Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

I still have a ton of ribs from last time.

So they'll probably sit in the freezer.

 

Sweet!

 

You have that gargantuan 22, why is it an "if" question,,, BOTH!

 

I need more chicken holders.

 

...beer cans... ??? WTF is up with you?

 

Very nice

 

So, has anyone looked at custom grill grates? There is a company on Facebook that sells them and I am wondering if they are any good. I don't want to plug the company, but it is East Georgia Metals.

 

Looks mighty delicious!

 

They're not custom but I have a cast iron grate for my Weber. It's badass!

 

What's the upkeep like on those things? I'm very caring for my cast iron skillets, but rarely pay any mind to my standard Weber grates. I'm guessing I'd need to start giving a little love to them if I go cast iron? I'd like to, just worried I'll neglect them too much.

 

Definitely need more love than the regular grates but not much. I just grease them down from time to time and they do fine. I did neglect them for a season once and they needed to be brillo'd

 

Looks like they are truly custom, wonder how much they are. Most of what I saw on FB pictures look like a modified version of the GrillGrate perforated grates. People that have them seem to like them for the most part.

I will eventually replace all mine on the gasser and WSM with Stainless. I did the Kettle already and it was $76 from Weber. Not sure how many they have left it is a discontinued item.

The other ones I looked at are the Killa Grilla for $75 for the side flip up grate. About the same as Weber. And this 15 pound beast from Gallagher Metal Works



It is $140 and a bit too much IMO but should last as long as the kettle.

I think IIRC yours has the 3 pie inserts instead of the 4 like mine. I would like and use it a lot more if mine had only 3 sections. I have the Craycort and got it 6 or 7 years ago. The 4 sections on mine are kind of small for steaks and such and each section runs opposite the others. Makes it hard to be symmetrical in my grill marks LOL. Haven't used it much last few years and is really starting to rust badly I need to clean it up. On the other hand it makes the surface area smaller as it rusts away and allows more flame through. I have gone back to just letting the flames do the work.

I do have a lot of cast iron that I cook on in the kitchen and grills and any more when I want cast iron cooking I use those. Recently picked up 2 more smaller lodge preseasoned pans a 10" and 9". First thing I do is grind the inside preseasoned surface away and get down to a smooth finish and then season them myself.



The gasser is good for seasoning I crank it up to max for an hour and do it at least half a dozen times letting it cool to the touch and reapplying oil between each burn. Upside down so the oil doesn't pool in the bottom you want it as thin as you can get it.



And then cook a lot of bacon of course.

The Weber cast iron griddle I left alone it is pretty decent. Of course more bacon seasoning always helps.



Eventually will replace the Genesis flavor bars and grates with stainless too. Eventually will be down to all stainless. And the option for cast iron.

 

I've been meaning to do this to my cast iron skillet but never made time to do so. I've seen a lot of people do it on YouTube to give it that crazy nonstick feel.

 

Yes I have the three section set.

And I have to say, you're a f'n genius! I've never thought to remove the stupid factory coating on my skillets. I know what I'm doing this weekend!

 

Great job on the cast iron pans. I try to find the old stuff that is really dirty and go from there. Never thought about removing The preseasoning off of the Lodge.

 

Safety first

 

awesome

 

Not sure about genius LOL but have been told that I can be tighter than the bark on a tree. Of course she always thought if she had checks in the check book there must be money in the account. The older cast iron pans are now bringing $50-$100 for a common #12 that isn't cracked or warped. The lodge pans are all of $15. So I always end up staying with them. Will be doing the new wok this weekend.

$10 3M 7771 Stripper Brush, 4" Diameter

$6 and have it in 2 days works great and makes short work of it.

Toaster oven came tonight but had no way to toast my onion roll for lunch. But did have a cast iron skillet full of hot bacon grease. So bacon fried onion roll bacon sandwich it was...



Had my first Costco ribeye tonight. Ran out of kosher salt but found some old mineral salt. It didn't really dissolve well and was more of a salt crust which I ended up knocking off. Still turned out pretty damn well. In fact just about perfect. I'm liking Costco.

 

Unlike Matt I have neglected mine. Once they start to go it is some work to recovery them. Trick is to not let them get like this. I need to throw them in the dying coals of a fire some night out back in the fire pit. Will come right back to life as long as it isn't too hot then they can get warped.

 

That's what I'm afraid of. If I BBQ exclusively for a while, it could be 2-3 weeks before I pop the lid on my Weber. I've had the Weber hinged grates in my smokers and in my kettle for a while, now, and have had nary an issue. I LOVE cooking on cast iron, but don't guess I really have any trouble with my current setup. I love new toys, though....

Probably one of those things that I'll just be envious of you cast iron guys and plug away with my pedestrian grates until a real need arises .