In reply to mtn :
Bigger burner. I just bought a 200k BTU burner for my Turkey fryer for like $100 on Amazon. Blows the ones it came with away.
Although what are you trying to fry?
When making garlic fish my mom just takes the electric skillet outside and uses it in the winter.that would be good for small stuff. But when I think outdoor frying I think Turkey fryer, and definitely the biggest baddest burner you can find.
RevRico said:In reply to mtn :
Bigger burner. I just bought a 200k BTU burner for my Turkey fryer for like $100 on Amazon. Blows the ones it came with away.
Although what are you trying to fry?
When making garlic fish my mom just takes the electric skillet outside and uses it in the winter.that would be good for small stuff. But when I think outdoor frying I think Turkey fryer, and definitely the biggest baddest burner you can find.
Not turkey. Fish, fries, beignets, hush puppies, maybe some chicken...
I think the last time I tried, I had too much oil, and it was about 15* and windy out. Should have bagged it for another day. Just trying to keep some of the grease out of the kitchen.
tuna55 said:Also I am still rocking my uncovered Weber which Tunawife bought fifteen years ago, and have replaced exactly zero things. Last week TunaKid 1 used it for a blacksmithing project which involved wheeling it around the house, and I had to drill a hole for a cotter pin to keep the wheel on. That's the extent of my repairs in my ownership.
Weber's are not what they used to be. My parents got one as a kid, I used it in college, and my brother has it now- it's got to be close to 50. So when I bought my home, I had to get one. It rusted enough to be thrown away. It didn't make it to 20 years before having enough stuff broken to not be able to use.
On the other hand, my Weber gas grill is still going strong after over 20 years. Original ignitor. Only think I have replaced have been the cast iron grills, which were cheap to replace. I fear the plastic wheels may go, but not so far.
If people want to go to bat for charcoal, go for it. But lets not make up stuff about gas just because (if you are worried about running out of gas, have a second cylinder ready). Most here appreciate the taste of charcoal, but the ones who use gas just don't have the time for charcoal.
In reply to mtn :
So nothing you need deep oil for.
What I would do is use cast iron in a grill. That comes with fire risk though if you overdo the oil or have a lot of splashing. Throw one of those cheap grill mats down or a foil bed to keep the oil from hitting the flames and you should be safer.
In reply to tuna55 :
Have a snickers Tuna. You're trolling. Maybe you don't mind using charcoal, but it's NOT just as easy. I've done both for years. Except I have natural gas so I don't even have to run to the store to refill a gas bottle.
In reply to spitfirebill :
My grandparents had a natural gas grill on their patio back in The Day. I always thought that was pretty awesome. Is there some reason that isn't more popular now? I've not used propane very much - and I know that the right answer is to spend another $70 or whatever to just get a stand-by cylinder - but, the one time I ran out of gas it was right after I put a bunch of food on the griddle for a big party....
wae said:In reply to spitfirebill :
My grandparents had a natural gas grill on their patio back in The Day.
Guy at work noticed his dog walking way around his natural gas grill one day and realized he left the gas on for a week.
This is better than an oil thread....
Datsun310Guy said:wae said:In reply to spitfirebill :
My grandparents had a natural gas grill on their patio back in The Day.
Guy at work noticed his dog walking way around his natural gas grill one day and realized he left the gas on for a week.
Oh damn. I bet that was cheap....
In reply to dculberson :
I'd have to agree.
We cook on the grill 4-5 days a week in New England, rain, snow, or shine. I can turn the valves, push the button, and be back inside and out of bad weather while it warms up. I doubt charcoal can be done as quickly, especially in all kinds of weather.
I have a couple spare tanks, so one spare is always full, so no worries about running out.
spitfirebill said:In reply to tuna55 :
Have a snickers Tuna. You're trolling. Maybe you don't mind using charcoal, but it's NOT just as easy. I've done both for years. Except I have natural gas so I don't even have to run to the store to refill a gas bottle.
I promise I am not. I've has and used both. If you don't like my thoughts, that's fine. I can certainly just stop responding here.
I have no idea what the snickers thing means.
RevRico said:And running out of propane during a cook is a real pain. I KNOW my chimney will give me 4 hours on lump, 6 on kingsford. Without throwing the tank on an actual scale, I don't know if I have an hour for chicken or a day for roasting something in the tank, because even though they make gauges for them, those don't work either.
So you never run out of charcoal? Never had to make a run to the store because you didn't have enough?
Sorry, but it's the same exact thing. You will run out of either at the worst time.
It's really hard to screw up fire, it's about as dumbed down as it can get.
I bought a sub $20 charcoal grill over a decade ago and it's working fine.
I also live in the woods, my wife brings home tons of newspaper, have propane appliances and live on wood heat. I'm not running out of any of the things needed for either system.
Propane is just basically a stove outside while charcoal is a BBQ IMO. Propane doesn't really add anything to the taste of food but a real fire absolutely does.
Really this argument is a lot like auto vs manual. Both get the job done but one adds more to the experience and has more upsides.
