Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

[gjbingham]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

Good info, RT. I've never heard that propane is corrosive. How about natural gas. It must be different since it runs through all those safe LNG terminals to our homes. (?)
George

[RTflorida]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

Not being a chemist or metallurgist, I can only speak from experience.

I think there are many factors which cause corrosion of these metals which we are lead to believe are rust-free/non corrosive and "lifetime".
It may not be the gas itself (propane, or NG) but the reaction of the gas, the impurities in the gas, humidity, impurities in the air, as well as the high temps involved in grilling (and probably any "drippings" from the food you are grilling).

My grills have never been exposed to the elements and food drippings on the burners are not an issue with my Lynx grill. That leaves the gas, outside air, and temp. responsible. I can definetly say cast brass DOES corrode - "rust"- just like cast iron or steel, just takes a bit longer. I had several quarter size areas that just rotted away on these burners.

My only experiece with NG is the furnace in the home in which I grew up. Had cast iron burners and I am certain my dad had to replace them one winter...they too had rotted away in several spots.

RT

[gjbingham]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

Wierd. Certainly something to think about.

I think you're right about having to replace BBQ parts occasionally. I've done it myself on innumerable occasions. I have a higher end Kenmore grill right now. It's still going strong after two cooks per week for two years.
G.

[Doc]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

I have turned into such the snob about grilling. Forgive me, please! I went through the whole gasser thing for a few years and finally, quite by accident, came upon the Big Green Egg. Yep, it's charcoal (the real kind) so it takes a few minutes to get up to heat ... I'm always ready to cook in about 20 minutes. The flavor of everything (including pizza ... I don't have a brick oven yet) is way beyond anything I ever produced on a gasser. And, they look good built into an outdoor kitchen.

Just my opinion for what its worth.

[gjbingham]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

I've heard about the Big Green Egg many times, but never seen one. Briquettes are kind of a pain. Do you use lighter fluid or one of the chimney starting devices to get it going?
G.

[Doc]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

I've heard about the Big Green Egg many times, but never seen one. Briquettes are kind of a pain. Do you use lighter fluid or one of the chimney starting devices to get it going?
G.

First, you are correct ... briquettes are a pain and are not particularly good fuel. They contain too many fillers (cornstarch, etc), make way too much ash, and can flavor food in a not-so-good way. The BGE uses lump charcoal which is whole wood converted to charcoal. For a good description of various charcoals visit nakedwhiz.com (I promise it is a good site ... not what you may think at first) and check out Doug's lump charcoal database. He also has a good bit of info about the "egg".

I NEVER use lighter fluid in my eggs (I have a large and a small). They are made of a high-temp ceramic and I don't want the chemicals in the fluid on them. Also, I don't like the taste of the fluid residuals in my food. You can use a chimney type starter but I simply use a propane torch and light a small area in the center of the load of charcoal. With lump charcoal, about 60 seconds with the torch gets a large enough hot spot going to light the entire mass. With both dampers open, the egg will go to over 500 degrees (F) in about 20 minutes.

Since this isn't a forum about the BGE, if you want more info or links about the "egg", PM me and I'll help direct you to some egg information.

[dwm3546]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

forget gas except for quick cooking I use the "BIG GREEN EGG"

[Bandrasco]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

For what it's worth I picked up an electrolux Icon 51"multi burner-lifetime guarantee with infrared searing zone along with the infrared rotisserie zone. 3 years in the outside uncovered Florida humid elements it's still cooking like a champ. we use it at least 3 times a week, more in the summer. Still looks great.

I plan on getting a stainless steel rack made for my pizza oven so I can grill some meat over the coals. That will be very cool. Thats actually how I got this idea to build a wfo. I started looking at an addition to my already freakin huge outdoor kitchen and then saw one of these and said to myself, "myself' this would be the ultimate challenge"...So I jumped in. Not with out the help of everyone in this forum.

Thanks,

[gjbingham]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

Almost a year later, and after much searching, reading, and hand wringing, I finally decided on a BBQ.
For those of you searching for a grill, I'd recommend that you visit BBQguys.com website. They have vids of their major brands in use which also shows their major components and . While they don't point out too many flaws in the BBQs, they give you a great idea what to look for and what you are getting for the money. Following RT's lead on the Lynx grill, I ignored them completely.
Personally, I loved the TEC grills, all infra-red design, and state of the art. Wierd noise though when you cook with them, and no flames! ???? What fun is that?
Then based on the reviews, Fire Magic (and another) was right behind that. Nice grills, some stupid digital thermometer newly added, but not to be used as a probe in a roast. (?) Same price as the TEC, but not as cool. Decisions, decisions......
Two young kids and goofing off for a living has my wallet a bit more strapped than I figured, so I settled on the American Outdoor Grill (AOG) grill made by the same manufacturer of the Fire Magic Grill. A great grill (so far) at half the price. I suspect that somewhere along the way I will decide that I got what I paid for, but so far, the thing has totally fulfilled my expectations. It's got an infra-red burner and infra-red rotisserie burner built in. If it lasts more than just a few years, then I'll feel good about the purchase. Much like the pizza oven, the hair on my hands quickly disappears over that IR burner. Hot hot hot!!!
Pics to follow......

[RTflorida]

Re: Gas grill for your outdoor kitchen

Interesting you mention Fire Magic, that was my second choice at the time (probably should have bought it). The TEC grills were just coming on the scene and although the folks at the grill stores raved about them, I wasn't completely sold (they were a few hundred $ more at the time than my Lynx, so that weighed on the decision as well).
Since I have ZERO desire to give Lynx any more of my money I am going to check out BBQguys, just to stay up on things.....I could burn another big hole in one of my "lifetime warranty" burners any day.

RT