Alternative outdoor cooking

Mike_H

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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Feb 28, 2017
Messages
11,661
Location
Grand Rapids, MI, United States
I'm a huge fan of charcoal. I have done anything other than hotdogs on a propane grill in years. I'm currently using a Kamado style (think big green egg) grill and it's amazing. It does low and slow or a hot sear equally well.

My gas grillil is falling apart. I was going to just get rid of it, but my wife stopped me. She doesn't really like cooking on charcoal and prefers propane. Plus, my gas grill has a side burner that works great for fish frys. Would hate to lose that.

So we started looking at used webers... I'm not sold on the idea. They are still expensive and the ones I'm looking at are falling apart like my "commercial grade" charbroil.

She suggested looking into a Blackstone griddle. She had friends with them and they really like them. I kinda like the idea, especially the ones with an air fryer built in.

Any one have any experience with them? Do they last well?

TIA
 
I'm looking at a small Blackstone for my camper. A friend has one and loves it. This would be an upgrade compared to most RV outdoor stoves.

Another friend has a larger 4 burner Blackstone that he uses all the time. He loves it. He cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner on it.

Obviously, a flat griddle heated by propane won 't give you the same taste as charcoal or a smoker, but they are convenient and easy to maintain.

Edit; I see Blackstone make a "Tailgater" that has both grill and griddle
 
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I have a Weber in addition to a lot of Camp Chef products. I'm finding fewer and fewer times when the Weber is the preferred way. One of the biggest issues for it is temperature regulation. I just bought a bbq box for the Camp Chef SideKick attached to the smoker in order to do bbq chicken at the temperature that is both controllable and low enough to keep it moist. The Camp Chef modular systems are pretty compelling.

My Weber is 21 years old and I refurbished it last year with new consumable components. I think the box is indestructible and it was pretty easy to get high-quality replacement parts. Perhaps a newer model would be more versatile.
 
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modern webers are not like the old ones, they are now owned by venture capitalists and produce in China. I generally buy a cheaper gas grill with trying to eek 7 years out of it. I have the charbroil infrared and have replaced th grates with stainless and the heat pans under it. I also have a 28" griddle and the smaller blackstone with charcoal on one side and griddle on the other. They are awesome to cook on and you can do so much with them. I like blackstones rear grease traps opposed to camp chef that has it on the front. I would also get one that has a fold down metal hood like the blackstone pro models. I have one that came with a soft cover and finally replaced it with a diamond plate hood.
 
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So I bought an entire Ribeye roast (without bones) from restaurant depot, it was huge and I naively thought I could just cut it into 2 inch thick ribeyes. Evidentially, there was a bunch more to it and there are several different cuts to the whole roast. One of the cuts was the ribeye roast roll, you roll it and use twine to tie it up. I then cut it into small tied steaks. Today I defrosted and prepared as below.
rib eye roll 1.jpg

Wrapped in bacon
rib eye roll 2.jpg

topped with Jeff's Texas rub
rib eye roll 3.jpg

Decided to use the griddle instead of the gasser.
rib eye roll 4.jpg

crusting the first side....smells great
rib eye roll 5.jpg

Did the flip and then onto crisping the bacon
rib eye roll 6.jpg

Added some super sweet Long Island corn, cooked perfectly, really enjoyed this meal. Doing some ribeye steaks over the weekend.
 
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cliffish said:
So I bought an entire Ribeye roast (without bones) from restaurant depot, it was huge and I naively thought I could just cut it into 2 inch thick ribeyes. Evidentially, there was a bunch more to it and there are several different cuts to the whole roast. One of the cuts was the ribeye roast roll, you roll it and use twine to tie it up. I then cut it into small tied steaks. Today I defrosted and prepared as below.
View attachment 272944
Wrapped in bacon
View attachment 272946
topped with Jeff's Texas rub
View attachment 272947
Decided to use the griddle instead of the gasser.
View attachment 272948
crusting the first side....smells great
View attachment 272949
Did the flip and then onto crisping the bacon
View attachment 272950
Added some super sweet Long Island corn, cooked perfectly, really enjoyed this meal. Doing some ribeye steaks over the weekend.
Click to expand...
Looks delicious!
 
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My fav grill I've gotten from Sam's Club - first about 10 years ago then a replacement a year or two ago. It's a combo infrared, charcoal, and gas. The most recent one actually has a smoker box too. I love it because I can sear (or reverse sear) on the infrared and use either charcoal or gas depending on how much time I have or whichever I prefer.
 
