Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler BBQ advice

Its time for a new BBQ. The old POS works ok, but I want something a little more versitile.

Here's the challenge. I'm in an apartment so I need something small/compact, but I would love to have something that I can use to experiment a little with smoking, planking and such.

I ran across this rather interesting Cobb portable grill that uses charcoal, but has an unconventional design. I'm wondering if anyone here has heard of or had any experience with this grill??

My other choice is something like this but its a single burner unit and I doubt I could run it cool enough to use for smoking.

Any other suggestions?

fred, we sell 4 different models of "portable" propane grills, and you are right - all have single burners and won't turn low enough.

The Cobb looks really neat, but I've never heard of it before. Depending on the cost, and if size isn't an issue, it may be worth a try.

For something that has been around and proven, look into one of these.

Go charcoal all the way...our family has a bagillion year old weber that does the job great.

BGE's (big green eggs) look very nice. I'd eventually get one of those for myself. Downside is they are very pricy...

Never saw one of those Eggs before. They appeal both to the barbecuer in me as well as my 'wonder what it would be like to be homeless and hang around a barrel fire for warmth' side.

My buddy has a big green egg - they are amazing! I would love to get one eventually as well.

Can you use them with Ham?

And can you eat it with a fork? Mark, you're such a dork.

Shawn. I came across the egg in my searching, but they seem very expensive. I found a couple of local retailers so I will check it out.

If I were to buy a new gas grill I would look at one that has rotisserie option. It is by far the most underrated way to cook on a BBQ and also my favorite way to cook meat especially if you like whole chickens, pork roast, leg of lamb etc. The cooking process is very low maintenance unlike smoking food and the results you get are fantastic. So moist and flavourful.

I'm still very happy with my Weber Performer (charcoal kettle with gas lighter) but if I were going to spend the same money again I would probably go for a regular Weber kettle and a basic gas grill.

The primary reason for the gas grill would be for cases where you want to cook outside without having to wait for coals etc... I would still use charcoal whenever time permitted.j

I haven't played with a rotisserie but all indications are that it opens as many new possibilities as charcoal, so that might be a good option as well.

The BGE gets very high marks from most that own them. If the budget allows I would recommend one of them. For doing bbq on the cheap you could build a small uds using a 30 gal drum.

One other option would be to get a Weber grill and use indirect heat when cooking bbq. Something like the smokenator might be an option for ya Fred.

Funny you should write that. I was reminded today that this was one of the reasons I was looking at gas bbqs. After running around all afternoon looking at bbqs, I really wanted a burger before heading off to work, but just didn't have the time to wait for coals to heat up.

That BGE looks cool, but at $600 CDN for the SmallGE, its waaay to rich for me.

I also looked at the gas grill I linked to in my first post and the Weber Q. I must say, I like the look of the Weber. It seems well designed and very compact.

Wid. Thanks for the link to the smokinator. That looks really cool. The Weber kettle its designed for is bigger than what I want on my balcony though.

Reading about smokers a little more, it seems like the Cobb is designed much like a smoker. It is meant to cook mostly by indirect heat and has a built in well for liquid. It is meant to run at a much higher temp than a smoker though.

So, how much smoke does a smoker generate. One thing I need to consider is that I am in an apartment. Neighbours, the landlord and local bylaw officers might not appreciate me generating enough smoke to simulate a small forest fire out on my balcony.

It depends on the smoker as how much smoke it will make. Mine doesn't make all that much smoke and I burn all wood.

Fred, for what it's worth, I got a Weber 8 years ago and it's still going strong on the original burners and igniter. Starts 1st 'click' everytime. I know they are expensive compared to other brands, but I think I've made up the difference over time by not having to replace a thing. I bought mine based on my brother's experience after he'd had his for over 6 years.

And while the BGE is great (with ham and a fork ) and I would love one - it would be an extra to the 'standard' BBQ, not a replacement.

Smoking IS bbq, grilling is just that, grilling.

OK, I did a lot more reading last night. I found a Brinkman chacoal smoker for $50 on a local for sale site. It seems like that would be a good alternative to a UDS: mostly built, just needs a few mods to work better. What do you think Wid?

Hmm, you know, with a few more mods, I could add a gas grill burner...

I'm guessing the answer is no to that one. I was just looking at a Brinkman smoker in the same price range (see the ilive boom box thread) and it was recommended not to get it.

Hmmm. Folks on the BBQ forums seem to get decent results with a few mods. My problem is that I am in an apartment so a full sized smoker is not an option. I found a decent brand ofset smoker for $100 locally, but it just won't fit.

The Brinkmann seems like a small version of a ubs: just the right scale for me.

Fred, there are a ton of folks making good Q on those smokers with a few mods. Here's some mods that some folks use to make that unit run a bit better.

Reading that other thread it sounds like Doc has never heard of the WSM or BDS or UDS for that matter. All of these use the coals under the product and will give one great Q. The biggest difference is the drum smokers do not use a water pan as a heat sink.

