Tools of the Trade: Smokenator 1000

The 22.5" Weber kettle is a very versatile piece of charcoal grilling equipment. When outfitted with the hinged grate, a water pan and either the charcoal rails or baskets, it can easily be pressed into duty as a smoker. Unfortunately, even with this additional equipment the space is somewhat limited. A few racks of babyback ribs barely fit, and adding anything beyond that is difficult without placing your food over the direct heat. Adding additional fuel is a delicate science, over the course of a 6 hour smoke you need to add additional coals a few times to keep the temperature up, but adding too much can cause a temperature spike that can have catastrophic results.

Enter the Smokenator 1000- a revolutionary device that converts the Weber kettle into a virtual offset fire box smoker. Not only does it keep the temperatures under control, but it opens up an entirely new area for additional food while smoking. By putting all the fuel along a 6.2" section of the side of the kettle, the rest of the charcoal grate can be used to cook some seriously large items- a whole turkey can fit in there, or even a few more racks of ribs. With the optional hovergrill, you can even exceed the cooking area of a Weber Smokey Mountain.

By stacking unlit briquets in the fuel chamber, then adding lit coals on top, the Smokenator allows you to perform a smaller version of the Minion Method, by keeping the lower vents mostly closed you can control how quickly the coals light, allowing a cooking time of up to 6 hours at 225 degrees without adding additional fuel.

Several configurations are available for purchase. The basic kit includes the Smokenator unit, steam pan, skewer (for stirring coals within the fuel chamber) and instructions for $55.95 before shipping. For $12 more you can add the Hovergrill, which places an additional layer of food 2" above the normal cooking surface. Additionally, a Taylor 5911n thermometer to monitor the chamber temperature is available as a $9 add-on to either kit.

The instruction manual (which I have managed to misplace) is very well written, and includes instructions on how to set up the initial load of fuel as well as making sure the vents are adjusted correctly. One unexpected addition was the creator's cellphone number for tech support. You don't see many people willing to give that kind of personal support to their customers these days.

How well does it work? Would you believe exactly as advertised? I opted for the complete kit including the Hovergrill and Taylor thermometer. For the first use I followed the instructions for the initial load of 60 briquets, carefully stacking the unlit coals inside the chamber and adding the specified amount of lit ones on top. Within a few minutes the coals were ready and the ribs (3 racks of babybacks) were added as well as some applewood chunks and chips. The temperature stabilized at 225 degrees within about 15 minutes and stayed reasonably steady through the entire cooking process with only minor agitation using the supplied skewer. Water was added to the unit twice throughout the cooking process. The water not only dampened temperature spikes, but kept much needed moisture in the chamber during smoking. Next time I use it I'll try a lot more food, I never expected it to be quite as easy as it was to maintain the temperature.

For the money, I don't know if there is a better addition to the Weber 22.5" kettles for smoking, and for 2010 there is a new version for the lucky few with the 26.5" One Touch Kettle.

Give the Smokenator a try, you'll be pleased with the results. I can't wait to use mine again.

Tools of the Trade: Maverick ET-73 Smoker Thermometer

When you're using a smoker, one of the most difficult things to do is keep track of temperature. Not only do you have to worry about the chamber temperature, but you also have to worry about the internal temperature of whatever you're cooking. Lifting the lid to check on that is only going to make the cook time longer, as well as letting out all the smoke... not to mention the fact that you have to go outside to do it.

All these things seem like petty things to worry about when you're making delicious food, but when you're cooking something for 8 hours or more, you'd be happy to have something that would make your life a little easier.

To this day, I haven't found a better solution than the Maverick Smoker Thermometer. Not only does it monitor both temperatures, but it does it from inside your house with its remote receiver. I love to constantly monitor those long smokes, and this gives me the ability to do it without having to constantly hover over the smoker, which is a great thing indeed.

