Enough of War Talk, etc., etc....on to a SERIOUS Topic!

2/18/03 | RightOnline; RightOnlinesWife

[RightOnline]

Now that all is decided except how much French tourists will be charged for parking tickets in post-war Iraq, I want to temporarily divert the attention of my fellow FReepers onto a truly serious topic.

I'm talking, of course, about...........grilling.

The Lovely Wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary yesterday, and as part of our mutually-decided "extended celebration" of our Silver Anniversary, we decided as one of our little fun things planned to get a new grill. Stop laughing. We like to grill. A lot.

You see, we figured that all too often, couples that reach this point have some big blowout, take a trip, throw a party, yada yada yada.....and then it's over. We've decided that we're going to spread this thing out over the space of a year (ok, the fact that we have seven kids, the youngest being 16 months, making it a bit tough to take a 'mommy-daddy trip' quite yet enters into this, but go with it..). The overarching theme will be, originally enough............silver. Now, the last thing we need is more silverware, or some stupid, use-it-once-a-year silver punch bowl (who drinks punch, anyway? give me a good bourbon...), or some other decorative but nonsensical and overpriced trinket to sit in a hutch or on a shelf. No, we're pragmatic if nothing else. We also like to be creative........so if it's "silver", it'll get a look. Still.............

Trips to the Islands, etc. will come later. This is serious stuff.

Now, we've been longtime charcoal bigots. We've literally burned out a few Weber kettle grills (all we've ever used). However, we're now seriously considering a propane grill and have, generally speaking but open to suggestions, narrowed our choices down to one of the following:

> Weber Genesis Gold C

> Weber Genesis Silver C, or the impressive upstart,

> MembersMark " Stainless Steel Gourmet Gas Grill" (apparently only available at Sam's Club)

Give me your reviews. Air your biases. Chastise us or praise us for considering gas vs. charcoal after all these years. Tell us what has served you well and what to avoid. Share the glories and the horror stories.

Time for you Deck Chefs to stand proudly and Present Arms with your tongs (silver, of course) and oversized two-pronged forks.

Let's hear it........and we appreciate your expertise, experience, and insights. Humor will work, too.

Hey........by the way..........any suggestions for the remainder of our Hi-Yo Silver, Away! year-long celebration will also be appreciated. I mean, does flying on a silver aircraft to one of the Virgin Islands count? Bit of a stretch, but what the hell.....we'll stretch to beat the dead horse.

God bless, thanks in advance, and light 'em if you got 'em.

[Quigley]

Propane is the worst. I have tried almost every brand and they don't cook worth a hoot and the burners only last a year or two at the most then they have to be replaced. Charcoal is the only way to go.

[sit-rep]

Happy Anniversary...

Can't help ya on the grill, we bbq a lot, but I just asked the wife and niether of us know what it is!

SR

[ConservativeMan55]

Hank Hill sells propane and propane accessories. Perhaps they made it that way on the show to be funny.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Something critical - whenever you cook meat, you need to let it "rest" for 5 minutes before serving - it locks in juices.

[A Citizen Reporter]

I'll second, (or third) the comments on the Big Green Egg. It cooks everything better than any other grill. I load it up with natural charcoal, stabilize the temp at between 200-250, put the ribs on, and don't touch it for about three hours. At the opposite temp extreme, it sears a steak better than anything I've seen. Plus, homemade pizza on the Egg is incredible!

[ChuckHam]

Try your local fish market. I can buy it here in San Antonio sometimes at the local market since we are close to the Gulf. I've caught a few on my fishing trips in the Gulf and much prefer that to store bought shark.

[ConservativeMan55]

Excellent Advice! Keep it coming! Unforunately I fear I am relegated to Spaghetti O's and Pop Tarts until I become a better cook.

[condi2008]

Add a dash of worcestershire and a pinch of ginger. Kiss your fingertips and say, "MMMMMMMammmmma mia!"