RubiconRic said:
My fav grill I've gotten from Sam's Club - first about 10 years ago then a replacement a year or two ago. It's a combo infrared, charcoal, and gas. The most recent one actually has a smoker box too. I love it because I can sear (or reverse sear) on the infrared and use either charcoal or gas depending on how much time I have or whichever I prefer.
Click to expand...
have a link?
 
Mike_H said:
I'm a huge fan of charcoal. I have done anything other than hotdogs on a propane grill in years. I'm currently using a Kamado style (think big green egg) grill and it's amazing. It does low and slow or a hot sear equally well.

My gas grillil is falling apart. I was going to just get rid of it, but my wife stopped me. She doesn't really like cooking on charcoal and prefers propane. Plus, my gas grill has a side burner that works great for fish frys. Would hate to lose that.

So we started looking at used webers... I'm not sold on the idea. They are still expensive and the ones I'm looking at are falling apart like my "commercial grade" charbroil.

She suggested looking into a Blackstone griddle. She had friends with them and they really like them. I kinda like the idea, especially the ones with an air fryer built in.

Any one have any experience with them? Do they last well?

TIA
Click to expand...
I've been looking at the Blackstone griddles as well. I was a hardcore charcoal guy for years but fell off shortly after I got a pellet grill. I use it now exclusively & my old propane/gas combo has just been rotting away under cover for about 2 years. I like the versatility of the flat top, you can cook practically anything and there's so much space to work with.
 
Apparition said:
Want portability?

how about a skottle? I’ve always wanted one but haven’t pulled the trigger.

https://tembotusk.com/pages/skottle-grill
Click to expand...
Made one of those myself out of a plow disc. Saw a guy at a campground with one. Just sets it on top of a propane burner and cooks everything on it - breakfast, lunch & dinner. Season it well and would last forever.
 
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Apparition said:
Want portability?

how about a skottle? I’ve always wanted one but haven’t pulled the trigger.

https://tembotusk.com/pages/skottle-grill
Click to expand...
Dang...attach an "overlanding" tag to a product and DOUBLE its price! Looks cool tho. I am looking for some sort of solution for the RV to keep us from having to cook inside. I might look for a junk single bottom plow and build one like @jeepins did!
 
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Mike_H said:
Dang...attach an "overlanding" tag to a product and DOUBLE its price! Looks cool tho. I am looking for some sort of solution for the RV to keep us from having to cook inside. I might look for a junk single bottom plow and build one like @jeepins did!
Click to expand...
Cook like Marco, he's got an assortment of options in this video

 
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qslim said:
I've been looking at the Blackstone griddles as well. I was a hardcore charcoal guy for years but fell off shortly after I got a pellet grill. I use it now exclusively & my old propane/gas combo has just been rotting away under cover for about 2 years. I like the versatility of the flat top, you can cook practically anything and there's so much space to work with.
Click to expand...
My folks have a Traeger. I'm still a charcoal (hardwood lump though...Take those briquets and kick rocks, hoser!) diehard. With just a little bit of planning, I can start the charcoal, do something else for a few minutes, and then be ready to cook. I like the idea of the griddle though. I grill fish and veggies a lot too and having a nice surface to cook on without worrying about stuff falling through is appealing to me.
 
I use a UCO Flatpack grill for camping. This thing takes up NO SPACE when packed up. There's an even smaller back pack grill that's suitable for one person. When not using it for cooking the grill can also be used as a small fire pit. A handy thing to have to stoke the coals is a 12V hand held fan.

20210811_191440_22.jpg
20210811_192804.jpg


https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01HZF9FMG/?tag=tjforum-20
 
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I got the Blackstone with the air fryers for Fathers day and now our Webber has cobwebs on it. It is fantastic! I used to hate to cook and honestly only made 6 dinners in the 26 years I have been married. Since Father's day I am the only one that has cooked....lol It is a blast to use! If you go this direction look up The Waltwins on Youtube.
 
cliffish said:
I have a blackstone griddle, how do the air fryers work on your? Do they stay clean in between uses or do bugs find their way into the air fryer draws?
Click to expand...
I love the air fryers! It's nice to have them outside. I have 2 in the kitchen that don't get much use anymore. Keep the heat and smell outside. As far as bugs, I have not had issues. I just wash them after use and wipe then down before I use then the next time.
 
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