BBQgeek

Using BGE platesetter with Bubba Keg/Big Steel Keg

Due to the overwhelming success of the Big Green Egg, several competitor Kamado cookers have entered the market in the past ten years.  Companies like Primo, Kamado Jo, Bubba Keg/Big Steel Keg, have all tried to penetrate the Kamado/BGE market with moderate success.  I was lucky enough to get a Bubba Keg for evaluation purposes a few years ago.  I immediately fell in love with certain aspects of their design as compared to the BGE.  The Bubba Keg was made of aluminum which made it much lighter than the BGE.  It also had removable side shelves, wheels, and a trailer hitch which made it infinitely more mobile than the very heavy and bulky BGE.  But the one thing the Bubba Keg lacked which rendered it almost unusable was a diffuser plate like the BGE's platesetter (pictured above).  During my first year with the Bubba Keg, I tried over and over to smoke long cook meats, but they always  came out overcooked and bitter because they were direct smoking as opposed to offset smoking.  Ultimately, I stopped using the Bubba Keg for smoking and repurposed it as a high temperature grill (which it does very well due to it's styrofoam insulation core).  When this year's BBQ season rolled around, I decided to try one last time to learn how to cook low and slow with the Bubba Keg.  This time I trolled a few BBQ boards and learned that many people had success using a BGE platesetter as a diffuser.  I took a few measurements of the Bubba Keg fire bowl and headed to the local BGE store.  For a mere $65 bucks, I was able to fix my problem.  Now I'm enjoying my Bubba Keg/Big Steel Keg much more....so much that I'm considering investing in a BBQguru so I can cook long meats effortlessly.  For those of you out there with a Bubba Keg/Big Steel Keg, this simple workaround will really improve the quality of your BBQ.

Great BBQ Gifts - Days 5 - 17

 

 

Descriptions below correspond to photos above beginning top left and moving left to right, row by row.

1.  Jacquard- Tenderizes tough cuts of meat.

2. Weber Charcoal Chimney- Best chimney on the market.

3. Wood Chip Soaker Kit- Really handy way to soak your chips.

4. Fireplace Grill- Great way to put your wood burning fireplace to use.

5. Mop and Bucket Kit 

6.BBQguru NanoQ Kit- Keep your pit at a constant temperature with this tool.

7.Thermapen- Hands down best instant read thermometer available on the market.

8. Bob Gibson's White Sauce - a wonderful non-traditional BBQ sauce.

9. Remote Probe Thermometer- Check your pit temperature from inside the house.

10. Brine Pump/Injector- Competition grade injector for your meats.

11. Myron Mixon's BBQ Class- For all you high rollers out there, learn from the pros.

12. Professional Grill Brush

Great BBQ Gifts - Day 4 - Shimmy, Shimmy, Shake

 Gosh, I love to rub my meat.  Wait.  That sounds really bad.  Let's try again. Ahem.  One of the most critical steps in making good BBQ is applying your dry rub.  If you or your significant other are still applying dry BBQ rub by the manual method, I suggest you consider upgrading to a restaurant grade shaker.  It will help you achieve consistency and an even application across your pork, chicken, beef, or holiday beast.  There are several varieties of these shakers readily available at your local Bed, Bath, and Beyond or restaurant supply store, or even online here.  I have the version pictured to your left, as well as one of the shakers you typically see in a Pizza Hut loaded with parmesan cheese.  Either will do the job.  Heck, go for broke and buy both.  They will make great stocking stuffers because they are cheap and cylinder shaped.  Act Now!  Buy Soon!  Christmastime is Here.

Great BBQ Gifts - Day 3 - Hot Hands

Today's gift suggestion just shows that you care.  Grills and smokers get hot.  What better way to show your concern than to give your loved one a pair of welder's gloves, like these available at Sears.   With these gloves in the way, your cook can easily pick up hot grill grates, change out ash trays, and even handle red hot coals.  And at $9.99 a pair they are a bargain.

Great BBQ Xmas Gifts - Day 2 - Flamethrower

 BBQ is about fire and smoke.  Everybody talks on and on about the smoke and how great it makes the meat taste.  But there's nothing FUN about smoke.  Fire, on the other hand, is nothing but FUN.  So, if you've grown a little bored watching your charcoal chimney turn red hot, take it to the next level.  Buy yourself or your loved one this  Propane Torch with Push Button lighter from Harbor Freight for $39.99.  I absolutely love mine and for so many reasons.  I can throw charcoal in my offset firebox and hit it with the torch and I'm ready to cook in 5 minutes or less AND I can scare the bejeezus out of my neighbors at the same time.  Burning at 3000 degrees, this torch is really intimidating and sounds like a fighter jet taking off.  All your neighbors will know when you are grilling or BBQ'ing.  Trust me.  Plus, it's a multitasker.  As advertised, it will burn weeds or melt driveway ice (I've done both).  A good friend of mine used his to heat laminate floor tiles so he could pry them up.  And it's tons of fun to chase the kids or the wife around the back yard with one screaming "Charlie Don't Surf!!".

