Cooking for a crowd - grill suggestions

[Zip7]

OK, I need a larger rig, and I don't want to spend a fortune, and I need some suggestions.

I cook chicken legs (drumsticks or leg quarters) all the time at home on a 22" weber kettle. I use a little cheapo wire leg rack that you see at the big box stores that you hang the legs from I'm sure you have seen them. With drumsticks I can cook up to 17-18 at a time. 12 hanging from the rack and up to 5 or 6 on top of it. For the family, 12-15 is enough.

I cook indirect at high heat - 425 to 450 is ideal, and at the beginning of a cook I will be over 450 for a while and the cook takes about 50 minutes or maybe 1 hour if the temps fall. (I mean dome temp, as I installed a thermometer in the dome of my kettle).

Last night I cooked for a crowd for the first time - I was asked to help grill for a school athletics function, and they were doing the standard frozen burgers and dogs, and so I agreed to do chicken, and I prepped 48 drumsticks and did them in 3 batches. Well, they were a big hit and got gobbled up at an astounding rate. These people could have easily scarfed down 100 if I could have cooked that many. I think one guy ate a dozen by himself.

Obviously, my problem is that I need more grill space, but most bigger rigs I see are geared toward lower and slower, and smoking, etc. So what would be the best way for me to turn out MORE. It is not a lot of trouble to cook, so running two 22" kettles at once would let me turn out up to 36 in a batch, and two batches on each would be 72 in about 2 hours.

So my question is, is there a better rig out there for this than running two kettles?

[BroDave]

I've found quite a few grills on Ebay to dream about. There are a number of them that are on trailers but you can also find them for the avg backyard griller. Good luck. Be careful not to get that "New Grill Fever"!

[Ron_L]

What's your budget? You can make (or buy) a grill that is half of a 55 gallon drum that gives you a lot of cooking surface. Also, a Weber Ranch Kettle is huge (and expensive).

[Solidkick]

Originally Posted by Ron_L

What's your budget? You can make (or buy) a grill that is half of a 55 gallon drum that gives you a lot of cooking surface. Also, a Weber Ranch Kettle is huge (and expensive).

I couldn't say it better.......

[csakemike]

i have a chargriller and its great i have a side box also i have had it for 5 yr and put alot of miles on it i also have a charbroil silver smoker and my favorite an old 1930 rock pit in my back yard that i grill alot on but i paid 180.00for the chargriller

[azborn2001]

The 55 gal. drum is a good idea. they are cheap to make and you get 2 out of one. living in az. we have alot of the mexican influence of cooking chicken on an open grill. it works well and lots of room. this way of cooking is popular thru out mexico.

[Mark]

How bout if I get a old 250 gallon oil storage tank and float it down the Mississippi to you? Then just cut it in half and mount it to a boat trailer.

[Dr_KY]

Originally Posted by Mark

How bout if I get a old 250 gallon oil storage tank and float it down the Mississippi to you? Then just cut it in half and mount it to a boat trailer.

Bingo!!

[jestridge]

I would build one in the style of a Santa Marie grill have it 70" x28 You should be able to build one fairly cheap I built a small one love the way it cook chicken steaks burgers.

[jestridge]

Something similar to this

[Donovan]

Im guessing your not going to get paid for it, or bbq professionally so I would recommend buying a second one. Just for the fact that its will do what you need and afterwards you will have a backup for your first grill. Get the shorter weber for the convenience while camping which is still the same size dome, considering that that is what you are used to there will be no learning curve and you can experiment with them. Use one as a control for your cooking and the other to change variables and see what improves your cooking. Of course now im typing too much so ill stop :)

- D