What do you do for outdoor cooking? I have had smokers, gas grills, charcoal, and pellet cookers/smokers, but my favorite is my small electric, Weber. It is the evenest cooking and easiest to clean ever. I bought it years ago on my first downsizing as it is ideal for a small patio or even a small balcony. It is a great little grill for seniors. I don't think Weber makes this one like mine anymore that is on a cart. They make a table model that will sit on an optional cart.
I replaced my decades-old Sears propane grill with a Char Broil I got off of Craigslist, because I could no longer find parts (burners.) The Char Broil is supposed to be Infra-Red cooking technology, but I don't believe it. The thing I like about it is it has emitter plates that the grates sit on. The drippings from the food hit these hot plates and create the smoke that give that grilled flavor. The plates also act as a barrier between the cooking food and the burners, so there are never any flare ups. The grill just doesn't seem to work very well in cold winter weather (I never had that issue with my standard propane grill.) Other than that, it's the best grill I've ever owned...easy on fuel and imparts great flavor. And because of how the heat is concentrated on the grills, it imparts great grill marks. I also have a Weber Smokey Joe charcoal grill I use every once in a while when I need a hot fire just to finish-sear stuff I've cooked using other methods, or when I make a quality steak. This was a $5 yard sale find...brand new, but missing the legs. Weber sent them to me for free (there's a story there.) Regarding smokers: I was storing a cheap offset smoker for church that I used a couple of times. It made good food but was a pain to get the temp up on. You had to use it in the direct sun to keep it hot. But once you got the thing set, it went pretty well unattended. When I gave it back, I bought myself a cheap bullet smoker, and made all sorts of internet-recommended mods to it (installed a vent, insulated it, modified the legs, made the firebox accessible without having to remove the food, installed temp probe feed-thrus, etc.) I never had any luck with the piece of crap. The largest of many issues is that the fire is directly below the food (heat rises) rather than in an offset container with a control door in between, so there is no way to dial back or control the heat--even with the vent I installed--or to divert the nasty smoke you get when adding fresh coals. And the fire constantly needs stoking...you regulated the heat by adding coals one at a time, sort of like being a manual human pellet feeder. Some guys claim to have good luck with these. I never figured it out.
Since we aren't allowed to have a charcoal grill on our patio, we have a 3-burner propane grill we bought at Home Depot. It works great for us.
I had a steel offset for a couple of years and really preferred using that than the 200# ceramic egg that Yvonne’s daughter gave us. The egg is good for what it does and is probably better at smoking than grilling but for now we use it more for the grilling aspect. I also had a stacked Brinkman smoker that was pretty good but the electric smoker does a better job since I can regulate the temp much easier than anything else.
I'm still learning the terrain here so tell me, do any of the cool kids enjoy playing with meat and fire? I do 80 % of the cooking. That's by choice, Lady DB is a excellent cook but just doesn't enjoy it. Of that 80 percent almost all is done outside. I enjoy the prep, the cooking and the presentation when I'm able. Tonight I slow cooked 2 split chicken breasts and a slab of beef ribs with corn on the Cobb and navy beans as sides. Leftovers tomorrow after church. I'd love to see y'alls cooking space.
OMG, my son would be all over this. He thinks he's the King of Pit Masters, haha. I have to admit, he makes a mean brisket. Your dinner looks great, Daniel.
Oh, yeah. Looks good, and, while some people are definitely better at it than others, a lot of things taste better when cooked on a barbecue or grill.
My husband and I grill occasionally but not often anymore. I do love a charcoal grilled steak, though.
Gee, you start off talking about going braless and then jump right into bbq. A lesser man would have used the "How Is Your Weather?" thread as a transition point. Way to move to head of the class, dude. I bought one of these bullet smokers and did all the internet-recommended mods to it, and I cannot get it to work for spit. At least I got it on sale, but I did put some work and a little money into it. I keep threatening to get a better smoker, but I don't need to be eating a quantity of smoked meats all by myself. I stored a cheap offset smoker for my church for a while and made some really good ribs in it. Pre-COVID we did annual BBQ fundraisers, and it worked well enough for what it was and how much we paid for it. For grilling I have a small Weber charcoal kettle grill and a Char Broil 2 burner propane grill with infra-red technology. I really like the Char Broil's design (I'm not convinced it's truly infra-red), although it struggles to get hot enough to cook in cold weather. I'm like you...I love to cook. Probably because I like to eat so much. There's nothing like meat (any kind) cooked over a fire.
@John Brunner I have no experience other than Malcome Reed How to BBQ Right on EWEtube, but those are nice smokers. I know the video isn't the same brand but I bet with a little DMing we can burn a rack of ribs