Barbecue Grills
Grill Tamer Helps Regulate the Temperature
There’s a lot of advantage of grilling with the lid down. Namely, you keep the smoke and heat inside where they can work their magic on the food. The problem is of course that it’s hard to control the temperature, especially if you are trying to maintain a low and slow cooking plan.
The new Grill Tamer from Macken Products aims to solve this problem by combining a thermometer and an adjustable, aluminum lid lift. Basically, a sophisticated version of sticking a brick under the lid to vent out some of the heat. The big benefit here is that it’s easy to move the lid up and down until the temperature hits the desired range. The wood handle keeps you from burning yourself, which is always nice.
The initial development of the award winning Grill Tamer started over 10 years ago by inventor Mike Macken. His original design was to simply prop open his grill lid so he could see what was going on inside of the grill and extinguish flare-ups before dinner was burnt beyond recognition. After several years of development with the addition of a high quality thermometer, a hardwood handle for safety and thousands of meals later… Hence… The Grill Tamer was born.
The Grill Tamer is $39.95 and available directly on the Grill Tamer website.
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The Big Easy - “Oilless” Fryer
Charbroil has sent me on of their new Big Easy Oilless Fryers to try out. They call it an oilless fryer, but it’s basically an infrared grill designed for turkeys and large roasts. The idea is that it produces the same basic results as a fryer, juicy meat and a crisp screen, without the mess and risk of a deep fryer.
It looks, nor accidentally I’m sure, like a deep fryer. It’s even got a “cage” to hold the turkey. Along the bottom is an 18,000 BTU infra-red burner that heats things up to about 360 degrees (perfect turkey roasting temperature). It’s a ring, so it should produce even heating. It’s like a rotisserie in many respects, but doesn’t need to spin.
It sure is simpler and safer then frying, that’s for sure. Pretty much drop the meat inside and turn it on. I bet this thing would work well with a leg of lamb or a prime rib as well. One big plus is that you can load it up with marinade and it’s not going to be diluted by oil or slung out by the rotisserie.
I’ll be firing up the test unit in the next few weeks and I’ll report back on my findings.
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My Diamond BBQ Has Arrived!
My new Diamond BBQ has arrived, all 255 pounds of it. It’s packed well, but it sure is heavy.
The goal of the Diamond BBQ is to make charcoal grilling as convenient as propane. It features an electric starter with blower, and a built-in garbage disposal for chewing up the ashes. The inside is shaped like a sink, s0 cleanout should be a breeze.
This grill is going to go head to head with my propane grill, a Grand Turbo from BBQs Galore. Both are 36 inches wide or so built-in units of stainless steel. First I’ve got to build (another) island to house this bad boy. I will probably build a “good enough for now” rig out of treated lumber and cement backer board.
Stay tuned!
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Diamond’s new Charcoal Grill
Check out this new Diamond BBQ Grill!. It’s a hi-tech charcoal grilling monster. It has an electric start, automated blower, and all sorts of conveniences.
It looks like it will give you all the conveniences of a propane grill (easy start, easy cleanup) with the classic taste of charcoal. This would be a great option for those that would like to stick with charcoal but don’t like the hassle. You can see how it works on their website.
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Grill with built in disposal
Who, this grill has everything but the kitchen sink! Oh wait, it kinda has that too. This new grill from built-inbbqs.com has a number of really cool features you don’t normally find.
The unit offers a new kind of charcoal built-in grill that has a charcoal acceleration system to get you cooking in less then 10 minutes, and is built like a sink with a garbage disposal to make clean up really easy.
This grill won the Vesta award for most innovative charcoal/smoker this past year at the hearth and home show in Utah. You can pick one up for around $3300.
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A cheap grill is an expensive grill
A cheap tool is an expensive tool, that’s what my Dad always says. It’s certainly true with grills. If you think you can save a few bucks on a no name grill, you should be prepared to face the consequences.
As this article from the Detroit Free Press tells us, you get what you pay for.
Read all about the fun with their $4.99 bargain grill!
via the Detroit Free Press
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Cal Flame’s new smart grill
Cal Flame’s state-of-the-art Smart Grill has completely electronic controls. There are no knobs or valves to twist or turn, adding to the grill’s sleek, clean style. The on/off switch, temperature gauge, timers, convection controls and lighting are completely digital, making it simple and safe to use. The numerous safety features include electronic shut-off valves if the grill is unused for an hour (there is an override capacity) and automatic shutdown in the event of a misfire or no fire.
