When you go camping, you pretty much have to roast hot dogs and marshmallows over an open flame. What could be simpler than putting food on some sort of stick and lighting it on fire? Over the years, I’ve impaled food on coat hangers, stainless steel implements, whittled tree limbs, and welding rods. Now the FireFork aims to end those days of questionable cookware.
With the weather hinting at a warmer weekend, the smell of charcoal is going to start filling up the minds of hungry folks around the country. Our advice is to not fight it. If you don’t already have a solid grill, go blow the $25 at the local big box, and eat well.
We’ve talked about our preference for charcoal before, but if you’re on the fence about it and think you might go gas-powered this year, stop by a charcoal-grilling neighbor’s place before you do. The taste alone might bring you around.
Street pricing starts at $25.
Model 39740 BBQ Grill [Lowe’s]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
This week our friends over at Wired and Gizmodo mentioned Hammacher Schlemmer’s new $80 “60 second charcoal starter.” Tool Talk listeners know that we’ve adopted a cheaper but just as effective way of gettin’ the grill goin’ around the Toolmonger shop: a Bernz-o-Matic MAPP gas torch.
We originally picked up the torch to sweat some copper pipe, but after a great peanut-butter-meets-chocolate moment one Friday when we couldn’t find a lighter, we’ve used it exclusively to light the grill. And grilling at least once a week — we love our Friday steaks down here in Texas — we’ve been using it for over a year on the original gas bottle. But hey, even if you grill a lot more than we do, a replacement bottle is just $8 at your local big box.
Of course, you’ll want to be careful. You can burn yourself (and everything else) with it. And watch out: it scared the crap out of a Yankee guest a couple of weeks ago — though he did enjoy his steak.
I’m a sucker for anything made from composite materials, and I also happen to enjoy grilling. So you can imagine how excited I was when I saw The Lite Cylinder Company’s line of fiberglass propane tanks. The tanks don’t just look cool – they’re safer as well. They won’t rust, and you can tell how much fuel is left just by looking at ‘em.
Grilling is easier when you can get a grip on the food, and this combination flipper and tongs set is truly more useful than the sum of its parts. The flipper blade slides under burgers more easily than the end of regular tongs, and the top tong holds securely for easy flipping and serving. Rubber-dipped handles make ‘em comfy, and at four bucks there’s no excuse not to own a set.
Rome Supertong Combo [Campmor]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
Picture this: you’ve had a tough day in the shop and your mouth is watering for a cold one and some beer-can chicken, but you’re not sure how much gas you have left. That’s where the Original Grill Gauge helps — simply attach the gauge to your gas tank and lift to tell whether you need to make a gas run before you light the fire.
I freaked out a bit when Char-Broil stopped making my favorite cheap-ass BBQ grill, but this morning I found it for sale under the “BBQ Pro” name. Whew! While there are certainly better — and more expensive — grills out there, this is my favorite. I paid under $50 for mine on sale, and I can easily grill steaks, potatoes, and vegetables for four on it — and even have a place to sit my food tray and tongs while I’m drinking beer.
Why is this my favorite, you ask? Many reasons: first, the side shelves rock. While the “molded in tool hangers” are useless, you’ll use the hell out of the shelves. I also love the fact that unlike most “kettle” grills, the volume of the closed grill is much smaller in relation to the size of the grate itself, making it easier to control temperature. And it’s got a removable ash can — no more dragging the grill out into the yard to dump it over!
Anyway, if you want to jump on my bandwagon and try one of these out, don’t buy it from Sears right now. $100 is way the hell overpriced for this grill, but you can find it for as low as $80 right now at other online stores, and if you wait until the sales hit at the big-box retailers, you can snag one as cheap as I did.
PS: If you notice ‘em on sale, email me. I want to put one away in storage.
BBQ Pro 20″ Square Charcoal Grill [Sears]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
If James Bond grilled burgers (instead of terrorists) on Friday nights, he’d retrieve this BBQ tool set from the back of his Aston Martin before firing up the expensive, hard-wood-lump charcoal. It’d also make a great gift for the “executive” in your life who has everything, but still wants everything else.
Skil’s recently posted a well-thought-out how-to article on creating a nice cedar grill cart by Skil resident project expert Ray Travers. As avid “outdoor chefs” (read: we like to sit around the grill with a beer), we can attest to the usefulness of a grill cart like this one. And as an added bonus, Ray shares quite a bit of information about Skil’s not-yet-releases X-Bench portable workstation.
