BBQ thread
 

Discuss all things bbq, better here than in Corona thread.

I'm currently looking for a natural gas Weber Genesis 2 ce-330 from Costco but they don't seem to have any in stock. Anyone have any other suggestions for ~$1k bbq with side burner?

Is BBQ on a condo balcony worth it? I'm worried about the mess and clean up with grease. Do the neighbors get annoyed with the smoke?

Anyone else here swear by charcoal bbq?

Might want to double check your strata bylaws first. Some draconian stratas do not allow BBQ on baloney.

I'm looking into the Weber Spirit II E 250, it's just me and the wife so I don't think we'll need anything bigger than a 2 burner. Anyone have any other recommendations?

You'll need to check with your strata by-laws. Some condos do not allow it and you can potentially get slapped with a fine by the strata with the possibility of making enemies with your neighbours.

My folks swear by charcoal. We grew up using charcoal to BBQ and it was great. We switched over to propane when our family BBQs got bigger and bigger, so convenience was the trade off, but it's just nowhere near as good as charcoal. My parents still pull out the charcoal hibachi once in a while for smaller BBQs.

For me, as I have a bigger balcony, it is worth it. Strata allows propane but not pellet or charcoal, sadly. If you keep your BBQ clean, it won't smoke that much if you get it nice and hot.

It depends on a few different factors

• How often will you really use it
• How open is your balcony for airflow
• Does your strata by-laws allow for it?

Most BBQs will have a grease pan that you can remove to empty out it out after use, so the grease shouldn't be that big of an issue.

Neighbours will only get annoyed if there's poor ventilation in the area and all the smoke gets blown into their condo. The more open your balcony is, the less issues you'll run into. You also have to consider that a poorly ventilated balcony means you'll also get that smell in your own condo.

I believe all stratas have banned charcoal BBQs for safety reason, so you'll only be able to use propane BBQs. If you do get one, I highly recommend getting a brand new propane tank from somewhere like Costco (theirs usually comes with a gauge so you know how much is left) because it's cheaper in the long run.

As mentioned in the c19 thread, check out Johnstones in North Van or Surrey for all your BBQ needs.

Support a local family business that's basically an institution in NV. The sons run the shops now. Big box stores all sell BBQ's at cost or below to get you in to buy the accessories. The kid working at costco doesn't know sht about the products, and won't be able to help you find the right unit (if you have a choice at all).

https://www.johnstones.com/

For me, had to go propane at our condo. I would love to have had a gas hookup, but it's not too bad to keep a spare pig in the dry box on the deck. Personally, I don't mind my neighbours cooking this way at all. It's WAY better than walking into the hallway and smelling everybody's indoor cooking. Catching a waft of a steak cooking somewhere nearby when I'm having a beer on the deck is one of the great pleasures of summer.

Get the rotisserie! Nothing like a little roasting chicken crackling away in there. Butter, Beer, Baste

I've had the pleasure of buying during winter season; i just take the floor model, pre assembled. It's awesome.

Having used 4 BBQ propane over the years, it's a love hate with side burner. Less space to put shit versus having a side burner. Can't think of osmething I couldn't just put the pot on the bbq instead of side burner.

Lastly, realized I don't cook that big portions anymore (and esp. covid, i went with no side burner and just put a cast iron put / pan on the grill instead.

Hate clean up, so to have ot take out another side table to put shit on was meh

Check your bylaws. From my experience most wooden buildings won’t allow bbq, concrete ones might. Absolutely no charcoal at any time only propane/natural gas.

And yes it’s worth it for fucks sake

Johnstone's is awesome!

Got both our propane and charcoal BBQs from them. Customer service is stellar. Cannot recommend them enough.

I got a used Genesis Silver 3 burner off CL, 5 years ago, spent a few hours sandblasting and painting some parts and about $250 on new burners, bars, grills and ignitor. For under $400 and a few hours, this thing is still like new and I can still get parts for it. I really like that it has a porcelain coated hood and composite counters cause I hate the look of stained stainless.

Anyways, you can find them on CL occasionally, for free or cheap and have yourself pretty much the last one you'll ever buy.