The waterproof remote transmitter has two probes, one that mounts to the cooking grate (with a supplied bracket) to monitor chamber temperature, and another food probe that is inserted into the meat. Last year I smoked a brisket for about 12 hours in a rainstorm with 20mph winds. This was for a competition or I would have avoided cooking on this day entirely. Although it sounds annoying, I was inside for the vast majority of the time and only had to go out to make some minor adjustments and add fuel very occasionally. It really made the experience a lot more tolerable. Even going outside every half hour to check my temps would have been a huge ordeal.

I'm not sure what the maximum range is, but it had no trouble making it the 60 feet into my apartment with fresh AAA batteries (supplied!), and the fact that the transmitter even has a cycling display was a big bonus. That way the receiver can live inside the kitchen, and when I walk by the smoker on the way to do something else I can check up on the progress without having to be near the other unit.

A small transmitter icon on the receiver lets you know if you're out of range, and the temperature of the meat probe seems reasonably accurate (within 3 degrees of my instant read). Setup is a breeze, just turn the transmitter on first and then the receiver to synchronize them. The entire system retails for under $40 from most places, and is available at Fred's Music and BBQ Supply locally, as well as Amazon and other online retailers. Remember, if you're lookin', you aint cookin'.

Tools of the Trade: Eastman Outdoors ZaGrill Pizza Cooker

Look, everyone loves pizza. I've been making them at home for a quite a few years now on a pizza stone in the oven, but have fallen in love with making them on the grill a little more recently. Pizzas can be cooked directly on the grill grates, but the higher temperature can lead to burned spots in places or dough that is not cooked all the way through depending on the type of dough you use.

We recently got a ZaGrill Pizza Cooker from Eastman Outdoors; this ingenious little product has a double heat shield in the base to keep temperatures more consistent on the bottom of the crust. The nonstick cooking pan is removable, which makes taking the pizza on or off the grill a snap. It won a Vesta award in 2005 for its design as well.

First we get the coals ready to maintain a temperature around 450 degrees, spread out evenly over the charcoal grate. Once we're in the correct range, the ZaGrill base is put on the grates to get up to temperature.

My girlfriend Sarah is an artist at rolling out pizza dough in a round shape of uniform thickness, so while I was outside playing caveman she was inside getting the dough ready. We used Trader Joe's refrigerated pizza dough for this pizza, rather than making our own; this dough is very consistent and we've used it quite a few times in the past, so we knew what to expect. At less than a buck for a bag of dough, the price and quality are hard to beat. They also make a garlic/herb version as well as whole wheat if you'd like something a little different. Flour was spread across the butcher block to keep the dough from sticking and rolled out into a 12" circle to fit on the cooking pan.

It is important to poke several air holes in the center section of the dough to keep it from puffing up and making a dough-dome when it starts to bake. We also brush a light coating of olive oil on the outer rim of the crust with basting brush. Then we liberally sprinkle on basil flakes and ground italian seasoning, as well as a layer of fresh romano cheese. I'm not a huge fan of most pizza crusts, but I've never left a scrap of one after we've made it this way.







Place the pizza on the cooking pan and onto the ZaGrill base in the grill with your temp around 450 degrees. Put the lid on and cook until the outer crust begins to brown slightly, but not to the point of the center section looking cooked; this usually takes about 5-7 minutes. Remove the entire pan from the grill and place on a clean heat safe surface, keeping in mind that the crust is exposed below the pan slightly through the air holes.

Now that you don't have to worry about the crust moving around on you, add your toppings. We used Trader Joe's pizza sauce for this as well, since we were already there buying dough; its a little on the bland side, so we added more seasonings to it after spreading it on the crust with a smooth bottomed 1 cup measuring cup.








Next we added the cheese and toppings; we went with grated low moisture mozzarella, provolone, parmesan and asiago with sliced pepperoni and green peppers. We like to layer the cheese in with the toppings, so it all sticks together and the flavors mix together while the pizza cooks. The instructions included with the pizza cooker tell you to cook it at 475 degrees for 25 minutes, but the initial test I did like that ended up with scorched cheese and an over crisped crust, so we went with less time and temperature this time around.