Suggested retail price is $2999, and the unit is expected to be available this fall. I wonder if they will send me a test unit?
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Top Rated Outdoor Grills
There’s an excellent article over on MSN’s site today that serves as a quicky guide to to choosing a new gas grill. If you went to fire up your grill yesterday and it poofed out on you, this is probably an article you need to read.
It covers the various types of grills, the features you should consider, and recommends a few models that stand out above the rest. The Consumer Reports top-rated medium-size gas barbecue grills are:
- Vermont Castings (Home Depot) VM400XBP
- Broilmaster P3[BL]
- Kenmore (Sears) 16219
My dad and my uncle both have the Vermont Castings grill, and they are both big fans, so looks like they are right on the money.
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The Perfect BBQ Grill for World Cup Cookouts
If you and your rowdy soccer hooligans are getting together to watch the World Cup over some barbecue or burgers, and you don’t mind looking like a dork, this could be the grill for you. I’m guess barbecue aficionado Rick Browne doesn’t have anything to do with these grills, apart from using his name to sell them through his website.
Could any self respecting grill master see themselves using one of these toys? Maybe talk on the foot ball phone while you are at it. No thanks, I don’t need occasion themed grilling hardware.
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Barbeques Galore Grand Turbo 52-inch All-Grill
The nation’s largest chain of barbecue superstores, Barbeques Galore introduces the newest addition to its noted Turbo line of grills, the Grand Turbo 52-inch All-Grill. The Grand Turbo All-Grill boasts more than 1,100 square inches of cooking surface area with eight main burners including two “sear burners” and two infrared rear burners. This high-powered grill features nearly 100,000 BTUs for intense grilling.
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Buying a Barbecue Pit or Smoker
The term “barbecue” has a lot of interpretations. To some people, the term barbecue is pretty much any type of outdoor cooking. To others, real BBQ can only be made by slow smoking meat at a low temperature for hours on end.
If you want to tackle this type of cooking you’re grill just isn’t going to cut it. You’ll need to buy an honest to goodness smoker or barbecue pit. If you’re in the market to buy a barbecue pit or smoker, what features should you look for? What’s the difference between a water smoker and other types of pits? The first choice most buyers will need to make is whether they want a water smoker or a barbecue pit (a dry smoker). In this article I’ll try to shed some light on just what your choices are and help you determine which is best for you.
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A computerized barbecue for high-tech rednecks
If you think I’m a nerd for blogging about barbecue, you have to check out this excerpt from the ExtremeTech book, Geek House, published by Wiley Publishing.
In this project a couple of hardware hackers hack a barbecue pit with computer sensors and a DC fan in order to automate the 10-16 hours process of cooking a brisket. Rather than hang around the pit all night (hey, they’ve got video games to play) adjusting dampers and stroking the fire, they built a self-regulating ventilation system that maintains perfect cooking temperatures inside the pit. By controlling the fan speed they control the oxygen supply to the fire, and thus the internal temperature of the cooking chamber. All they have to do is add wood!
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Barbecue under the hood
Ok guys, now who doesn’t want one of these bad boys…
Unfortunately, it’s still in the “concept” stage at this point, but I’m glad to see someone’s putting their brains to good use. I wonder if the grease could somehow be recycled back into the oil pan?
From: Gridiron Gadgets
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A HEMI Powered BBQ
You just can’t get more manly than a 5.7 liter V-8 HEMI powered, stainless steel barbecue grill can you? Tim Kowalec recently fired up this baby while announcing the five finalists in the Chrysler Group’s “What Can You HEMI?” contents.
It used to be that the Chrysler HEMI was used only for mundane tasks such as powering Dodge trucks, but now that power has been put to better use as a grilling furnace. Mmm, extra transmission fluid on my hot dog please!
The contest included such HEMI powered beasts as a paper shredder and snow blower, but the winner was a souped up tricycle with a 4 foot front wheel.
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Build Your Own Barbecue
If your grilling desires lean toward something more substantial than a Weber kettle or your basic Charbroil gas grill, but you’re not a dot.com millionaire, try building your own barbecue pit. According to an article at Mother Earth News, it’s not as hard as you might think.
Built of dry-stacked concrete blocks, masonry cement, and firebrick, this grill can hang with the big boys but costs only about $100. Less if you can pilfer from a local construction yard.
This article gives complete plans, a materials list, and a helpful cut-away diagram of how the whole things comes together.
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