Hi all, I discussed grills and bbq tools with a friend the other day, and thought of what I should recommend in terms of tools/accessories. The obvious things is a good thermometer, of course. I have both the Thermapen and a Maverick, and love them.
Then I came to think of all the stuff I have bought, but never use or have thrown out. Obvious things for me are:
The huge grill tongs that are for sale around here. Large, long and completely useless. Looks like they could pick up briskets by the pair, but folds/bends when you grab a tiny sirloin.
Cast iron grill grates. I liked grill marks a some years ago, but thanks to this site I know better.
How about you? Can we assemble a "crap list" of sorts?
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
Last year I got a grill mat, it rolls up, looks like it's made of some sort of teflon-y stuff. I got it on a whim, it was under $10. I read the instructions, then looked it up on the internet, then threw it away.
This may be considered heresy on this site, but my worst waste-of-money purchase was a Smokenator. Way too much babysitting. For less than half the price, I got a Vortex (well, I've bought 3 actually; I just gave one to a neighbor) from Thunderdome BBQ. Much more flexible (not just for low-and-slow). No babysitting. I can set one up with a charcoal snake and get a steady 225°-250°F for 6-8 hours. Can't do that with a Smokenator.
For what it's worth, for those of you with differing opinions...
I've got a slightly used Smokenator that I am VERY willing to part with. Any offers?
Great post. I really enjoy my smokenator and have made tons of great food on it. However, your criticism is correct. It's good to have some good and bad feedback on these things for the members here to read before dropping cash.
I check mine every 45-50 minutes, mainly to add water but I just top off unlit charcoal while I'm in there. It isn't terrible if you're making ribs or birds and have nothing to do but hang around the house. When I did a brisket on the smokenator it was a midnight to 5pm affair. Every 45-50 minutes checking got pretty old pretty quick.
I use mine a lot for reverse searing. It's almost foolproof to stay in the 225 range as opposed to dumping charcoal in the kettle. It keeps the charcoal stacked up nice so you're cooking indirectly and not inadvertently cooking over the coals with a full grill.
It's worth the money in my opinion but if I just bought it for briskets & butts I'd hate it.
You're right. The smokenator does a fine job, but requires almost constant attention. I have kept mine, but got a pit barrel smoker to do my serious cooking.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
Ozric, thank you. I never heard of that item before. The Vortex looks like a great choice for increasing the flexibility of my Big Green Egg. I'm going to check what the Eggheads say, if it's good I'll pull the trigger.
Hmm, I have a green egg and I don't really see the need for a Vortex in it, as it is built for indirect grilling to begin with, and is very fuel efficient. Care to elaborate?
A charbroil cheap offset smoker - complete and utter crap. That said, if it was marketed as a cheap grill - no problem. If you're cooking 407 burgers at once, it can do it. However, for smoking - a disaster. I actually went back a year ago and considered 'fixing' it with gaskets, baffles, etc. Then came to my senses and pitched the thing.
Lesson learned - all BBQ $$ now go on very researched items!
Off-set- Mini Brinkman from Home Depot... By the time I do all the "up grades" needed to smoke with it, without baby sitting, I could've bought a Barrel, at least... I had not yet found this site obviously... :-) Lesson learned - Use this site to research and than go to the forum!
Update! Since I had not owned my Mini Brinkman more than 30 days, Home Depot allowed me to returned it and refunded me full price. I learned my lesson and just invested in a Pit Barrel. I am definitely happy with Depot.
I just saw in the paper this morning the Home Depot offers a 10% discount to vets...ALL THE TIME! Wish I'd known about that before. I spend a LOT of money at HD (no Lowe's and no Costco (yet) here in Flagstaff; just Sam's Club and HD).
That's correct, Ozric. Home Depot does offer a 10% discount to vets. You need to have a photo ID veteran's card or Active Military ID and you have to tell the cashier at the time. Also, Depot gives the discount at on Veteran's day as well.
I don't think I have anything I don't use. Just never got around to serious smoking until recently and I found this site first, lucky me. However, I almost brought a pair of those 5 finger silicone gloves but read what Meathead said about them. Too bad they don't work as well.
I also bought a pair of "bear claw" type gloves for my hog roast could not hold on to anything with them after they got a little fat on them. wast of time and money
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
...I almost brought a pair of those 5 finger silicone gloves but read what Meathead said about them. Too bad they don't work as well.
I have a pair. They're useful for picking up a big piece of meat and moving it off/on the smoker. You can wash them easily in the sink. Just wash your hands while wearing them. I'm not sure I'd buy them again, but I do put them to good use. If that's enough to justify the purchase, go for it!
Boss, I have a pair of gloves to pick up meat with. My mother in law gave them to me for Christmas. I like them just for that purpose. It would be nice to have one pair of gloves for everything. Probably not possible because of contamination. You think???
Weber Performer * Cajun Bandit * 18.5 WSM * WSM Mini
Maverick ET-732 * Maverick DT-09 * ThermoWorks RT301WA
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale * Shock Top Belgian White
Bear Paws. I use them on occasion to pick up butts to move them but that's it. They don't really tear apart as well as it would seem and I have pretty picky eaters, if I didn't pull out all of the fat and veins etc nobody would eat it, including me.
Once my butts are done there's no way I can pick them up with bear claws. The meat just falls apart. We may want to review your technique and see if we can't get you to a little higher state of tenderness
Its hard to do, but I have the kind that are metal, so they fit in between the grates so you can pick it up from underneat which helps sticking. I agree though, it would be like trying to pick up water with them if you go in to the sides.
Gas Grill: NXR Tabletop/Portable Propane Charcoal: Weber Performer Silver (i.e., 22.5")
Charcoal: Weber OTG 22.5" Kettle Accessories: Slow 'n Sear, Smokenator and Vortex and bound to be more on the way Smoker: GOSM Propane 38" 2-drawer
Pellet: CampChef/Browning Deluxe PGP24LTD Thermometer: 2 Mavericks, Red backlit Thermapen
Anova Wi-Fi Sous Vide
Long before I knew anything about real Q and was just a gas griller, I bought one of those thermometer forks. Also bought an oversized "cup" for soaking wood chips before I learned what a waste that was.
Not my money personally, but my mom got rid of her disused gas grill and gave me several grill items she had purchased. She had all manner of never used copper baskets and trays with holes in them. I've been using the basket to keep my grill tools together and that's about it.
I can see those cedar planks being a real waste. They had them at Lowe's for $5 a pop while I was in there. Definitely wouldn't use those for the in-laws.
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