The BBQ and Smoking Thread

[Strider]

My info is probably out of date, but last time I was checking out grills Weber was more highly regarded than Napoleon because Napoleon "sold out" and created a cheap line of made in China grills for the Crappy Tire market. Although by now, Weber has probably followed suit?

The grills Buster posted are hilariously out of my league. I'd like to stay under ~$1600 for the full setup, just need to find the balance between the components. I like the idea of the overhead broiler as it would cover 70% of my outdoor cooking use case (post sous vide sear) - I'm not sure any of the other options can match the ease of use or searing performance. The other 30% would come down to either a kamado/bge, pellet grill, or combo of electric vertical smoker and cheap NG grill or kettle.

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If costco still has the Louisiana grills you should buy them. I've seen prices in some cities drop to 499 for the LG 900.

I'll have a look around for this... seems the biggest drawback is that the hopper only holds ~2.5 hrs worth of pellets and reviews talk about having to vacuum it out after every cook.

[stevelou]

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I'll have a look around for this... seems the biggest drawback is that the hopper only holds ~2.5 hrs worth of pellets and reviews talk about having to vacuum it out after every cook.

I've been using the Louisiana for a good 3 months almost 3-5 times a week and definitely don't clean out the drum every time. I have been cleaning the drum, grease trap, and igniter box every third or fourth use, which all depends on what I have been smoking. If I do a brisket for example I clean it before and after because it takes so long to cook and the amount of fat that comes off. All said and done I think it takes me around 30 min to clean if that.

The size of the pellet hopper is a small PIA because it only holds 14lbs of pellets which on my Brisket which was roughly a 10hr smoke I filled the hopper twice and topped it up near the end. I've have been trying to find the hopper add-on but can't justify the $95 the Louisiana wants and nobody seems to carry them in and around Calgary.

This has been my first smoker and so far I like the product although it does have a few quirks. Ie the front tray gets hot near the drum which I wasn't aware of until it dried out a sauce I was using for chicken wings. The CPU on the control for temp sometimes goes a little wonky if it is a hot day as my smoker is in the sun the temp will read really high which causes the control module to throw a code of temp irregularity. Other than that I really like the flavour and the ability to set and forget (to a point). I also like that the Louisiana has the flame broiler ability which the grill will go upto 600 degrees so that I can reverse sear steaks that have been smoked.

Anyway just my 2 cents.

[gwill]

strider - I use the Louisiana LG 1100 with the cold smoke attachment. The hopper that comes with any louisiana is more then fine. There are extended hoopers you can buy for $59 which doubles the size. I don't think this is needed and I'll do massive batches all the time.

On the topic of napoleon grills they have a lot of different lines. The prestige series are all made in Canada. Their other brands include the Lex, followed by the rogue followed by all sorts of garbage.

[ExtraSlow]

Anyone done a "hot" brisket at 275f? I'm scared to try that, but it intrigues me. Bases on my messing around and temperature tracking, it seems that the stall is highly dependent on the temperature setting. In my smoker, it's always about 50F below the set temp.


Probably doing a brisket this weekend. Don't think I'll do the "hot" version, but I am confident in my ability to get past the stall easily with increasing temps.

Also, my wife made a neat gadget with our raspberry Pi that intercepts the wireless thermometer signals and puts them into a spreadsheet and graph automatically. I used to have to manually type them in like a damned animal.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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I don't know about the latest gen of Webers, but my old Weber Genesis held heat and got up to temp way better than my current Napolean.

It sucks that we're both so incredibly wrong... Everyone I know with a Genesis loves them.


Taking a step up from there, a Weber Summit S-470 <<<<<<< Napoleon Prestige Pro despite their similar specs, features, quality, price, etc etc etc.
Even though they're both over 2-grand the Weber should only be $40 because reasons.

[ExtraSlow]

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Also, my wife made a neat gadget with our raspberry Pi that intercepts the wireless thermometer signals and puts them into a spreadsheet and graph automatically. I used to have to manually type them in like a damned animal.

Well put my brisket in after the foodie meet last night. Started up the temp tracking widget, everything looked good at 5am when I adjusted temps, but I guess it crashed sometime after that.
Wife got it up and running again. Good thing too, since i'm sure the meat can't even cook if you don't have a chart of the temperature.

[tirebob]

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Well put my brisket in after the foodie meet last night. Started up the temp tracking widget, everything looked good at 5am when I adjusted temps, but I guess it crashed sometime after that.
Wife got it up and running again. Good thing too, since i'm sure the meat can't even cook if you don't have a chart of the temperature.

We will have to get you out our way with a few others one weekend and we will all do our own mini brisket cook out! Not some much as a competition but just so we can all cook and compare how we are all approaching our brisket cooks. It would be an awesome feast and we can consume a bit of scotch and a few other bevies around the fire.... What say you?

[ExtraSlow]

I'm in Bobby. Let's do it. First weekend of October? Dunno if we need that many briskets, but could do smoked Asian wings instead. Or "as well" I guess.

My brisket turned out nice. Actually really enjoyed having guests over for lunch, it worked a lot better for the kiddies than an evening meal.

[tirebob]

Good idea! Maybe get a few different meats going and have a Beyond foodie "meat" badum bum!

[suntan]

Huh. Apparently the Weber Genesis line has auto-ignite when you turn the knobs. Will get next year.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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Huh. Apparently the Weber Genesis line has auto-ignite when you turn the knobs. Will get next year.

Yes, and mine has worked flawlessly for over a decade from -35°C to +35°C.
It's wonderful.

[Buster]

Has anyone done pastrami and/or Montreal smoked meat?

[nismodrifter]

So I'm hunting for a BBQ. Looking for a 3 burner, natural gas, with sideburner. I'm hoping end of season sales will come soon.

Any recommendations?

Budget = less than $1k.

[killramos]

Napoleon is my recommendation for a grill.

Not sure of specific model but I think the rogues are in that price range and currently on sale at bbq galore. Unsure if side burner will be included for that price, and I’m not a massive fan of napoleons side burner (that said I just bought another one last week for the lake).

Rogue R425SIB should do you fine from a quick glance at the product page.

[suntan]

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So I'm hunting for a BBQ. Looking for a 3 burner, natural gas, with sideburner. I'm hoping end of season sales will come soon.

Any recommendations?

Budget = less than $1k.

Can you spend just a bit more? Get the Weber Genesis II. They have auto-burner ignite.

https://www.homedepot.ca/product/web...eel/1001029379

Costco also has it.

[KRyn]

.

[killramos]

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I have the R425SIB in black and can confirm it is an excellent grill. The side infrared burner is amazing, easily my favorite feature. My only complaint is I that I don't have space for the LEX485RSIB, which will be my next BBQ.

Just setup a P665RSIB on the weekend, that’s a big MF. Love Napoleon.

[KRyn]

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[killramos]

Any of you guys ever done cut beef ribs before?

Costco had a bunch of them today that I picked up and I’m trying to think of how to adjust.

Probably just more basting needed and less time?

[killramos]

Great Success. Soaked in mustard then dusted with pepper, garlic, chili, salt, and instant espresso powder. Sprayed with cider vinegar a few times.

Very tasty, and no crutch just 8 hours in the Bradley at 230.