Though steakhouses have used infrared burner technology for decades, using equipment designed by (and licensed from) patent-holder Thermal Electric Corporation (TEC). Since TEC’s patent expired in 2000, though, grill manufacturers have begun to incorporate infrared burners into their lower-end offerings, and have even improved upon the original designs significantly.
The Great Indoors — known to insiders as Sears’ “upscale” home centers — are running a sale on grills right now, with up to 20% off some Kenmore and Kenmore Elite grills. I’ll admit that I’m more of a simple charcoal guy, but if you’re looking for higher-end gas grills (read: multi-burner stainless), some of the Kenmores offer pretty good value.
The link below connects you to a search for grills on the Great Indoors website, but be warned: the Great Indoors website is notoriously bad at returning full results. You’ll probably have better luck visiting the stores themselves.
Grill Sale [The Great Indoors]
If you’ve read Toolmonger for more than a few days, you’ve probably noticed that we really love grilling out — especially in the spring and fall, which are pretty much the only times it’s not hotter than the sun or cold as Mars here in Texas. We think we know a thing or two about grilling, but we want to know what you think: What makes up the perfect set of grill tools?
I personally seem to be able to turn out pretty nice steaks with a poker — ok, an old jack handle – a grill brush, tongs, and a basting brush, but we’d like to know what you use on a regular basis. Should we buy one of those fancy sets, or is it better to pick out the perfect tools individually?
What we’re looking for here is your collective knowledge regarding grill tools. Educate us in comments!
After reading some of our recent posts regarding grilling here in the ‘States, one awesome reader named Freddie took the time to write in and tell us a bit about how BBQ works in his home of South Africa. They call it “Braai” (as in br-eye), and while the recipes differ a bit from what we’re used to, one thing is exactly the same: the comeraderie of burning some meat with friends.
We wrote back to ask a few questions, and Freddie sent us a set of recipes, descriptions, and even photos the be kindly agreed to allow us to share with you. So here you go: Freddie’s personal “Guide To A Good Braai.”
(Pictured: “A pretty traditional braai with a porkrib, some “boerewors” (the sausage) and a “potjie” (the pot).”
Maybe you can help us settle a long-running argument around the Toolmonger offices: gas or charcoal?
I’ll admit to being an ardent supporter of gas grills for many years — before I finally converted. My father always had gas grills, and during most of my young life I lived in one apartment or another and was concerned about fire safety. (You can’t easily “turn off” charcoal, and I didn’t like the idea of leaving a burning fire on the porch for hours.) I also liked being able to easily control heat.
But last year, Sean shamed me into going old school. After my gas grill broke down for the third or fourth time — they only last a season or so without a major rebuild (or a seriously major investment) — and he still had ‘que at his house via his $25 charcoal box, I relented. Since then I’ve totally become a convert — like one of those guys who won’t shut up about his new Apple computer. I love the simplicity, the flavor, and even the social aspects of charcoal. I’ve even learned to control the heat — even in my $45 cheap-o grill.
So what do you think? Gas or charcoal? Why? Let us know in comments.
Randy writes: “I used to have a Weber long-handled wood grill brush with brass bristles. I’ve had a Char-Broil Brush Hawg for several months and have used it perhaps a dozen or so times. In my opinion, it’s an improvement. It’s a fairly sturdy plastic grill brush with changable stainless bristle pads. The bristles seem to stand up to reasonable grill scrubbing duties. There’s a stainless lip on the front for scraping, and a stainless hook on the back lifts grates and doubles as a storage hook for hanging the brush on the side of the grill. My only complaint is that the front lip sticks up a little too high for my grill and catches on the hanging rack in the back when I’m cleaning the grates. Pricing for the brush is about $12 and the replacement pads are about $4.”
No matter how hard we try, we always seem to end up in front of the BBQ after dark. And while night-’quing makes it easier to see if the charcoal’s fully ignited, it makes checking the state of the food a bit tricky — unless you have a BBQ light. H. Wesley wrote in to tell us about the LED light pictured above, which we fully intend to add to our grilling arsenal.
Phillip writes: “Only the biggest Toolmongers have a set of these.” And he’s correct. Seriously — the three piece (single place setting) set above is made of 18/10 “drop forged” stainless steel and comes in a blow-molded “heavy duty” ABS plastic box.
Hey — you could put it right next to your Craftsman bottle cap wrench.
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