Bubba Keg Grill Shootout - The Bubba Keg vs. The Chargriller and Kingsford Charcoal with Hickory vs. Kingsford Competition Charcoal

I recently received a Bubba Keg Convection Grill for evaluation purposes and have been putting it through its paces to see how it performs.  After some initial struggles, I decided to use the first nice weekend day to stage a cookoff.  "In this corner....weighing 50 pounds....the Bubba Keg Convection Grill...."  You get the idea.  I wanted to put this newcomer - this unknown, untested cooker - up against my tried and true Chargriller Smokin' Pro.  A simple enough premise, but it lacked a little zing.  I badly needed a hook.  Then it came to me.  I have been playing with all these new charcoals that Kingsford has introduced this season.  I would do a showdown at High Noon between not only the cookers BUT the charcoal as well.  It's a two-for Tuesday (except that it is a Saturday...meh)!  I would pair the Bubba Keg Grill with the Kingsford with Hickory (reasons to be explained later) and the Chargriller with the Kingsford Competition Briquettes.  The stage was set.  The cage had been lowered onto the ring and this was to be a no-holds barred battle royale (Rick Flair where are you???).  Continue reading the  Bubba Keg Grill Shootout here...

2009 State of the Barbecue Industry Report

The Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association released their 2009 State of the Barbecue Industry Reportrecently.  The report was compiled by soliciting responses from over 29,000 people.   There are some really interesting factoids in the report.  Here's a few I really liked:

• Dry meat rubs are popular among consumers. In fact, dry rub usage has increased among gas grill owners to 59 percent in 2007, from 21 percent in 2003.

• The male head (52 percent) normally makes the decision to cook, lights (65 percent) and cooks (59 percent) on the charcoal/wood grills.

• Four in 10 consumers who cook on a charcoal grill (39 percent) normally use barbecue sauce to add flavor to their dishes. Most popular flavors include hickory (65 percent), mesquite (49 percent) and honey (49 percent).

• And my favorite - Whether male or female, the primary grillers in the majority of households considers themselves to be average or above in terms of cooking skills.

 

Start your engines. It's BBQ season!

Thanks to Todd Posey for sending us this fantastic grill mod.

Looks innocent enough...

And then vroooom....

The Kip Grill

The Kip Grill is a European invention that a friend forwarded to me last week.  I've never seen a rotisserie that is powered by heat running through turbines, which then rotate the meat.  In case the video is too grainy, the back side of the rotisserie is a vertical charcoal chamber.  You can read more here.  Click on the video and be AMAZED.

Weber Genesis E310 Review

So, I've had my new Weber E310 in full service for about a month now.  It replaced a loved, but worn out, Weber Spirit three burner grill I rescued off of a construction job site.  It was the Spirit's inherent tenacity and sturdy build that drove me to stick with Weber when I chose to replace the Spirit with the Genesis E310.  If I do say so myself, it was a darn good idea.  My Genesis E310 has exceeded my expectations in almost every way.  My Spirit and I had shared many great memories together, but I was in love with my new girl and I wasn't looking back for anything.

     Rather than blabber on about how much I love my new grill, I'm going to offer up the following list of reasons my Genesis is better than my Spirit (and why you should run out and buy yourself a Genesis also!)

1.  The grill lid and body are solid.  There's real substance here.  My old Spirit was nice and heavy, but the Genesis has  much better overall construction and it just looks better.

2.  There's a lot more cooking area.   I haven't checked the specifications but I would guess I've got around 100- 150 extra sq. inches to use, not including the warming rack.

3.  The warming rack is much better.  The Genesis design lifts the warming grate two or three inches higher than the Spirit.  That makes working with the main grill grate easier and it also helps out when it comes to indirect cooking of meats.

4.  This grill gets HOT.  The built-in thermometer on the  lid runs up to 700 degrees and, believe me, you can get there.

5.  The burner tubes, fat and juice drainage system, and side shelves are made from better materials.  Especially the side shelves.

6.  The casters are of a higher quality.  You can move this grill around much more easily than the Spirit.

7.  My E310 came with  nice, heavy gage cast iron grates.  These things will last for years if I keep them dry.

So, that's about it.  Ferris Bueller had a quote that ran something like, "If you have the means, I highly recommend you try it."  That's how I feel about the Genesis E310.  At $650, it is not a small investment.  But it is one that you will reap dividends from for many years.