Labor Day Grillin'

 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Irvington, New York USA

Post Number: 3985
Registered: May-05
I finally have something that resembles a yard and a deck. Had to get a grill. Picked up a new Weber on Saturday. This thing rocks! I didn't want to spend $400 on a grill, but everything else was pretty cheply made and didn't look like it would last more than 2-3 years of constant use. A lot of friends and family members have you buy a new one that often due to rotting, so I figured $400 now or $200 every couple years. Kinda like buying a Bryston vs and Insignia receiver.

Saturday night's menu - Ribs and corn on the cob
Sunday - Filet Mignon and portabellos
Monday - Chicken breast fajitas

Think I'll try cooking a pizza on there sometime this week.

What's on everyone else's grill?
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 3196
Registered: Jun-07
I did Pizza the other day. Today was Steak Stu.

Funny you posted this actually. This is the end of my third summer at this house and the beginning of the first summer I purchased a cheap 170 dollar BBQ. It has served its purpose but like you, when the BBQ's go on fall sale, I will be picking up a big fat Weber. Or something similar, that is big, fat, heavy, and solid.lol. Good buy on the Weber Stu. They are the kings of the grill.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3986
Registered: May-05
I bought a Weber Spirit E-210. The smallest and cheapest one they make. The next step up is $100 more, a little bigger, and has 3 burners instead of 2. It makes indirect cooking a little easier, but with some practice I'll get the hang of it. It wasn't worth the extra cash to me. There's way more than enough room for my wife and I. Funny thing is, it looked so much bigger when I started cooking on it. I compared it to everything else out there, and nothing came close (except more expensive Webers!)

Poking around the internet, there's a lot going into what makes a good grill good. Its a bit like stereos. Most are made out of sheet metal with a very low grade stainless steel cover to make it look better. The burners on most of them are equally crap.

Mrs. Pitt liked a Char Broil that was all stainless, bigger, and $130 cheaper. I knocked on the side of the lid, and it make that sound that cheap sheet metal makes. I actually bent on of the burners while pinching it. Total crap. Mrs. Pitt even said the rest of the grills are like toys compared to the Webers.

The Weber's grill box (not sure what to call the main area around the burners) is all cast iron. Ever seen a cast iron pot rot out? Me either. The burners are straight tubes that are as solid as lead pipes. It may not be the biggest, baddest, and shiniest grill around, but I'm sure it'll be around for well over a decade. The only thing I can forsee having to be replaced is the ignitor, which goes on every grill there is. Speaking of it, it's the coolest one I've seen - you hold it down, and it ticks like a gas stove, not that click like a spring loaded one. Its battery powered. Threw me off the first time I fired it up.

Here's a link to the one I bought. I can't guarantee it'll last forever because I just bought it, but Weber's got a 10 year warranty on the important parts. I know 5 guys who have a Weber. They've all had them 10+ years and claim they're still going very strong. Everyone else I know has to buy a new one every three years at best.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Grills-Accessories-Grills/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xlbZas fe/R-100657542/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
 

Gold Member
Username: Magfan

USA

Post Number: 1568
Registered: Oct-07
Stu::
Charcoal or gas? Just me, but charcoal is IT. maybe a real wood smoker, but never-never gas.

For your charcoal weber? Get a standing rib rack and learn to cook indirect. The 22.5"er will do a 20lb bird without much hassle. Get some Hickory or Apple or other 'flavor smoke' woods. I soak any added woods overnite....in a can of the cheapest beer you can buy. Pabst? ok Coors or Bud? works.

My original Weber... the 'Smokey Joe' went a couple years and I gave it away to buy a larger one. I bought it so long ago....the price? 40$ for the 22". That one lasted thru 3 sets of tires before having a rust-thru. Maybe 25 or so years. I am still using the original grill on my new one, since they have 'cheapened' the product over the years. Of course, California will be around shortly to take my grill away due to some air pollution or other BS reason.