After about 15 minutes at 450 degrees, we started checking the pizza every two minutes or so. The smell was phenomenal, and the hardwood charcoal we used added a little bit of aroma and flavor you wouldn't get from cooking with an indoor oven.

The pizza came off the grill at right around the 20 minute mark and was given a few minutes of rest on a pizza stone (didn't want to use a wheel cutter on the nonstick surface) before cutting into it. Its life was very short after it was sectioned into slices. The crust was just about perfect, slightly crispy without being burned; a lot more evenly browned than I expected it to be. The flavors of the toppings got along with each other very well as would be expected, and the 5 different cheeses added an interesting depth of flavor. The crust was amazing with the added herbs and sharp taste of the romano; if you haven't tried this on homemade pizza you might want to give it a shot. Even the Philly pizza fanatics over at Pizza is Delicious would approve.

The ZaGrill Pizza Cooker is useful for cooking refrigerated and frozen pre-made pizzas as well as rolled dough of any type. The included instructions are most likely for the frozen variety due to the higher heat and longer duration it would take to bring these up to temperature, although it isn't noted. It is also important to mention that at the low cost of $19.95 shipped on Amazon.com, you could easily use a couple simultaneously if you had a large enough grill to accommodate them.

The removable pan is also useful for grilling vegetables or smaller items that would normally fall through the grates, but don't tell Nick you used it for that.

Eastman Outdoors also specializes in tons of outdoor grilling and frying equipment, you might want to check out their entire product range; its all top quality stuff.

Look for more grilled pizza recipes here in the future, we're going to keep this going.

Tools of the Trade: Maverick OT-03BBQ Digital Grill Thermometer

Let me start by saying that for the money, this is a VERY impressive thermometer. I'm not going to go all infomercial on you by describing all of its features and benefits and then asking you "how much would you pay?" or anything, so I'll come right out and say it. $24.99 is all this thing costs. Maverick did an amazing job with the design of this unit, and I'd gladly pay $40 for one now that I've used it.

I've used digital thermometers in the past to measure the internal temperature of something I was cooking, but never one that gave me the air temperature in the cooking chamber of the grill. For this I've tried bi-metal candy/fryer thermometers stuck in the vents, standard off-the-shelf oven thermometers and the venerable Outset F810 (which since writing my previous review got stuck at 300F and has gone to glory) on the surface of the grill; while these are all inexpensive solutions, none of them are really ideal. With any dial type thermometer on the grill surface you have to lift the lid to check your temp, which gives your coals additional oxygen, making it even harder to keep the temp regulated. The thermometer in the vent is good for some things, but the tip never gets near the grill surface (dome temp and grill surface temperature can vary by 30 or more degrees) and can bang into your food when you put the lid on. Additionally, you can't close the lid vent all the way to cool the coals down and still monitor your temperature.

While this Maverick BBQ thermometer is their entry level product for this application, don't let the low price fool you. This thing is packed with features, and all of them are very well thought out and easy to use. The first time I used it, I didn't even look at the instructions. I'm not saying this to impress you with my dazzling ability to figure things out, but to give you an idea of how intuitive the design really is; anyone can read the instructions and use something the first time, but what will happen if they don't use it for a year and can't find the instructions again?

Included in the package is a probe with a metal clip that holds it to the underside of the cooking grate, the thermometer unit and a stand. The stand stays clipped to the back of the thermometer when you aren't using it to keep it from wandering off; in this position it can also be used to hang the unit on a wall. On the back of the body of the thermometer are a pair of magnets that can be used to stick it to any nearby metallic object. I wouldn't think it would be wise to stick it to the outside of your grill when it was in use, but you could also use this model as an oven thermometer.

