Recommendations for barbeque

Sons plus sons-in-law can empty a refrigerator faster than you can blink ;-)

...Jim Thompson

-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |

Hello Jim,

So can engineer-friends. More than once did I have to take some car keys away for the night.

The ones we built were quite heavy, (Think '70s car muffler steel) and welded together. I'd like to have watched someone take one of them apart and and flatten it out. ;-) They had to change to a different product a couple years later because these things were so well built that the market was saturated. :(

Starter chimney is good but the newspaper was too slow. I used a propane torch flaming into the chimney for about 10-15 minutes and then let it stand for 10-15 more until it's all flaming. Pull the chimney and cover entirely for a few minutes to slow it down. No aromas from lighter fluids. You can mell that junk a few blocks away and it isn't good.

I replaced the Weber kettle with a Weber Genesis Silver B (natural gas) which the wife REALLY liked but the new house has a built in Fire Magic which is good but a little farther away than she'll use in winter. I need to put in a gas line for the Weber so we can have grilled food in winter too.

Trader Joe's Tri-Tip and Carne Asada is really good on the grill..

GG

Hello Glenn,

In a real hurry I sprinkle some wood chips into it from the kindling kiln. Whenever we chop firewood we make sure to pick that out of the stuff that is swept up at the end.

For winter we have a built-in barbeque pit inside the house, with it's own flue. When we bought the house I thought that was really cool, never seen it before. But we rarely use that. We have even barbequed outside in driving hail, large chunks clanging onto the Weber lid and my head (ouch) and me holding onto the handle bars of the grill so it won't go sailing.

Thanks for the hint. Have to try it, especially the Carne Asada. That is one of my favorites at the Mexican restaurants. After Talapia, of course. Costco's marinated Tri-Tip is quite good as well.

That looks like a rich mans bbq.

I hope none get offended by that!!. So i need the trick for cooking those yankie ribs. I heard that the trick was to boil them first? Every time i do them its with bbq sauce and some garlic, but they never work out like the ones that the american chefs make, the ones that fall off the bone.

How about

Hello Andy,

Cooking or pre-baking them first is what some people do. I used to but not anymore. Usually I put all the coals in the middle of the barbie, quickly sear the ribs from all sides, move them to the outside perimeter and then close the lid. Top vent fully open, bottom vent regulated to whatever cooking time is desired. We don't really like them "falling off the bone" so I use higher heat than others. Had some yesterday night, plus bratwurst and potatoes also from the BBQ. Yummy.

BTW, a lot of the secret to good ribs is in the marinade. And yeah, we do eat a lot of ribs over here.

OK, now you said it, you have to give me the tips on the marinade!

I am not poor, but this is not one of those barbeques that costs many thousands of dollars. It cost me $1300, IIRC. I bought it at Sam's Club a couple of years ago.

I buy them precooked at AJ's ;-)

...Jim Thompson

Hello Andy,

Oh, that's classified information, can't leave the country ;-)

Seriously, for marinade most folks over here use an off-the-shelf product and then modify from there. Our favorite is "Chaka" from Costco but I am afraid it may not be available outside the US. It's a very thin liquid. We usually like our marinade a bit heavy on the garlic.

Pretty much everything I grill gets a healthy dose of Sriracha hot sauce, made in Rosemead CA by a (now rich) Vietnamese immigrant to the US.

Most Vietnamese restaurants have them on the tables, but for home use they keep much longer (don't oxidize) if you store in the fridge.

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

The tricky part of shrimp marianade is tying all those strings on.

Thats still a lot of money :) The bbq I have I bought from K-Mart (Aussie equiv of walmart i think) when I first bought my house. Cost me $700AU back then. I am going to buy one of those nice stainless ones when the old one falls to pieces. Problem is that it never seems to fall to pieces.

I have one of the little 'Patio' grills, round, with a single round burner inside. Works great for just my wife and me, and the little bottles of propane usually last us a year.

Charlie

Hello Andy,

That's just the thing. The simpler they are the more durable they can be. Our 26 inch Weber kettle is 10 years old, has seen at least 1000 barbie nights, got tossed about in the wind, tumbled down the driveway during a hail storm and still looks quite chipper. Nothing broke. Well, there ain't nothing that really could break I guess. They are like good old wood stoves.