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ISO advice, recommendations re: Argentinian style grills with or without brasero

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    ISO advice, recommendations re: Argentinian style grills with or without brasero

    Last night I cut two lamb racks into individual riblets, and fast grilled them using the firebox on my KBQ. This is a small area, so I did it in four quick shifts. I have had my eye on a larger surface wood burning grill, but space issues (mostly spousal concerns) have held me back. I've been looking seriously at a few:

    Grillworks 42" http://www.grillworksusa.com/product...ks-dual-42-cre

    Suntera 48" side or back Brasero: https://www.sunterraoutdoor.com/arge...7030crt-detail

    I am interested in hearing from folks who have had any experience with these grills. Any reviews? I couldn't find any.

    Ignoring, if you will, the price tags, one of my questions is: if they cost the same, what do folks think about the benefit of the brasero on the Suntera vs the absence of a brasero on the Grillworks. Does it matter much? Can one still move coals around sufficiently under a liftable grill without having the side or back brasero?

    The Grillworks has fire bricks surrounding the cooking area, whereas the Suntera has firebricks underneath, but nothing protecting the surface from breezes.


    Thanks for your opinions.

    ​​​​​​​Daniel


    #2
    Ahumadora

    Comment


    • Ahumadora
      Ahumadora commented
      Editing a comment
      I am on it.

    #3
    I love following ahumadora, but he’ll tell me I don’t have to buy one, I can just make one from the scrap iron lying around my bedroom!

    Comment


    • Ahumadora
      Ahumadora commented
      Editing a comment
      Yep ,cut the legs off your bed and use that. Strech the springs out to form a grill. problem solved.

    • Henrik
      Henrik commented
      Editing a comment
      Ha ha ha! Turning up the 'heat' in the bedroom :-)

    • HouseHomey
      HouseHomey commented
      Editing a comment
      Ok that is hilarious!!

    #4
    Hrm... I'm not clear on the use of the side brassero. I guess a bit of indirect, or a bank of coals to reload the base with. There isn't one on my dream Argentine style grill, the Kalamazoo Gaucho, I dunno how necessary it is. I suspect not that necessary. Maybe for longer sessions, like a restaurant service, where you need a bed of embers always ready.
    Last edited by Potkettleblack; January 31, 2019, 08:03 PM.

    Comment


    • Ahumadora
      Ahumadora commented
      Editing a comment
      I use a gas weedburner for starting the charcoal,that starts the wood burning. That's as close as I get to a gas grill Last time I used all charcoal was probably 7 years ago.

    #5
    I'm currently giving that new Sunterra 48"-er with the back mounted brasero a serious look myself. Have been thinking about buying of of their brasero grills for over a year now.

    Personally, I think a brasero is a necessary thing if your cooking session is going to be longer than just grilling one round of food. If all you are doing is grilling a few steaks/burgers/whatever you can probably do that with your initial load of fuel.

    Comment


    • Ahumadora
      Ahumadora commented
      Editing a comment
      yep your right on that.

    #6
    A lot of the "Argentine style" grills for sale in the US have gone over the top on what you really need. ( Big rotating handles to move the grill up and down 6') You honestly don't need that junk. Keep it simple like my home parrilla. What is more important is the fogonero (brick surround and base). Get a brick layer to make you a base and surround. A local welding shop can make the rest of the brasero and parrilla. (I built mine in an hour) then just use a stick to knock the coals under and control them. If y'all want we can make drawings here and design one for people to copy on the AR site.
    Attached Files

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    • Donw
      Donw commented
      Editing a comment
      I would love to see a drawing I could show to a mason so it was designed right. I think I could pull out the MIG and weld up the rest if I could see it on paper.

    #7
    Here's another parrilla I built in 2016 If you want something that you can move inside to cook on when there is a Polar vortex
    Attached Files

    Comment


    • Potkettleblack
      Potkettleblack commented
      Editing a comment
      Ain’t no one cooking on a parilla in the vortex.

    #8
    Donw check this link https://goo.gl/tC7m1w When building this make sure the chimney is much larger than you think it needs to be.
    Attached Files

    Comment


    • Donw
      Donw commented
      Editing a comment
      Thank you!