The next step up in a 'real' grill is whatever Nuck used a couple months ago or a 'Big Green Egg'..... which will put a full-size dent in the wallet...and give you a hernia if you try to lift it. See link::

http://www.biggreenegg.com/


Enjoy your grilling:: You know your an addict when you find yourself standing in a couple feet of snow while grilling. I've done it on a bet and 'bout froze.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 13150
Registered: Feb-05
Hamburgers on Saturday and chicken and grilled veggies on Sunday. Near the end of my grillin' season here.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3987
Registered: May-05
Leo -

Had to go with gas. I know, charcoal is better, and nothing beats wood (that's what she said). In NY the winters are pretty cold. Rather than standing outside fighting the elements, gas will start up and keep going while I watch the temp gauge from inside. Call me lazy, I deserve it. If I only planned on using it on Sundays during the summer, I'd have gone with a charcoal or wood fired grill.

I'm going to buy one of the smoker boxes that you fill with soaked wood chips to get some of that hickory or mesquite goodness.

I'm going to get one of those smoke boxes for it. You put soaked wood chips in a metal box, and it lets
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3988
Registered: May-05
iPhone doesn't make editing posts easy.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Fort Hamilton, NY United States

Post Number: 3315
Registered: Oct-04
I been on a bit of a burger bender of late, so I decided to try my hand a putting together a burger like some best I've had.

First off, I needed better ground beef, so I picked up a few pointers on the web, and put together a blend of 50% Boneless Short Rib and 50% Sirloin, coarsely ground, kept cold & minimally handled, aggressively seasoned with salt & fresh ground pepper, and cooked on a flat cast-iron skillet on the grill using a technique similar to that used at Shake Shake in NYC. The result was spectacular by all accounts.

I prepared a few "signature" burgers...Smoked Gouda, Bacon, and Caramelized Onions...Horseradish Cheddar, Bacon, and Horseradish Mayo...and my version of a Big Mac with Sharp Cheddar, Red Onion, Roma Tomato, Kosher-Dill Pickle, Boston Lettuce, and "Special Sauce" (Kraft Thousand Island Dressing).
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Fort Hamilton, NY United States

Post Number: 3316
Registered: Oct-04
Stu, this is my pizza recipe I posted over at allrecipes.com if you're interested, it can easily be adapted to the grill... http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/brick-oven-pizza-brooklyn-style/Detail.aspx

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3990
Registered: May-05
All that stuff sounds great, Christopher!

I've got to get my uncle's Armenian Shish Kabob recipe. The rest of the family does a good job at it, but his is beyond. I know the majority of what goes into his overnight marinade, but I'm sure there's something I'm missing, and I don't know the amounts.

His unique ingredient is club soda. The balances some of the acidity of the fresh lemon juice and onions, and the carbonation helps carry the seasoning into the meat (according to him anyway).

Most Armenian recipes on the net ate close, but they use lamb. He mainly uses beef and/or pork.

When I get it, I'll share it.

He'll be ticked off when I tell him I bought a gas grill. He built a 3x6 foot pit (I guess that's the best way to describe it) in his yard. About 4 cinder blocks high, and what looks like a subway grate on top of it. Nothing bit wood from the back yard goes into it. To him, even charcoal is a lazy way out.
 

Gold Member
Username: Magfan

USA

Post Number: 1574
Registered: Oct-07
Stu / Chris::
You may want to try a 'pizza stone'. The local dollar store had a bunch so I bought a couple. Want to me go back and look again?
I make dough in my bread machine, give it a rise, knock it down and shape. 2nd rise ...than toppings and on the grill. Liberally coat the stone with ground corn meal to prevent sticking. Cook it 'indirect' or the stone will get hot enough to melt steel.
Works fine. The local meat guy has been in business for 3 decades and makes a mean spicy Italian Sausage.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Fort Hamilton, NY United States

Post Number: 3323
Registered: Oct-04
If you read my recipe, it calls for a pizza stone. I use the same technique when using it on the grill, however, I use a stand mixer w/ dough-hook attachment, and I use less yeast than usual recipes (I use less than the posted recipe, 1/4 tsp.) & a slower (preferably 24-hr.) rise in the fridge; this results in a dough that has more character than fast-rise dough.
 