[Quigley]

I have had my "Big Green Egg" for about 3 years and I have not had a problem with it at all. You can put a boston butt on it and leave it all day and it will be perfect. You can also bake a lemon meringue pie on it if you want. I didn't like the initial price which was close to 900 bucks but I think it will be the last grill/smoker I ever have to buy.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

OK - here is more. When grilling fish such as salmon, wrap it loosely in foil, so it stays together.

And remember to take off the skin before you eat it - the oils are a little.....strong. It should come right off.

[JRandomFreeper]

Stand in front of each one and pretend to cook. I mean, start with setting down the imaginary plate of burgers or ribs wherever they go on the grill.... Oops! No attached shelf? Forget it. The sliding glass door is closed and your wife can't hear you...

Seriously, stand in front of them and move around. See how comfortable is is, see what reaches are required. That's the only way to evaluate one.

And after you post bond or are released from 72 hour psych eval for cooking pretend steaks, let us know what you decided.

/john

[Senator Pardek]

I'd rather die with a burger in my colon than live and eat faux-fu. - Hank Hill

[Chancellor Palpatine]

For a really excellent program on food preparation and cooking chemistry (from tips on meat preparation, salt to buy, candy making, what makes peppers hot and how best to prepare and use them, etc.), I really recommend watching Alton Brown on The Food Network (the show is "Good Eats"). His show is really entertaining, and even if you can already cook, you'll learn a great deal of the "why" of it all. It'll take awhile to graduate to being able to do the stuff Emeril Lagasse does - but with the right equipment, you can be a pro.

[JRandomFreeper]

I really recommend watching Alton Brown on The Food Network

Alton will be in Dallas in the next week or so. Chef is trying to get our class an audience with him. I hope he does, I would like to meet Alton. He's one of my favorites.

/john

[RightOnline]

Good advice.......and I do just that (well.......not quite so obviously; I array my kids around me with their coats opened up, forming a human shield so I can practice unmolested). No attached tray? It's outta there. If I'm going gas, it HAS to have a side burner as well.

Other factors: available options / accessories, warranty support, etc.

ALSO.......I don't want to have to have a Mechanical Engineering degree to assemble the damned thing.

[e_engineer]

Don't have any advice specific to the models you mentioned, but the last gas grill we bought was very frustrating to cook on because the flame could not be adjusted low enough. I suspect that the manufacturer set the minimum gas flow to insure that the flame would not blow out under windy conditions.

My advice: Try to "test drive" the gas grill before you buy it.

Another aspect of gas grills is the "two tank" syndrome. Sometimes it's hard to tell if you have enough gas left in the tank to cook one more meal, and it's really annoying to have to run to the store when you run out during cooking. To avoid this, we have a second propane tank that we use with the tripod burner to steam crabs. (The second tank is always full, and it's a short walk to the barn when the main tank runs out.)

[RightOnline]

Thank you kindly................but is yours at least silver??? :)

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Not gas but if you want one that will last decades try a PK (Portable Kitchen). My family has had ours since 1968 and it's still in great shape sitting outside all those years. This from their website;

* A patriotic note: While news of a stolen barbeque grill is nothing new, a soldier wrote in to the factory from his front line position during the Vietnam conflict to report that during an overrun by enemy Viet Cong troops, the servicemen were unhappy to discover upon repulsing the invaders that their prized Portable Kitchen cooker and steaks were now favorites of the enemy.

Records show that over 8,000 of the popular Portable Kitchen cookers served along with our forces in the front lines of Vietnam. One army cook wrote that over 2,000 meals had been cooked on his unit cooker during stationing in three foreign countries and at home in the US.

Click Here

[RightOnline]

Cool. Very cool........and they have an interesting history. Thanks for the link. :)

[SortaBichy]

Are you going to culinary school? Cool! i hope you get the chance to learn from Alton! I like his show :)
In fact, I like most everything on FoodTVNetwork!