The real beauty of the design is that not only does it display the temperature inside your grill, but it allows you to set a target temperature; if you go more than 15 degrees above or below an audible alarm goes off to let you know your grill needs attention; since it goes on average temperature over a 10 second span, the displayed temperature isn't shooting all over the place making it harder to read quickly. When you are close to your target temperature the display will read "optimal" to let you know you're making the right choices. The Start/Stop button on the top of the thermometer can be used to temporarily silence the alarm, I'm a big fan of the placement of this button as you can easily hit it without removing your gloves. If the beeping gets to be too obnoxious while you're shuffling your food around with the lid open you can always switch the alarm off. The display is huge and very easy to read from a distance, which is certainly a plus.

The folks at Maverick didn't stop there; they added a timer so you can keep track of how long you've had the food on, or put it in count down mode so an alarm goes off once time has expired.

The probe is built to withstand temperature spikes up to 700 degrees, but the manual recommends that you not exceed 482 degrees for more than 4 hours as the braided stainless probe wire might deteriorate; placing the probe close to the edge of your cooking grate away from direct heat should keep it well below that unless you're trying to use your grill as a blast furnace.

This is a great device to help you learn the basics of temperature control as well; I sat next to the grill and maintained 350 degrees for around a half hour in an empty grill with very little effort. In fact, I was seated most of the time enjoying a beer, not hopping up to check the dial. I can't wait to try it out on a much longer smoke in the very near future.

This thermometer can be purchased semi-locally at Fred's Music and BBQ Supply in Shillington PA (just outside Reading) as well as on Amazon for a few dollars more.

Go grab one- pick up a couple racks of ribs while you're out to save yourself a trip later!

Tools of the Trade: 5 low-cost accessories for your Weber One Touch kettle

Since many of you already have a Weber, I wanted to put up some info on some "cheap upgrades" for your grill, just in case you didn't already have them. A few of them have different versions, and I'll show the variations so you know which one will work best for what you want to do. These products are all made by Weber, so a perfect fit is guaranteed.

1. Grill Cover- This bad boy can really keep the grill looking fresh for years, but keep in mind that these come in both standard and premium versions. The gray standard version is low cost (under $10 most places) and is great for keeping dust off the grill if you have it stored under an overhang or in a shed, but isn't really well suited to protecting the grill from the elements for long, especially in the winter. I call this the "one year cover" as that's about as long as they seem to last without tearing. The premium black version costs about twice as much, but lasts years longer. Keep in mind that although it seems like common sense, no cover is going to last very long if you put it back on a hot grill.
2. Tool Holder- Unless you have a table right next to the grill, you're going to want a place to put your utensils when you aren't using them. Most propane grills have some utensil hooks built in (and often one or more work tables), but no such luck on their round charcoal counterparts. The good news for you is that this gem of an accessory costs less than $5, and clips right onto the rim of the grill. They make a polished stainless version as well for about twice as much; while it looks a little classier, it has one less hook. Both work on the 18.5" and 22.5" models. For the money, this might be one of the biggest time saving additions you could get.
   
3. Charcoal Rails or Baskets- When setting up the grill for indirect cooking, these little guys keep the coals where you put them; the center section stays at a moderate temperature to keep your food from burning to a crisp before it has a chance to cook through. You could do without them, but for between $9 for the rails and $18 for the baskets, why would you? The baskets are designed to work only with the 22.5" models, but I prefer the rails as they can be clipped more towards the center to give you larger hot zones if you need them. These work perfectly with a hinged grate, as they can be positioned directly below the hinge for drop in convenience.
4. Side Work Table- This one is a really great idea. I move my grill a lot, so I haven't purchased one yet, but when it stops getting tossed in the back of the car all the time this will be one of the first things I buy. The earlier versions were made of wood and clipped to the rim and one of the legs, but the new ones are made of high temp plastic. The newer version seems like it would be a little more stable since it has legs that touch the ground, and it also includes three tool hooks. If you are planning on getting one of these they do make a cover that accommodates the table so you don't have to remove it every time.
5. Rapidfire Chimney Starter- I know we sound like a broken record at this point, but if you only take home one accessory with your new grill, this should be it. Works with all types of charcoal, and lights it quick and easy with no lighter fluid. They last for years if you don't leave them outside. Can be had for under $15 if you get one at Home Depot or Lowes when you're picking up your lumber and sheet rock screws. Grab the newspaper off your neighbor's front porch and light up your coals, you'll be cooking before you know it.
   