Gold Member
Username: Magfan

USA

Post Number: 1576
Registered: Oct-07
Maybe one day I'll whip up some sourdough!

I can only think of 2 stand mixers....the Kitchen Aid 6qt has a real powerful motor....
And back in the hippie days, the Champion was the one to get. With the grain mill, of course.

Is their a 3rd choice?

Careful with Spaghetti. It falls thru!
 

Gold Member
Username: Magfan

USA

Post Number: 1577
Registered: Oct-07
Stu,
I visited my mothers family one Christmas. In Buffalo.
No thanks. The wind off the lake was.....pretty darn cold.
 

Gold Member
Username: Exerciseguy

Fort Hamilton, NY United States

Post Number: 3324
Registered: Oct-04
I have the KitchenAid, but the Electrolux Magic Mill DLX-2000 has gotten some very good write-ups.

http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=161517

Upload
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3991
Registered: May-05
Leo -

I lived in Niagara Falls for 2 years while attending grad school. The Buffalo area is deceivingly cold. The actual temperature isn't that bad (relative to the rest of the Northeast), but that wind is atrocious. I remember walking along side buildings on campus to aviod that wind. People would take longer routes on really bad days.

I miss the wings though. There's nothing like good Buffalo wings in the Buffalo area. Everything else sucks since leaving there.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4245
Registered: Feb-07
Stu, I used to live close to Niagara Falls (Canadian side) and I used to cross the border for the wings quite often.

Your Weber BBQ will last close to forever. My dad is on his second one (first one lasted 20 years). I had a Napoleon BBQ, equally good quality but gave it to a buddy when he got his first house.

I have 3 BBQs now. A gas grill (which I hardly ever use), a charcoal kettle cooker (cheap one... falling apart already - I'll buy a Weber soon), and my newest addition, a Traeger smoker courtesty of Nuck.

This thing is awesome. Just put in the wood pellets (all different flavours), set it to the desired temp, and come back a few hours later. Over the Labour Day weekend we did chicken breasts on Friday, ribs on Saturday, burgers on Sunday (imagine smoked burgers on the grill for 2 hours! Mmmmmm) and an entire stuffed chicken on Sunday. I love it.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stryvn

Wisconsin

Post Number: 1233
Registered: Dec-06
Only a charcoal grill here and natural hardwood charcoal. Start coals with paper...no lighter fluids for me either, thank you. I live in a brutal climate and grill year round...my family demands it! lol.

Good stuff, Stu. Hope you like the new abode. Pics of the new listening space in your original system pics thread??
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4248
Registered: Feb-07
Good call Stryvn! Let's see some pics Stu.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3993
Registered: May-05
I've got a few more things to unpack first. The system is hooked up, but it ain't pretty enough just yet. And I've gotta find that damn camera!

Once I get everything set up all nice-nice, I'll definitely snap a few pics of the system, and the grill. Hell, I may even take some pics of it in action!
 

Gold Member
Username: Gavdawg

Albany, New York

Post Number: 1580
Registered: Nov-06
I graduated from SUNY Oswego...and the wife's family is from Jamestown NY... I've had my share of cold ny winters too.
 

Silver Member
Username: Ezntn

Greeneville, TN

Post Number: 194
Registered: Apr-09
looking forward to the shish kabob recipe Stu .... sounds deliciously awesome
charcoal & apple wood for the flavor here
chimney with newspaper to light it
last major cooking was near a month ago, 7.5lb pulled pork roast.
took forever to get it all eaten, step-son helped out one night inhaling 5 sandwiches.
weather here allows year round grilling, sometimes with the garage door open to avoid the rain, it works.
Aroma that lingers annoys the animals, cooking ribs or pork annoys some of the neighbors who, due to religious preferences, avoid that other white meat. Their loss
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 15387
Registered: Dec-04
Kosher ribs?

