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By LU 57
Posts
#632038
Recently bought Grill Grates for searing. Had seen them but never felt the need to pull the trigger. Sorry I waited so long. Made some repairs to the Weber Kettle today and made some pork chops that did not disappoint:
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By JDUB
Registration Days Posts
#633216
Weber guy here. kettle and a smokey mountain. The smokey mountain (WSM) will hold a steady temp for an all night cook pretty well. I use remote sensors with alarms by the bed to alert me if it needs attended to.

I've done 20 lbs of pork on there (it has 2 grates to cook on) and could have pretty easily doubled that, although usually I just do one butt around 8 lbs.

If interested, look up wsm forum, or Harry Soo on youtube. WSM is very good price and can easily cook competition quality. I'd love a BGE but holy sticker shock.
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By RubberMallet
Registration Days Posts
#633217
My buddy runs a WSM with a Pitmaster IQ. he's ran that for some time and loves it.
User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#633225
JDUB wrote: October 13th, 2021, 11:10 am Weber guy here. kettle and a smokey mountain. The smokey mountain (WSM) will hold a steady temp for an all night cook pretty well. I use remote sensors with alarms by the bed to alert me if it needs attended to.

I've done 20 lbs of pork on there (it has 2 grates to cook on) and could have pretty easily doubled that, although usually I just do one butt around 8 lbs.

If interested, look up wsm forum, or Harry Soo on youtube. WSM is very good price and can easily cook competition quality. I'd love a BGE but holy sticker shock.
I would probably never have bought one, but my wife did for my birthday one year. Interestingly, you can spend a WHOLE LOT MORE on a stick burner. The Millscale is one you will see on BBQ shows or Meat Church videos:

https://millscale.co/products/94-gallon

$4,150 + shipping for the “backyard model”. 🤣

Sorry, not sorry, to those who get angry about the occasional non-sports post 🤡 🤣
User avatar
By JCS Crew
Posts
#633227
LU 57 wrote: October 13th, 2021, 3:57 pm
JDUB wrote: October 13th, 2021, 11:10 am Weber guy here. kettle and a smokey mountain. The smokey mountain (WSM) will hold a steady temp for an all night cook pretty well. I use remote sensors with alarms by the bed to alert me if it needs attended to.

I've done 20 lbs of pork on there (it has 2 grates to cook on) and could have pretty easily doubled that, although usually I just do one butt around 8 lbs.

If interested, look up wsm forum, or Harry Soo on youtube. WSM is very good price and can easily cook competition quality. I'd love a BGE but holy sticker shock.
I would probably never have bought one, but my wife did for my birthday one year. Interestingly, you can spend a WHOLE LOT MORE on a stick burner. The Millscale is one you will see on BBQ shows or Meat Church videos:

https://millscale.co/products/94-gallon

$4,150 + shipping for the “backyard model”. 🤣

Sorry, not sorry, to those who get angry about the occasional non-sports post 🤡 🤣
That's legit right there!
User avatar
By NeoFlame
Posts
#633265
I've had every smoker/grill made from the cheap smokers that use the wood chips, cold smokers, smoke boxes, and the expensive ones like Traeger (at one point I think I had 4 or so - I had a slight addiction). Hands down the best one I've ever used is the Masterbuilt Gravity series. It uses charcoal but doesn't require a starter and will get to 500 degrees in minutes. (I do use a fire starter stick because I'm always in a hurry grilling and rather just get up and running rather than holding a lighter to it).

Also, you can add in wood chunks (about fist size) with it every time you grill. So when I do steaks I'll add in a chunk of Mesquite or Hickory and do a reverse sear at around 250 so it gets a lot of smoke flavor and then crank it up to 700 degrees for the final sear. It has built in temp probes and it costs about half of the price as my Traeger. I'll never go back, at least twice as much smoke flavor as my Traeger produced. It's a game changer flavor wise. The problem in the past with Charcoal grills is they typically take twice as long as gas...this is essentially a gas grill when it comes to how much you have to do to it and time.

For smoking the hopper is big enough to keep it going through the night so no more having to set alarms to wake up and refuel. It also has bluetooth & wifi so it connect to your phone so you can set temp alarms on that.

