I know we live in Texas and any weekend is a good reason to grill outside, so we never really put away the grill. I like to cook once a week or so outside or Wife would say she ends up cooking once a week or so outside, either way, that grill gets a lot of usage. We have probably gone through seven or eight grills in our twenty two years of marriage and alas it seems like we are in need of a new one. I would love to buy a thick steel or iron one like the kinds my Dad and brother have bought back home, but I don't have any connections with welders up here. The kinds of grills I get are the cheap stamped metal from Academy. This last one seemed to be doing alright, but then it got windy and because it wasn't super heavy, the wind pushed it off the backyard patio and bent it pretty good.
It could have survived one fall, but those wind storms come in packs of threes and eventually the thermometer screwed into the door shattered, and the barrel shape itself became slightly warped, and the body swayed on its frame. Because it was fairly new, I decided to try and use it anyway, and it held itself together. This probably happened two years ago, as the grill is probably on its third season, but I don't think I can go on with it. The liner inside where I load the charcoal and could be adjusted height-wise, has now broken and bent into two pieces. Without this, my choice is to now put the charcoal on the bottom of the metal barrel or go looking for a new liner. I looked yesterday at Academy since I bought it there, but no luck. Plus, do I want to spend money on this grill, it has not been even in my top five of favorite grills?
My favorite type of grill to own would have to be the combo charcoal and gas ones with two grills side by side. We went through two of those prior to the one we have now. I don't care for cooking with gas, but the gas side was good for keeping food warm while cooking with the other side. When done right, it could almost double our cooking area, but that was also one of its flaws. The gas side was temperamental and after awhile worked only if coaxed just right. I don't like to be messing with things. Plus if just using the charcoal side, it was almost too small, so it barely worked for us, but I did like the massiveness of the unit, as a whole.
I think I am going to try the Hondo or New Braunfels type this next time. It is what my dad has always used, the long barrel, usually about three feet long and 18-20 inches deep. My dad always dumps a whole large bag of charcoal in, and he can be cooking as soon as the match hits the lighter fluid. He takes the term "burning some meat on the grill" to new levels, but you will never get sick from eating raw meat with him, everything is well done. I joke, but this is one of the things he always did right. That man is not cheap when it comes to grilling, he always buys too much meat which is a good thing. He also taught me about variety, not everybody wants to eat chicken, some people prefer ribs, some like sausages. I always try to have two or three different meats involved.
With the size of one of these grills, I could pour my charcoal on one side and create a hot and a warm zone. I just need the next grill to have some heft to it. This dinky metal stamped varieties do not last long enough. Plus, if they are heavy enough, maybe the wind will quit bullying on them.
No comments:
Post a Comment