Outdoor grills advice: pellet vs. gas vs. charcoal

I vote Pellet, however I have a Memphis Pellet Grill which is the Ferrari of the pellet world. It's a 100% thick gage stainless made American tank. It also has inserts so you can have an open flame or indirect and gets up to 550 deg. I think newer models go even higher. It blows Traeger out of the water in every respect (except price but if you value quality, it's a no brainer).

I agree pellet is cheating but I use mine ~4x a week. Ease of use + legit smoky flavor = win. I got mine on sale and I've never regretted it. I've talked to folks with ceramics or cheaper pellets and always list off their pros/cons. I have no cons for my Memphis other than price. It's excellent smoker, a very good grill, and even a convection oven. The only mild con I have is the surface area for the open flame is limited to about 1/4 of the full grate so if I want to get a good char, I have to swap food around. But that just gives me an excuse to drink a beer and "tend my fire".

 

I was really tempted to grab one of the Masterbuilt Charcoal gravity fed grills. But I ended up grabbing my first offset smoker and have so far smoked some ribs and chicken....both were amazing.

 

That is the TRUTH! Old Smokey is cheap as hell, holds temp like a champ, and can do anything and everything. Plus they're freakin fun to cook and smoke with. I have the 18 inch and I've smoked 13 pound briskets, spare ribs, turkeys, prime ribs, chickens, you name it.

 

Except the charcoal part. I don't think charcoal is a healthy way to cook especially if you use lighter fluid or easy light coals. If I go with charcoal, I like to use an electric starter. But you can use wood lump coal in an old smoky.

At the end of the day, it's just about how to put fire to food. It's really not complicated. Alton Brown used a clay pot to smoke a chicken once. The complicated part is the technique. grilling, cold smoke, hot smoke, baking, etc.

 

I use regular charcoal briquettes (no easy light) for long smokes - I never use lighter fluid either, I get them lit using a chimney starter. Using the snake method I can get a consistent temp between 225 and 275 for 6 hours, sometimes longer.

If I'm grilling (not smoking) I use lump and I raise the charcoal grate a few inches by putting empty beer cans underneath. Gets the perfect sear.

 

Bumping because I was just given a hand me down offset by a family member, which is my first old school stick burner and I am excited to start using it.

What is your go-to as far as where you buy wood splits?

 

I need a new one for chicken. We prefer charcoal but gas is so much easier.

Anyone have a dual setup?

 

Am I doing this wrong? Why do my charcoal briquettes last (cooking-wise) like 15 mins? I buy HEB and Kroger brands. Are there some that last for longer?

 

The Brits think outdoor grilling is done on the ground in a tin foil pan over an open flame. Not kidding.

 

My wife thought a BBQ was a 'cook-out' and throwing some hot-dogs on whatever was hot. I've learned her well over the years. She's now been in Texas longer than she was in Indiana.

 

Is the pit clean inside? If not, that's step 1.

What part of Houston?

But a chimney starter. Buy hardwood charcoal or all-natural briquettes. If you want to cook longer (i.e. not grilling but BBQing), add some charcoal to your pile of already burning stuff. Also, investigate the "snake method".

Grilling vs BBQing

Sure, get one of each.

 

Got a chimney starter, love those things. Hardwood charcoal or all-natural briquettes, got it. For the other stuff, cool thanks .

I'm in the Northwest part of Houston close to Cypress on 290.

 

Yup, I spent last weekend scraping, sanding, then re-seasoning inside and out with canola oil and a burn in. I'm going to install some gaskets on the chamber and fire box lids, then spray the exterior with some high heat rustoleam paint.

I'm on the east side of Spring Branch, by I-10 and Silber.

 

Some may be better but it shouldn’t burn so quickly. Are you using a chimney starter? Also perhaps you are waiting too long before you begin grilling? Could be your timing as you’ve possibly let them burn for too long before putting food on. That said, 15 minutes should be plenty long enough to cook any steak, fajitas, burgers, chicken breast but it should last longer

 

No but just get a gas grill and a Weber kettle for like $80 if you don’t care about smoking

 

Im thinking about adding an Ooni Multipro to my outdoor setup. Anyone have any experience with outdoor pizza ovens?

 

It was brought to my attention that I might be doing it wrong lol. I'm using a Chimney starter, filling it up with coals and letting it burn like 25 mins. I use the little Weber lighter cubes. Too much probably huh for burn time? It was just how I was taught but it could very well be not the best way.

 

Yeah 10-15 minutes should be enough to have them ready

 

Sweet. I'll try that. Thanks

 

https://www.woodshedtx.com/

I honestly don't know about Houston, I'd bet you can find places everywhere that a pickup would work.

What you really need to do is get in good with a guy who will deliver various kinds of wood: oak, mesquite, pecan, etc...