Help choose new GRILL!!

mikeTRON · Mar 25, 2011

So my better half's mom has a catering company where she typical sells carnival food (corn dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy, brisket sandwiches), but now she just got a gig for 500 hamburgers and is considering a new grill since her's is not large enough.

So my better half's mom has a catering company where she typical sells carnival food (corn dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy, brisket sandwiches), but now she just got a gig for 500 hamburgers and is considering a new grill since her's is not large enough.

HELP ME, help her, choose a grill or possibly a griddle(?) to serve her well. I was originally thinking it would be sweet to get the Amazon.com: Weber 60020 The Ranch Charcoal Kettle: Patio, Lawn & Garden@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416NZ7S06NL.@@AMEPARAM@@416NZ7S06NL but unfortunately I doubt she will want to have the hassle of charcoal. Any PROs of this grill over propane?

Next I thought I could convince her to buy a kick@$$ trailer smoker with grill since she would easily make her money back

but she doesn't have the storage for a trailer.

I would LOVE a santa maria style cooker BUT again portability kills that idea. Santa maria on a smoker trailer :becky: but I digress...

She saw this 8 burner grill @ samsclub for $389 and thought it might work well but I always like to get some opinions and research before spending any money on any new toys... I mean tools... right?

What about a 36" griddle? Amazon.com: Blackstone 36-Inch Commercial Griddle/Grill: Sports & Outdoors@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41l41wgA4ZL.@@AMEPARAM@@41l41wgA4ZL

Any booming concerns about any of the options? Any advice on selecting the right tool for the job? Do you have any other recommendations?

IF I could talk her into the massive weber charcoal grill how difficult are they to get to temps and to grill on one of them?

blues_n_cues · Mar 25, 2011

the grill from sam's club is pretty good. i know friends that use them & they work well for that exact thing + dogs & chix wings.

mikeTRON · Mar 25, 2011

I haven't seen the Sams grill in person and the website is sub-par so I can't tell where the grease will drain from all those greasy burgers etc. Do you know if it has a drain?

blues_n_cues · Mar 25, 2011

if you look & zoom on the 2nd pic there's 2 grease pans under it. @ leastthats the way i remember it when checking it out.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=183402&navAction=push#desc

expatpig · Mar 25, 2011

Check out a Charbroil CB940X it's a nice sized charcoal grill.

smokeyw · Mar 25, 2011

Maybe something like this?

1FUNVET · Mar 25, 2011

Academy has the same Blackstone griddle for 299.99. A friend of mine bought one last year for tailgating and it seems to be doing a great job so far.

brotherbd · Mar 25, 2011

We got one of those Sam's Club grills for our church 2 years ago to cook Hot Dogs and Hamburgers on for church picnics.

Here’s what I can tell you about it.

It works pretty well but it definitely has hot spots all over. It has twin tank holders and each tank runs 4 burners on each side.

I would have a total of 4 tanks, 2 always full, especially if it means you would have to stop cooking and lose $$$ because you are having to go get tanks filled or exchanged. You get about 8-10 hrs running at wide open.

An empty bracket is on the bottom on each leg that looks like a 2x6 would fit just right, could be of use as a small shelf or for setting catch pans on. I called the mfg. and the customer rep. had no idea what they are for.

It has a long grease trough and and two small removable grease pans but, if you are cooking a lot of burgers or other fat/juice producing meat you may want to remove the pans and get a couple of 5-gal buckets to catch the liquids so there is absolutely no problem of the grease tray overfilling and making a mess.

We have also been thinking about getting some griddles to place over the grates to use it for pancakes, fajitas or other stuff for which big flat griddles would be useful.

It' also bigenough front to back to heat up the large pans for beans and stuff if needed. You could probably use it for a hot buffet line with deep steamer pans and full or half pan foils if you wanted, but I havent tried this yet.

Everything screws together on this grill and I would suggest that you use Loctite Blue Removable threadlocker, or a similar product, on the threads to make sure everything stays tight. I would also replace the wingnuts on the leg braces with better quality hardware. Make sure there is no damage and all parts are there also. Our lids had been dented and wouldn’t close properly. I called the mfg. and they sent us replacements right away. As long as you don’t over stress the lid/wing/shelves they are a great place to stage your food as it’s going on and coming off the grill. Long tongs and long spatulas are a must! You may even need to modify spatula handles to get a little extra length for flipping your burgers.

I also bought a car washing hose/brush to use for cleaning and simple green to cut most of the crud that can accumulate and it seems to work pretty well.

I hope this helps with your decision!

Blessings,

Southern Home Boy · Mar 25, 2011

smokeyw said:
Maybe something like this?

Aw man... now yer just showin' off....

hamiltont · Mar 25, 2011

Can't give you any experienced advice but have to say, as other above have, the unit from Sam's Club looks to be the most versatile. The customer reviews also look promising. If I were making the decision I'd probably go with something like that and get three 30lb. or 40 lb. propane tanks, or maybe just a 100 lb. tank. Cheers!!!

TG · Mar 25, 2011

My Dad bought the Sam's Club Grill a couple of years ago. He loves it and it can handle tons of food. Like others have said travel with extra propane!!

Big Poppa · Mar 25, 2011

That weber is hard to beat...look at meadow creek...built like a tank

Big George's BBQ · Mar 25, 2011

Big Poppa said:
That weber is hard to beat...look at meadow creek...built like a tank

Meadow Creek builds good equiptment

blues_n_cues · Mar 25, 2011

smokeyw said:
Maybe something like this?

now i have g.a.s.(grill aquisition syndrome):laugh:

JiveTurkey · Mar 25, 2011

blues_n_cues said:
if you look & zoom on the 2nd pic there's 2 grease pans under it. @ leastthats the way i remember it when checking it out.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=183402&navAction=push#desc

Be careful with those grease pans. I have a Charbroil gasser that has one of those type of pans under it. It's not secured on there very well and I've had mine fall off and make a mess. Just add a clamp to where it connects and you'll be fine. Otherwise that looks like a pretty good option for the price.

Help choose new GRILL!!

mikeTRON

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blues_n_cues

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