Something vital it has is a fan - It is impossible to get consistent outcomes smoking/grilling if you aren't moving the air and keeping it at a consistent temp. If you keep an eye out at Walmart they will drop the price to below $250 in the offseason. They go fast though, they have a cult like following on some of the smoking/grilling forums. People mod these out too, I haven't done too much to mine but a little.

Here's a pic of one identical to mine, but by Char-broil (this says it takes 20 min to get to temp, the MB takes about 12 to get to 700). I think gravity fed grills/smokers are the future for at home grilling. You used to only see them at competitions but manufactures have finally made some consumer versions. Link to what I have: https://www.masterbuilt.com/collections ... ill-smoker

Image
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By JDUB
Registration Days Posts
#635360
@NeoFlame I had never seen one of those before your post. That looks awesome, definitely going to look into it more. My wife is gonna be mad...
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By LU 57
Posts
#635363
JDUB wrote: November 11th, 2021, 4:12 pm @NeoFlame I had never seen one of those before your post. That looks awesome, definitely going to look into it more. My wife is gonna be mad...
I am so close to pulling the trigger…
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By NeoFlame
Posts
#635364
Just tonight I had someone over and we did BBQ chicken & ribeyes. Without prompting or asking they said the steak was better than anything they've ever had at a steakhouse. I asked why - immediately said it was the smoke flavor. It affirms what my opinion is -- you just can't replicate that smoke flavor with pellet grills and can't get the heat needed to do steaks with a traditional smoker. Best of both worlds.

If any of you all get it let me know, happy to help answer any questions you have! Just pay the $50 for them to put it together. It took me most of the afternoon and made me wish I paid the money. :D

I'll likely be in the market to buy another one if I get one of those Walmart deals. Looks like they started the discount this year around September. I may run by some local Walmarts to see if they have any left. Also, don't go off of the price listed, ask for it to be price checked. https://slickdeals.net/f/15278668-maste ... rchV2Algo1
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By LU 57
Posts
#635365
NeoFlame wrote: November 11th, 2021, 9:05 pm Just tonight I had someone over and we did BBQ chicken & ribeyes. Without prompting or asking they said the steak was better than anything they've ever had at a steakhouse. I asked why - immediately said it was the smoke flavor. It affirms what my opinion is -- you just can't replicate that smoke flavor with pellet grills and can't get the heat needed to do steaks with a traditional smoker. Best of both worlds.

If any of you all get it let me know, happy to help answer any questions you have! Just pay the $50 for them to put it together. It took me most of the afternoon and made me wish I paid the money. :D

I'll likely be in the market to buy another one if I get one of those Walmart deals. Looks like they started the discount this year around September. I may run by some local Walmarts to see if they have any left. Also, don't go off of the price listed, ask for it to be price checked. https://slickdeals.net/f/15278668-maste ... rchV2Algo1
You have the MB 560, correct? Did you look at the MB 1050? A little bigger, although I am leaning toward the MB 560 because I have an BGE table and a Weber Performer table already up on the deck🤣🤣
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By NeoFlame
Posts
#635368
HA! You sound like me with all of the other grills! I do have the 560, since this is now my primary go-to grill for everything and I don't use the others now I wish I would have gotten the 1050, but that's just because how much I love it and was more or less just wanting to test it out so went with the cheapest option. However, if the price difference is the main factor I wouldn't let the space difference be the reason not to get it. While mine is the smallest it still has plenty of room to do what you need 90% of the time. I'm getting ready to do some turkey's for Thanksgiving, I did them last year for the family and they checked in over a month ago to make sure I was going to do them again. Plenty of room for 2 birds. I could fit more but I like leaving some room so I can have a water pan to ensure they don't get dried out.

Read the comments on the Slickdeals link. Seems like I'm not alone in my opinion with them. Saw some negative things about the app (they aren't wrong, the app is weak but not a dealbreaker). Also, there are ways to protect the grill from some of the corrosion from heat like others talked about. I haven't done them, the only one I do is a thick piece of aluminum foil on the hopper lid. Thought about getting the https://www.lss-mods.com/product_detail ... od_package but it was just too much for what I paid for the grill. So far after a year of heavy use I haven't needed it or plan to.

