time to impart any flavor. Claiming otherwise is just snobbery.

If you want flavor other than beef use a rub (though I prefer just salt and pepper, and never any kind of sauce).

Gilgul said:

If you want flavor other than beef use a rub (though I prefer just salt and pepper, and never any kind of sauce).

I take it back. Here's a poster telling me what to do. But I do applaud the enthusiasm.

You happen to be 100% wrong (which is not surprising since you've obviously never tried the method).  Also, the mesquite flavor in the meat is even stronger the next day after the leftovers have sat in the fridge overnight in a sealed bag.  

I posted as a recommendation to others not as show of snobbery.  I came about preferring using mesquite for beef by accident when living in Texas, where mesquite lump coal was readily available and abundant at stores like Sam's Club, Lowe's and Home Depot.  I used it for grilling and found that it did make a noticeable difference - it works for things like asparagus and swordfish too.  But I wouldn't (and don't) use it for smoking pork.  

Unfortunately, here in the East it is hard to find - just pointing that out in case people want to try using it.

Gilgul said:

A steak cooked with direct heat is going to be on the grill at most 8-10 minutes (and unless very think will be well done by 10 minutes). Given that speed the substance used as fuel is not going to have time to impart any flavor. Claiming otherwise is just snobbery.

If you want flavor other than beef use a rub (though I prefer just salt and pepper, and never any kind of sauce).

And can we get back to smoke and meat rather than trolling?  Which do folks here prefer - Lexington or East Carolina pulled pork?

Gilgul said:

A steak cooked with direct heat is going to be on the grill at most 8-10 minutes (and unless very think will be well done by 10 minutes). Given that speed the substance used as fuel is not going to have time to impart any flavor. Claiming otherwise is just snobbery.

If you want flavor other than beef use a rub (though I prefer just salt and pepper, and never any kind of sauce).

Who said anything about direct heat? Reverse sear is the way to go, baby.

lanky said:

And can we get back to smoke and meat rather than trolling?  Which do folks here prefer - Lexington or East Carolina pulled pork?

I'm happy not to have to make a definitive choice in the matter. As a rule I prefer a vinegar-based sauce, but I reserve the right to partake of a mustard- or even a ketchup-based sauce when I'm of a mood. Sometimes I have two, or even all three, in one meal. (Yep, I'm a wild man that way.)

Gilgul said:

lanky said:

I refuse to use anything but mesquite lump charcoal (which I have to typically order online)

Snob alert.
Amazing that grilling and smoking has become as snob infused as wine.

Amazing that you see imparting different flavors into your food as snobbery. Using different woods is like using different spices. It's cooking, not snobbing. Unless you think spices are snobby.

And if preferring wood to propane is snobbery, call me the Queen of England...

BrickPig said:

Amazing that you see imparting different flavors into your food as snobbery. Using different woods is like using different spices. It's cooking, not snobbing. Unless you think spices are snobby.

lanky said:

And if preferring wood to propane is snobbery, call me the Queen of England...

BrickPig said:

Amazing that you see imparting different flavors into your food as snobbery. Using different woods is like using different spices. It's cooking, not snobbing. Unless you think spices are snobby.

lanky is the Queen of England

I'm glad i found this posting. I've only ever cooked on an old school weber kettle—lump charcoal always, and in all weather. I've always wanted to try my hand at smoking something, and was thinking of getting a smoker. Would love some recos on an inexpensive one to get for a first timer. Thanks!

Sauce is mostly a shonda. Why cover up something if you are such a good cook?

Gilgul said:

Sauce is mostly a shonda. Why cover up something if you are such a good cook?

I think it's becoming pretty clear who the real snob is, here....

Zeus2112 said:

I'm glad i found this posting. I've only ever cooked on an old school weber kettle—lump charcoal always, and in all weather. I've always wanted to try my hand at smoking something, and was thinking of getting a smoker. Would love some recos on an inexpensive one to get for a first timer. Thanks!

That's a pretty broad question. Do you want something that's more-or-less a set-it-and-forget-it kind of cooker, or something really hands-on? 

And perhaps you know this already, but if your kettle is big enough to set up for indirect heat you can do some pretty darned good smoking in it. A friend of mine in PA makes pretty much the best ribs I've ever eaten in a 19" Weber kettle.

That website I posted earlier has great product reviews.  I like my combo because I can go direct like a kettle / regular grill and I can go indirect / smoking via the firebox.  Something like this:

Although I'll admit that I've never tried the indirect method in a kettle.  One of the problems I see with that is constantly having to open the kettle to add coals and the inability to control temperature easily.

Zeus2112 said:

I'm glad i found this posting. I've only ever cooked on an old school weber kettle—lump charcoal always, and in all weather. I've always wanted to try my hand at smoking something, and was thinking of getting a smoker. Would love some recos on an inexpensive one to get for a first timer. Thanks!

GoBigBlue said:

lanky said:



Also, this is the best website around... http://amazingribs.com/ 

If you boil ribs the terrorists win

lol.

Thanks for the laugh!  So true, so true!

Best Regards,

Ron Carter