    #9
    Ahumadora I've given a lot of thought over the last few years to just making my own parilla but like so many other projects on my "to do list" they just never seem to launch.

    I'm a fan of, and have been enjoying, the Locos X el Asado gang and have been watching their YouTube channel for many years. A few years ago I saw them using a parilla made in Argentina by Tromen. Their Parrilla Gaucha model is as close to perfect for what I have wanted in a grill for a long time:
    Click image for larger version

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    I tried to find a vendor in Argentina willing to export one to the US but never got any replies. As you mention, the basic construction of these sort of grills is not at all complicated and I might have to decide that making one of these will be my summer project this year.

    On the other hand, Tromen should consider exporting some of these to the US. It appears their local price is equivalent to about $600US and I'd gladly pay double that to get one in the US.

    The grills in the US that have the big wheel to raise and lower the grill grate do seem kind of silly on an "Argentine style" grill but I think they are really just carried over from the so called "Santa Maria style" where the fire is enclosed and you have to add fuel from the top and the only way to do that is to be able to raise/lower the grate - thus the big wheel.

    The main reason I like the uprights and big wheel on the Sunterra (and similar grills) is that having those uprights make it easy to mount/use a rotisserie.

    Comment


      #10
      Yep, I know the Locos X guys. I built them a trailer in 2016. Told them about the AR website, but they didn't want to listen and keep making videos with myths and sub par food. Tromen is popular here. You should be able to take pics from their website and get one cut and bent up at a local sheetmetal shop.
      Attached Files

      Comment


        #11
        Ahumadora : I think I'll go with the bed frame and springs! Pero, en serio, if Oprah were to gift you one of the two I had mentioned, the Sunterra or the Grillworks, which way would you go? Choose the Sunterra with the brasero but no wrap around, or the Grillworks with the firebrick wrap around (a modest fogonero) but no brasero. Forget about the cost, they're free.


        BTW, we did go with a very Patagonian fire pit at our home. The architects wanted to build some structure with gas for people to sit around. I couldn't get them to understand what I wanted, so Click image for larger version

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ID:	630425 I searched for images from Chile and Argentina, and this below is what we ended up with. I have previously posted photos with el cordero en la cruz.

        Comment


        • Ahumadora
          Ahumadora commented
          Editing a comment
          Wow Great looking al asador (cruz) and fire pit. As I say, they are simple and most local metal shops should be able to knock you one up pretty quick. Sunterra is steel and made in Mexico, while grillworks is stainless and made in USA. Both are nice grills and would work fine. I prefer to cook on and easier cleaning stainless 5/16" round bar than the tradional V parrilla. As I say you don't need all that junk up top with the fancy wheels. Probably go with the grillworks .

        #12
        Man, this thread is a good read for sure!

        Comment


        • Ahumadora
          Ahumadora commented
          Editing a comment
          I checked my crystal ball this morning and seen Henrik furiously cutting up steel to make an asador. Go figure...

        • Henrik
          Henrik commented
          Editing a comment
          It's definitely in the plans, I'll tell you that! I'm all for the "keep it simple, stupid" principle. I have the bottom 'tray' (stainless) already, now I need to weld the grates and legs. No rush, this could still take a month or two, I dabble with it whenever I have a few minutes over.

        #13
        Here's some pics of other junk I cobbled together using only blu tak and chicken feathers.
        Attached Files

        Comment


          #14
          I've looked at those Kalamazoo Gaucho units that PKB mentions several times over the years and while very nice I see nothing that makes them worth the $20 plus grand they are asking.

          Comment


          • Potkettleblack
            Potkettleblack commented
            Editing a comment
            Yeah, I blanche at the price, but I don’t see other similar grills with the combination of stick/charcoal/gas burn, Santa Maria/rotisserie setup. Also, I’m vaguely converting the grill grates on it, and wondering if I can get sth like that for ye old Genesis.

          #15
          Boy do I wish I was sailing on freighters again. I could have picked up some Troman’s and some of Ahumadora ‘s grills down there and stored them in the hold until we got back to Brooklyn.

          Comment


          • Histrix
            Histrix commented
            Editing a comment
            And if you were, you would suddenly become my new, best friend!

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