Don't get me wrong, I know people who are somehow scared of burning wood/charcoal and feel propane is safer. My father in law is absolutely terrified of using wood heat and charcoal for one. Propane is a good alternative there.
I can't really say I really care about it but can't see how propane would ever be considered better but it does the job.
In reply to tuna55 :
According to the Snicker's people you always feel better after eating a Snicker's bar.
In reply to alfadriver :
Nope. If I notice I'm getting low I grab a couple bags when I'm grocery shopping. Kingsford blue is more readily available than just about anything. If I run out run out, I'll throw some logs on instead. Which is way cheaper and easier than $40 for a 3/4 full tank at the blue rhino exchange, or $15 and trying to get to a fill station before they close if they even have anyone on hand that knows how to fill, or fighting about a date code that's in the wrong place or the wrong style of valve even though I bought the tank from those same people I'm paying to fill it.
I've run out of propane far far more often than charcoal, but that's just me. My Turkey fryer uses a lot of it. I really only use the propane grill for vegetables while I cook on the other ones.
I find myself using the pellet grill more than anything. Every year I head down to rural king when they're having their sale and grab 20 bags for $5 each. I get about 10 hours on average from the hopper, so about 13 hours per bag. That gets me through the year with a couple bags left over.
Although I don't agree with the people who smoke exclusively with charcoal. That's just low grilling. Use charcoal to get the fire started, then switch to wood for the cook.
Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:Don't get me wrong, I know people who are somehow scared of burning wood/charcoal and feel propane is safer. My father in law is absolutely terrified of using wood heat and charcoal for one. Propane is a good alternative there.
Huh?
If you forget about wood or charcoal, it just goes out eventually.
ShawnG said:Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:Don't get me wrong, I know people who are somehow scared of burning wood/charcoal and feel propane is safer. My father in law is absolutely terrified of using wood heat and charcoal for one. Propane is a good alternative there.
Huh?
If you forget about wood or charcoal, it just goes out eventually.
Yeah or water.
He literally would use an infared thermometer on his wood stove and freak out if it hit over 300 degrees.
He complained it didn't keep him warm and after a month of using it he had an inch of cresosite in his pipes too
Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:Propane is just basically a stove outside while charcoal is a BBQ IMO. Propane doesn't really add anything to the taste of food but a real fire absolutely does.
Arguing semantics here (which really, all of this conversation is), but other than electric, how are any of these grills being discussed not a real fire?
Whether it is wood, propane, natural gas, charcoal, or anything else, if there is a flame, there is fire... Not sure how it could be considered fake. You seem to be looking for smoke. Hank Hill would say you want to taste the heat, not the meat.
mtn said:Antihero (Forum Supporter) said:Propane is just basically a stove outside while charcoal is a BBQ IMO. Propane doesn't really add anything to the taste of food but a real fire absolutely does.
Arguing semantics here (which really, all of this conversation is), but other than electric, how are any of these grills being discussed not a real fire?
Whether it is wood, propane, natural gas, charcoal, or anything else, if there is a flame, there is fire... Not sure how it could be considered fake. You seem to be looking for smoke. Hank Hill would say you want to taste the heat, not the meat.
That's fair and a good point.
I guess the best way I could describe "real" fire would be that it is consuming something that can add a beneficial flavor to the food being cooked by it.
I do like the smoke flavor, i love Islay scotch too
In reply to RevRico :
6 of one, half dozen of another. In both cases, it's a finite thing you need to keep feeding, so pretending that one is worse than the other is not realistic in this case.
"Taste the meat, not the heat!"
Datsun310Guy said:wae said:In reply to spitfirebill :
My grandparents had a natural gas grill on their patio back in The Day.
Guy at work noticed his dog walking way around his natural gas grill one day and realized he left the gas on for a week.
Guilty as well.
spitfirebill said:Datsun310Guy said:wae said:In reply to spitfirebill :
My grandparents had a natural gas grill on their patio back in The Day.
Guy at work noticed his dog walking way around his natural gas grill one day and realized he left the gas on for a week.
Guilty as well.
Out of curiosity, how many valves do you have on it? Is it just the grill valves, or do you turn it off at the house as well?
I'm just surprised how many of you have multiple grills.
We have a charcoal Webber, but we don't end up using it often because of how long it takes hardwood, lump charcoal to get going in the chimney. I'd like to get a propane grill, but I'm a cheap ass that is waiting to spend money on something we don't need.
As for the natural gas for a grill, unless the house was explicitly built with the outlet for it, it can be VERY expensive to add after the fact. I asked the plumber the last time he was here, he estimated it north of $1000 to tap into the gas line and run an auxiliary new one to our patio.
In reply to mtn :
My grill is plugged into a branch line that stays on. I guess I could turn it off, but we use the grill a lot, even through winter. My grill has 3 burners and a sear station, so 4 valves in the grill. I turn on as many burners as I need and punch the igniter. Poof.
I actually prefer charcoal, but I'm one of those that feels it's a pain. I can't keep charcoal burning long to enough to bbq chicken and in some cases a lot of hamburgers. I hate Kingsford, but never tried to chunk wood. I used to use Embers, but can't find it any more.
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