Grills

I have a Landmann Smokey Mountain Bravo, and I hate it. Just bought it last spring, but when I look at it I feel sad. I don't know why I bought it, but nearly everything about it is terribad.

Considering options to replace, and I found a decent price on a Char-Broiler Oklahoma Joe's Highland. Anyone have experience with this product? Any other products you can recommend?

I'm charcoal only, fwiw.

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fisher23

Have you looked at the Webber Smoky Mountain bullets? I judge professional BBQ and all I can say is that they can produce some great BBQ and you can use it for grilling. Many of the teams use these when they are staring out. Then they move up to larger professional BBQs. I personally have a pellet smoker, which I really like, for me best of both worlds. Control of temperature and easy to change types of wood. Fill with pellets, turn it on, set the temp, let it heat up and smoke or grill.

artstype

what kind of coals and how did you set them ablaze? That is what isn't clear from what I just glanced at. I assume that you have to take one side of the grill surface off to place coals in, that might be a problem in certain situations.

Alex_311927

Amazingribs.com is a great resource for anyone even remotely interested in outdoor cooking. Definitely have a look there for the best gear reviews. Meathead Goldwyn definitely knows his stuff. As for me, my Weber Kettle Performer works a treat for both grilling and smoking low and slow. To be honest, it's perhaps the simplest and most accessible option I have found for the best of both worlds. Smoky Mountains are good too. Regarding off-set cookers, I'm not a fan and never will be. Amazingribs has a lot of material on them so perhaps check that out.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I use a chimney starter and newspaper/junk mail drizzled with some vegetable oil. Hardwood lump charcoal, almost exclusively. Will use wood chunks for smoking.

Grates are removable, so you light the chimney on the coal tray and let it burn down before dumping out and replacing the grate.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

The offset smokers have their issues, but some simple tweaks mitigate their inherent problems. But for me, performance as a smoker is a very distant second consideration behind performance as a direct heat grill.

fisher23

IMHO, if your main goal is grilling with charcoal I don't think you can go wrong with a Webber kettle. I also love, love, love Grillgrates and can't recommend them any higher. They make beautiful cross hatch marks, also recommend by Meathead.
Available at Grillgrates.com or Amazon.

artstype

well, you are doing everything right, sorry for the trouble with this unit

Alex_311927

I see. If you're looking for a direct heat coal fired grill, Weber kettles are the bomb; relatively cheap, easy to use, easy to find, tons of accessories if you want them, and doubles as a smoker with very few modifications if any. Another cool idea if you want serious heat and are doing only a few steaks for example, is to use the chimney starter filled with coal and a grate on top of that, which brings the heat very close to the meat and gets a great sear.

Alex_311927

Grill marks are good for small and thin items where the exterior will not brown before the interior is overcooked, but are really not ideal on decently thick pieces of meat. Check Meathead's article: http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_grill_marks_and_flipping_meat.html

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Yeah, my complaints are pretty much entirely ergonomic and about the design of the grill itself.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I have a kettle, but it's set up with a Kettle Pizza kit. Not a fan of the inability to move the heat source relative to the grates.

mike.minasian

I'm a big green egg guy through and through. If you have the budget it's unbelievable. Pair it with a looft lighter and you have a grill that almost as convenient as gas. Have also done 20 hour brisket cooks without having to add any woid / coal alongside a bbq guru. It's something you'll have for 10-15 years and so versatile, I think it's worth the investment. If you call around you can usually get a small discount

Amos_Schorr_168815

Fellow BGE owner here. The first few times I used it as a smoker, I had the same experience: perfection. But then... problems. I don't know if I got a shitty unit or something, but we had to get the top lid replaced and we've had airflow problems even after cleaning everything.

mike.minasian

Did you try replacing the seal?

Amos_Schorr_168815

Yeah, and it worked better, but the seal corroded really quickly without extreme use, and I don't see why it wouldn't happen again.

Kevin_Rothberg_306570

So I know I'm jumping into this conversation a month late but thought I would give my suggestion. Since you only use charcoal you may want to look into making your own UDS (ugly drum smoker) as it is a very cost effective option and you get to make a grill that has your own personal touch. I made mine about 3 years ago now and it is by far the best charcoal grill I have ever cooked on. It gets rip roaring hot but cad still do low and slow for hours. I purchased my kit from Big Poppa Smokers and got my 55 gallon drum cheap. https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/big-poppa-s-enhanced-drum-smoker-kit

Here are some pics of the drum painted blue and white for Penn State tailgates. Now 3 years later we just call it R2D2. (The bottom pic was when is was new)

Also if you have a Weber Kettle this accessory is awesome. https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/bbq-vortex-accessories

Happy Grilling!

Demixl_1012411

I feel you bro! For me how a grill looks means a lot. When I was choosing from the Best Gas Grills I was looking for one that I would be proud of when my friends came to visit, one that could please you just by looking at it. I really recommend that you sell your actual grill and buy one that makes you feel comfy while getting out to smoke a cigarette on the back porch. I also suggest that you go for a gas grill because a charcoal would cause a lot of complaining from your neighbors if you live in a town.