One of the big advantages to the Weber One Touch grill series is the ability to control the temperature with the top and bottom vents; the unfortunate part is that the grill doesn't come with any type of thermometer to monitor your progress. Many people go through years of owning a kettle thinking that closing the vent in the top will hold the heat in and increase the temperature when the opposite is actually true. More airflow from the vents means more oxygen for the burning coals, and the temp can go up rather quickly when airflow is increased. Soon we will be writing several articles on temperature control, and even a few product reviews to give you an idea of what's out there.

Tools of the Trade: Outset F810 Grill Surface Thermometer review

The Outset Grill Surface Temp Thermometer tells you the real story under that lid.

If you are planning on doing any serious outdoor cooking with your grill or smoker, you need to keep in mind that that bobo-ass thermometer they stuck through the lid of your grill isn't going to tell you what you want to know. The folks at Outset have your back, though.

Charcoal or gas, this thing will save your food from a fiery death due to temp spikes or uneven cooking caused by cold spots. You can easily slide it around the surface to measure several locations. Please don't use your fingers though- you'd be surprised how often you think it'll be safe to touch even when the needle reads 350 degrees. I've had mine a few years now and have purchased several for friends, and none of them are broken yet, despite some fairly heavy use. The body is made of stainless steel, so a quick cleanup after use will keep it looking sharp for years. It measures only 2.25” across, so its easy to shuffle out of the way of the food as you flip it.

We've used these with great success in our charcoal grills and smokers, and with similar results in propane configurations. The temperature difference between the grill surface and the lid thermometer was sometimes as much as 50 degrees. Readings are also shown in metric for scientists and Europeans.

They can be purchased from Amazon for around $10, less than the cost of a few racks of ribs you might ruin without one. As far as grilling gadgets go, this one should be listed in the “essentials” column.

My only (very, very small) complaint is that only “grill” and “sear” ranges are shown, not the lower “smoke” temperatures. I guess they figure that if you are smoking you probably know how to read numbers.

Get one now before you burn something else, mmkay?

Tools of the Trade: Char-Broil Brush Hawg family review

Lets face it, cleaning your grill can be a real pain in the ass. Not everyone remembers to clean it after use, mainly because whatever you just spent your precious time cooking (not to mention staring at and smelling) is headed for a one-way trip on the Stomachtown Express within minutes of coming off the flames.

Grill brushes are the usual weapon of choice in this endless war of a clean cooking surface, but they aren't exactly high tech device. Most are good for a few weeks of use but then become so worn down or caked with food bits, sauce sludge and carbon that their usefulness becomes limited. Some of the even lesser quality ones fall apart during use. I know I've owned dozens over my lifetime, and some were only good for a few uses before being fired out the door for a new model.

I've had the same brush for three seasons now, and it’s endured some seriously heavy use. Tossing those crappy brushes when you get a new one is a thing of the past with this monster.

The Char-Broil Brush Hawg has been out for a few years now, and although it is priced slightly higher than some of its competitors offerings, this is money well spent for a multitude of reasons.

• The handle is noticeably longer and bigger around than most. Listen, I like not having to pluck the hair on my hands as much as the next guy, but the smell of it burning off can be kind of distracting when you're trying to cook. Savages can turn the heat down on their propane grills to clean them, but charcoal users are stuck once the coals get hot. Save the flesh on your hands for food-rescuing maneuvers that will impress your friends and get yourself one of these brushes instead. At 19” of overall length, you can clean even some of the largest grill surfaces without harming your delicate skin. The added diameter is good for people with larger paws as well, and you can even two-hand it if you need some serious force.