The only mod I will do this offseason is the ash crate protector, I probably will just make my own with wire mesh. They use a rubber flap for some reason but if you use the grill at 700 degrees it gets melted pretty quick. I may do something to protect flareups too like what ISS sells. Lastly, I did buy some metal skewers from amazon to put on the hopper because they left too much of a gap and you can lose full lump charcoal because of the gaps between it so you are losing fuel that you really shouldn't. The mods I'm talking about though seriously take 5 minutes to do.
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By NeoFlame
Posts
#635419
Just watched a comparison video between the Masterbuilt & Char-Griller - I think I'm going to go Char-Griller next time. Better quality IMO and some great design changes from MB. It looks like they learned from what MB came out with and what the feedback was.

However, if I found a MB for a great price I'd get it again in a heartbeat and just make some of the mods myself. This was a great video worth watching

User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#635508
So I pulled the trigger on the 560 😂. Wanted the 1050 but could not make the space on the porch.

We have a screened-in porch with an uncovered side porch for grilling. Have had the Weber Performer forever and have not been able to part with it. Just did a tune-up on it in the summer. Also have a BGE table, so it is tight but did not want to relegate any of them down to the patio🤣.

Anyway, grilled some chicken breasts last night and smoked some ribs today. Two thumbs up for ease of use and smoke flavor🔥🔥. Thanks for the heads up NeoFlame.

Purple, you can get this thing to temp with charcoal pretty much as fast as you can with gas. You should branch out. You won’t regret it.
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#635568
I have been researching for months at this rate and was leaning towards the MB gravity series and then I see these posts. I think you guys have sold me. I get a raise soon due to a promotion and I think I have found what I want to gift myself. Every now and then you've got to treat yourself :D
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User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#635826
Made burgers on the MB for the first time tonight. Took less than 10 minutes to get to 500. I have cooked on all types of grills. This is the one you want Posty. Let purple have his gas grill🤣.
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#635829
Already talked to the wife. This will be happening. I will be making the purchase in January. Some mid winter smoking is in my future. I will be sure to keep you guys updated. I've had my gas grill for years. It just doesn't cut it anymore.
LU 57 liked this
By Yacht Rock
Registration Days Posts
#635851
I had a MB electric smoker and I loved it. I recently sold it because I haven't had the time to use it as much as I'd like and I'm in a place where I've been selling things I don't use often and just buying a more advanced version later. That gravity series looks nice. I'll give it some thought if I decide to get back into charcoal grilling/smoking.
User avatar
By LU 57
Posts
#636765
Smoked a very nice turkey on the MB for Thanksgiving. Have struggled with poultry with the skin coming out rubbery, so tried something different.

After I thawed, rinsed, and dried the turkey, I let it keep drying uncovered in the fridge for 12 hours. Took it out, stuffed with aromatics, sprayed with Duck Fat Spray, seasoned and smoked for ~5 1/2 hours at 275. Skin came out perfect.

If you have not tried Duck Fat Spray, give it a shot. Good stuff. Got mine on Amazon.

On another note, looking forward to an update in January Posty!
User avatar
By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#638694
Bought the MB Gravity series grill and put it together this afternoon. I'll do the burn off/seasoning tomorrow and first cook on Saturday. I'm excited!
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By thepostman
Registration Days Posts
#638899
Man this thing is amazing. Smoked a pork shoulder this weekend and it turned out better than anything I've ever cooked before. It was super easy and mixing in some wood chunks really added some flavor. In my opinion you guys under sold it! It is that good.

PH you can keep your gas grill but you're really missing out!
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By NeoFlame
Posts
#638900
I'm pumped (and relieved) so many agree about this grill. I was a little worried if I was overselling it but I felt like I had enough feedback from others who have tasted the difference firsthand to go out on a limb and promote it.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before or not but two things I'd do right away is fold some aluminum foil into a square (about 3 or 4 layers should be enough) and place it between the hopper lid and the hopper). This just protects the lid a bit from the heat and can get some buildup over time.

Lastly, I noticed I was losing too much larger chunks of coal in the bottom so I ordered some steel skewers ($10 or so) and cut them to size to slide in the gaps of the metal crate holding all of the coal in place. Now the only thing I find in the bucket is pure ash. Anything steel would work, I used something like this:

Happy grilling, look forward to some pics of the results!
thepostman, LU 57 liked this
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