 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4252
Registered: Feb-07
Got my smoker going right now. Late night sausages...
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4253
Registered: Feb-07
Non-kosher.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3994
Registered: May-05
Bryan -
Be careful with the grill in the garage. Carbon Monoxide ain't a good thing.


Late night sausage smoking, David? I guess some things are better left unsaid
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4255
Registered: Feb-07
Damn... I should have worded that entirely differently. lol
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4259
Registered: Feb-07
Turkey wings on the smoker tonight.

No sausages.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3997
Registered: May-05
My uncle gave me an ingredient list for his Shish Kabob marinade. No amounts, because he eyeballs it. I'll try it out on Sunday and if it comes out right, I'll let you guys know how much of what I used.

A few of my athletes are from Texas. One or two are going to give me their BBQ sauce family recipies. I'll try them and post them too. Nothin' like family recipies!

When I asked those guys what kind of BBQ sauce they use, every one of them told me their families make their own. When asked if they had to buy something, they all said Stubb's was the only thing acceptable. Funny thing is I asked them all seperately, it wasn't like they discussed it.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 4268
Registered: Feb-07
I'd like to see that kabob marinade recipe Stu.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 13162
Registered: Feb-05
It's wet here 8 or 9 mos a year and I only grill from May thru September. Any more and I'd be sick of it. Too many other wonderful things to eat. It's getting to be just about time for home made soups and the like.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3998
Registered: May-05
Got some eye round beef marinating now, for grilling tomorrow evening. Used my Uncle's ingredient list, so here it is. I'm using 1 lb of beef, and sometimes have the tendency to over season. Everything's in a ziplock bag in the fridge...
1 lemon cut into 4 pieces, juice squeezed into the bag, pieces thrown in too
1/3 small white onion
Red pepper flakes
Cumin
Sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
Club soda - enough to cover everything

Vary the amounts according to taste. He said the most important thing is using enough club soda.

It should be noted that he pretty much always uses pork, not beef. The few times he used beef, it came out equally well, just different. I'd have gone with pork, but the selection wasn't right.

I'm not a fan of onions at all, but they help break down the meat, along with the lemon and club soda.

Also, we don't put veggies on the same skewer.

We typically serve it with pita bread and hummus. Put a pita on the bottom of the serving plate, and one on top to keep the heat in.

When eating it, spread a little hummus on a pita, throw some kabob on it, and roll it up. Thin pitas work best. Try to find Lebanese pitas.

Maybe I'll get my Aunt's hummus recipie next. A few store bought ones ate good, but nothing's like the home made versions.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Stamford, Connecticut USA

Post Number: 3999
Registered: May-05
For some reason, whenever I type "are" on my iPhone, it comes out as "ate."

My Uncle wasn't too thrilled about the gas grill, but "it's better than the oven."
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 15393
Registered: Dec-04
Good stuff Stu! yum yum

Art, sacrificing BBQ for soup season is a fair deal.
I havn't made many soups for the last few years, but I am warming up some old recipes. Making soup is so much fun, eh?
 

Platinum Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 13178
Registered: Feb-05
It is indeed. My wife makes a killer Jambalaya as well. Still grillin' this weekend as the weather is great but next weekend supposed to be rain all weekend long...yuck!
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 15395
Registered: Dec-04
2 in the kitchen for soup is something that I miss. Just that and se x.
But thats all ;-)
 

Silver Member
Username: Ezntn

Greeneville, TN

Post Number: 195
Registered: Apr-09
Stu wrote ......Bryan - Be careful with the grill in the garage. Carbon Monoxide ain't a good thing.
Stu ... after all these years of practicin .. the worst thing I have ever done (besides burn meat) was to burn a ring on the astroturf using a Cajun Cooker on the front porch in south Arkansas.
When I go "indoors", it's at the edge of the garage, always with the door open
I will grill rain or shine, that's why I'm glad it's on wheels
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