• The hook on the end is better than an eyelet. Not only can you hang it from just about anything (most notably the metal behind the handle on a Weber kettle grill), you can use it to lift up the grates to add more coals when you misplace your gloves again. You can even use it to scrape the grate underside if you have blackened stalactites from previous delicious adventures hanging down. Most grill brushes are useless when it comes to this--you can scrape the top all you want or even try to catch them on a diagonal, but they are never going to come off without a fight.

• Two scraping blades on the front are better than one. Anyone who has used a brush in the past without a scraper knows that the wire brush sometimes won't get all the crap off the grate. You can nosedive while brushing to scrape those problem areas, or invert the brush for some serious downward pressure on the ones that you should have cleaned off weeks ago.

• Replaceable heads mean the cleaning fun never has to end. No more throwing brushes in the trash, there is enough stuff clogging up the landfills--not to mention the money you could be saving to spend on your next BBQ. It should also be mentioned that the bristles are a hell of a lot more durable and denser than almost any brush I've ever used. The first head lasted well over a year, and the bristles wore down more than they bent. More on this later.

• The entire unit is dishwasher safe. I don't own one, but I'm betting some of our readers do. Nice to know if it ever comes up.
  

When you finally wear through the first set of wire bristles (it won't happen quickly unless you're doing something really wrong) you have quite a few options.

1. The O.G. Stainless bristles- a pack of two stainless steel heads of the same quality as the one that came with the brush. MSRP on Char-Broil's site is listed as $8.99, but our friends at Lowes think just under 4 bones is a fair price.

2. Scouring Pads- really good for cleaning your grill before cooking something that likes to stick to the grates, like fish. Don't be a fool and use it on a hot grill, you won't be pleased with the results. This comes in a pack from Char-Broil direct with one stainless brush (MSRP $5.99), but Lowes bounces back with the nice price at $3.97.

3. Wire mesh heads- available as a replacement but I've never seen these in the store, so I don't know what they're for. I could make something up but I might be wrong. I contacted Char-Broil about it and will post an update here when they hit us back. The MSRP is $4.99, but no local retailers I've seen have them.

Now, a few notes on buying one of these bad boys, as I'm sure you've been swayed by its overwhelming merits. Home Depot sold them as recently as a few weeks ago, but no longer lists them online. I'm not going to the store to check for you, so use a phone or go yourself. At the time this review is going live, Lowes has dropped their online price to $8.97, which makes it even more of a worthwhile investment. Other retailers include Amazon and K-mart. Somewhere near you probably has one on the shelf, get out there and look.

Still not convinced? Char-Broil wasn't done there, they wanted to make sure even people with larger grills felt the love. The new Mega Brush Hawg uses the same replaceable heads as the original but uses them two at a time. It would also be ideal to hit your roommate on the head with when they use your grill and forget to clean it. Lowes sells this for just under a ten-spot, I'm sure the three of you out there with Weber Ranch Kettles will appreciate the time you'll save. For only a couple bucks more it might be the right way to go.

Because good things come in small packages (and sometimes that extra elbow grease is necessary) they also make a Hedge Hawg, the handle-free midget Brush Hawg cousin. The soft ergonomic grip keeps your hands from getting tired during those long scrubbing sessions in the spring, and is a hell of a lot better for cleaning the gunk on some parts of the inside of the grill than something with a long handle. The whole thing fits right in your palm, and was designed to be used on a cold grill. As you might be able to guess, it also uses the same brush and scrubbing heads as the rest of the Hawg line. Char-Broil must really love us to treat us this well.

Although Char-Broil states on their site (as well as product packaging) that these products are “safe for all grate types”, many grill manufacturers will tell you not to use anything made of stainless steel on a porcelain cooking grate. Its your grill, do what you want...but don't say I didn't warn ya.

Now get off the internet and go outside and cook something!