I'm still loving my weber summit S470 LP grill. I love the built in rotisserie and use it all the time. I probably grill at least 3 times per week if not more. I also really like the convenience of a gas grill... I just fired it up and am enjoying a Cajun grilled tilapia sandwich on a toasted sesame bun in a matter of minutes! The built in smoker box lets you add a smoky taste to anything. Definitely not a substitute for a full blown smoker, but works great!

rotisserie chicken in action:

Thanks Rick. I kinda figured that the Brinkman would be ok after mods. Believe it or not, even the Brinkmann seems a little big for me. Most of the time its just me or me and my son. I'm still toying with the idea of the Cobb.

I got a reply on the used Brinkmann so I will look at it on Sunday when I visit my brother.

Thats a fine rig you have there David. I think I'd have to add an extension to my balcony to fit it. Did I forget to mention I already have a 16' canoe out there?

I got a chance to look at a Cobb today at a local dealer. Its basically a stainless steel mini bullet style smoker thats set to burn hot. With minor mods to add dampers to the air intake and exsaust I'm confident it could be turned into a mini-smoker.

The thing is really well designed. The bottom air intakes come in to the side of the borning area through a baffle and coals are put in an elevated basket so that ash won't smother the coals.

What, no pics

I think the folks in the store would have taken me for nuts if I pulled out a camera. I will definately post pics of whatever I buy.

Speaking of nuts, I was amazed that you could buy a plc that would control the burn in your smoker.

There's all kinds of gadgets for different smokers. Just about anything you can come up with, they have it.

Just like audio I suppose. Some of the smokers I have looked at in the past week could feed a small army.

I'm now the proud owner of a used Brinkmann for all of $35 CDN. I'll post pics when I have done some mods.

Congrats, looking forward to the pics of the smoker and the bbq that comes from it.

Realizing that you already purchased, I am +1 on the rotisserie. I bought an fairly expensive grill from BBQGALORE.Com a few years ago as I got tire of replacing the Lowes/Home Depot varieties every 4 or 5 years. It has a rotiss and it gets excellent results. The grill is Australian design - which means it is designed to cook very hot with the lid up. However, since it has 4 burners, you can do low or indirect heat as well. I have not regretted the purchase.........Rob

I like the looks of that smokenator, Wid. Cool.

Another happy Weber NG owner here. I also bought the rotisserie and have used it many times to good effect.

It is a rather neat gadget isn't it.

Kind of related, but what's everyone's favorite barbecue sauce? I'm looking to try something new.

My favorite is Stubbs BBQ Sauce

The spicy is the one I like best. It can be bought at Walmart.

Oh, man, Stubbs is what my former coworker really liked. I was thinking about that brand today, wondering where I could get it. Thanks for the tip on Walmart.

Cattle Boyz Original from Alberta is awesome.

Thanks to our friend samandnoah, however, I will probably now have to travel to Austin periodically to satisfy my need for Rudy's Sause. Oh sure, they ship it, but that's not nearly as fun.

Thanks for the links. I'm going to have to order some of these, even if shipped sauce isn't as fun.

Willow Ranch is a good bbq place in Buttonwillow, CA, and their sauce is also pretty tasty. I prefer our homemade sauce, from this recipe.

Saw the following folks on a Food Network show, neat idea .... BBQ Sauce of the Month.

Wife and I both like Sonny's Sweet BBQ Sauce*, our Sam's Club here in town sells it.


* That's about the only thing we like at Sonny's.

Leave a thread alone for a day and somebody walks away with it. Sheesh!

Funny, I was just thinking about this earlier as I put some chicken on the grill and slathered on my new favourite, PC Smokin Habanero.

To bring the thread back on track, my plan to mod the Brinkman got derailed when my brother forgot to bring some tools with him when he came by. We ended up going car shopping for him instead. Hmmm...

Who are you?

Wait, this thread was about grills?

Gahhh!!!
::runs away screaming::

Edited to agree with Fred with both arms pumping in the air.
Smokin Habanero Sauce!!
Smoky Habanero spicyness with a just a hint of tangy tequila..... How can you go wrong?
Smokin Habanero Sauce.

Well, I finally got the preliminary work done on souping up the smoker. I cleaned up the balcony, built the rack for the canoe, finished up the last project sitting on my portable work table, picked up some tools I needed, made a circle jig for the jigsaw I bought and picked up the materials I need.

Smoker should be ready for next spring. ::rolly-eyes::

Next spring, we bbq in the winter here too. What are ya waiting for?

More other projects to pop up? It seems after I figured out what to do with the smoker all these other things came along. Forgot to mention the week I spend to replace my dead receiver. My daughter also decided she wanted to do some wilderness canoeing on the Labour Day long weekend so I spent last weekend re-sealing tent floors and flies.

I will hopefully be doing the cuts for my base and bottom damper tonight.

Wid, I just wanted to thank you for sending me this pic of your new grill... I thought it was so ingenious that I had to share. You da man.

I'm glad ya like it Tom, I can get good deals on them if ya want to buy one

lol

Bubbles ????

Lol, that's what I thought as soon as I saw that.

I like how they customized it to the extent of removing the back piece and seat, but they didn't bother to just cut off a side to use as a grill. Guess it's a multi-tasker.

The back is still there, that's an old school cart where the back can be flipped up.

Ah, I see.

Buttonwillow? Have to be looking to find that one, what going to the races? Or a piss break on the long SF/SoCal haul

Long drive.

I've lived in Boulder Creek (in/on a commune, it was a very long time ago), Cambria and a few SoCal locations and have made that journey many times, some even east / west thru there