So this is the spirit I just bought from Costco, E330 is the top model of the spirit line. 3 burners plus the sear burner, side burner, stainless build with ceramic coated grills

https://i.imgur.com/z4QzyP4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8udArev.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/t3L3It6.jpg

This same bbq is between 100-200 more expensive at other retailers and you don’t get the peice of mind of the Costco return policy. It’s pretty much 4.5/5 on every review site etc.

If you’re looking at Theo other spirits in a similar price range I think it’s worth it to spend a little more on this one. A big complaint of the lower end spirits is that below the grill is completely open so animals etc. Can get at the Grease trap and burners where as this one is completely Enclosed with the enclosure also housing the tank.

In hindsight I probably would have tried to go with johnstones etc and bought more locally however this was already stretching my budget and imo a great balance between price and quality.

Cooked some sausages last night and man, was a dream compared to my Canadian tire special that was all rusted out lol

I have both, and love them both. They both fill different needs.

The gas grill is for mid-week cooking when you need to grill quickly. Fast warm up, cool down, less effort, no brainer. For me it's as important an appliance for my cooking as my oven. It also has the rotissierie which I use often and is awesome.

The charcoal kamodo is like the enjoyable Artisanal method of cooking. It's more effort, takes longer, but more rewarding. I actually get excited and look forward to using it on weekends. You can do the low/slow smoking cooks that you can't do with a gas grill (well, you may be able to but it's not the same). It's supposed to be nice weather this weekend, I think I'm going to smoke some ribs...


But if I HAD to choose one over the other, it would be the gas grill.

http://www3.telus.net/bryster/20160417_115026.jpg

I’m propane thru and thru but I love how much more social charcoal is. It’s slow to warm up, food cooks when it cooks. Just sit back with friends/family and have some brews and enjoy the long summer nights

My last cheap Home Depot BBQ had the traditional side burner. It was useless, not nearly enough heat output, waste of space that I never used. Considering my BBQ is like 5 steps away from my kitchen stove it was totally redundant.

The IR sear side burner however is totally a different story. I use it all the time. Cook a couple steaks (IE: in the winter when I don't use my charcoal) or a couple quick burgers without needing to heat up the entire BBQ and gives better flavour while it's at it.

It's just my wife and I as well but I really recommend considering a 3 burner if you can fit it physically. The biggest benefit of a larger BBQ besides being able to put a large amount of food is the ability to create more distinct heat zones. I love being able to set my left burner at high, center at mid, and right at off and it really gives me a clear ability to shift food to hotter or cooler temps as I am cooking to equalize different types of food. I have the previous gen Weber Genesis 330 and love it.

-Mark

Grill mats were a game-changer for me.

Meat cooks in it's own juices. Grill lines are still achieved. No grill to clean afterwards.

A simple 4oz cheeseburger comes out incredible. None of the cheese doesn't fall through the grill. It just crispifies on the edge of the patty.

Looks interesting, will def look into these.
I was looking at getting grillgrates but the cost...

https://www.grillgrate.com/

https://bid.ableauctions.ca/NAPOLEON...WITH_i36951627

Can bid for this at the police auction.

This bbq shoould be $1000+

I'm not sure about those grill mats. "Cooking in juices" doesn't make sense to me as moisture inhibits the maillard reaction (the delicious browning crust). The whole point of grilling is that you want those juices to sear up on the burner giving it that delicious smoke/char flavour. If you're going to do that you might as well use a frying pan or griddle.
And teflon starts to deteriorate at 500degF, which is pretty low for grilling.

Grillgrates seem like a bandaid for a poor quality grill.

The LEX is Napoleon's former top of the "Made in China" models. (The Prestige lines are the true made in Canada ones with better quality materials)

They were discontinued, replaced by the Rogue XT I believe. Still solid if you can get it for that price, but I wouldn't pay much more than that.

Yeah that definitely seems like a good deal compared to the other stores. How is the assembly, i know the lower spirit models sound like they take quite a bit of time to put together. Also do one or both tables on the side fold down?