btcg
Babbling Farker
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2010
- Location
- North Potomac, MD
So, I brought up the subject of another grill yesterday... and the north wind began to blow... a chilling blast... coming from the wife... followed by an abrupt "clean the garage first and then we can consider it..."
I HATE when she says that, It's not dirty. She's obsessive/compulsive (a typical lawyer), and because we have never taken the time to go through about a dozen boxes that remain from when we moved in here in 2003 (we built this house), she considers the garage "a mess." Never mind that I built nice storage shelves from two-by-fours and particle board, and the boxes sit neatly on these shelves. To her... it's a mess. Women... you can't live with em... you can't live without em.
But to my amazement, after a few minutes, she calms down, and asks me where I want to go look. I tell her about the Big Lots thread, and the $29.00 grill. To the novice husband... this is what's known as "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel ( a rare sight for a husband)." And this is when I know I'm getting my way... as she suddenly says "do they have other things there, like food items?" I say "yeah hon, why don't you come with me." Suddenly, I'm golden.
So, I get to Big Lots, and tell her "why don't you look around honey, and I'll meet you by the food section?" Again... to the layman hubby... this accomplishes 2 things: it makes them think that you're more concerned with their shopping experience, and, more importantly, it gets them outta your hair, so you can accomplish the real goal of this shopping trip: BBQ swag.
Now, this charcoal/wood grill/smoker is just something to play with... I have the Bradley for serious food cooks, and my Vermont Casting grill (propane, with 4 seperate burnens and rotissire) is actually all I need at this point, so I decided that it didn't make sense to spend $300.00 just so I could say I owned a Weber... when the Big Lots kettle grill was pretty much the same thing.
But the question was: was it the same as a Weber, or, at least, passable?
I decided it was, and I'll go over it's features. In addition, Big Lots had a whole isle of BBQ accessories.. and I couldn't resist.
Below, is my loot from the trip:
Behold... the assembled grill, and all of my swag.
Side view: swag
I must say... $29.00 for this grill is a steal!
Construction: although the pictured grill in the other thread was red... mine is black... no matter, I prefer black. It's 22.5 inches, and the top fit snugly. The first thing I noticed was that the grill is ceramic. Is the coating as good as a Weber? Probably not (we'll see, over time)... but it's solid, nonetheless.
The legs screw into the bottom, and I must say, I was expecting legs that were only slightly better than the legs on a TV tray: WRONG! The legs are aluminum, and substantial. The screws are of a good thick gauge, and when assembled, the grill stands solidly. I have no qualms about loading this grill up with meat.
The wheels are plastic, but, I don't care. I won't be wheeling this more than a foot or two. It's got a bottom storage rack that screws on, and in fact, acts as the axle for the wheels. This really helps snug up the entire base... and an aluminum grease catcher, which is slotted so as to allow it to be easily removed for dishwasher cleaning, completes the base.
The handles, a bone of contention on Webers these days, are of a high quality ceramic, and the screws that hold them are substantial. the front handle that allows towing are "twist bolts"... so they're easy to tighten should they loosen due to heat...a very nice touch.
The bottom of the grill, as well as the top, have round, ajustable air vents, for intake and exhaust. Again, the metal's thickness is of good quality, and the bolts are substantial enough as to allow ease of use without worry about their design.
There are 2 grates... the 22 on top, and a lower grate on bottom (see images). Both fit snugly, and side brackets are not needed.
The final piece is a wall mountable hook (with screw) that allows for the grills storage on a garage of shed's wall. A nice extra you wouldn't normally expect.
Analysis: this grill is easily worth the better part of $100.00. $29.00 is a steal!
Now, the accessories were so "one of a kind" and so inexpensive, that I loaded up on them. The pans were $7.00 each: suitable for grilltop cooking, and teflon coated. The frying pan has a moveable handle, and is perforated, so as to allow grease to drain through. Probably better suited for campfire cooking, but place it over a grease catching tray, and it's quite grill-friendly. The mini-beanpot has a million uses for the BBQ'er.
The sauce bottle w/built in brush is unique: fill it with sauce, screw the top on, and you can easily paint your sauce on your meat. Dishwasher safe, so it's easy to clean. $3.50... again, a steal.
The two-handled black meat rack is solid, and allows for easy carrying of meat on or off, as well as acting as a serving rack. You can load it with meat and plop it right on the grill. When the meat is done, you've got 2 handles to lift it off with. This looks like a perfect way to grill shrimp. $7.00.
The beercan chicken holder was all of $3.00, and looks like it'll do the job nicely.
The legs & wings rack ($7.00) is another of those "may or may not be a useful item" pick... but its uniqueness, and cheap price made me grab it. A time will tell purchase.
The mop ($2.00) could be used on meat... but I'll use it to clean ashes out of the grills bottom. It hangs nicely over the front towing handle.
The charcoal and lighter speak for themselves: cheap, but for $3.00... what the heck.
All in all... value.
A Weber? Nope! But surpringly good quality... and an excellent grill to have as a back-up.
I HATE when she says that, It's not dirty. She's obsessive/compulsive (a typical lawyer), and because we have never taken the time to go through about a dozen boxes that remain from when we moved in here in 2003 (we built this house), she considers the garage "a mess." Never mind that I built nice storage shelves from two-by-fours and particle board, and the boxes sit neatly on these shelves. To her... it's a mess. Women... you can't live with em... you can't live without em.
But to my amazement, after a few minutes, she calms down, and asks me where I want to go look. I tell her about the Big Lots thread, and the $29.00 grill. To the novice husband... this is what's known as "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel ( a rare sight for a husband)." And this is when I know I'm getting my way... as she suddenly says "do they have other things there, like food items?" I say "yeah hon, why don't you come with me." Suddenly, I'm golden.
So, I get to Big Lots, and tell her "why don't you look around honey, and I'll meet you by the food section?" Again... to the layman hubby... this accomplishes 2 things: it makes them think that you're more concerned with their shopping experience, and, more importantly, it gets them outta your hair, so you can accomplish the real goal of this shopping trip: BBQ swag.
Now, this charcoal/wood grill/smoker is just something to play with... I have the Bradley for serious food cooks, and my Vermont Casting grill (propane, with 4 seperate burnens and rotissire) is actually all I need at this point, so I decided that it didn't make sense to spend $300.00 just so I could say I owned a Weber... when the Big Lots kettle grill was pretty much the same thing.
But the question was: was it the same as a Weber, or, at least, passable?
I decided it was, and I'll go over it's features. In addition, Big Lots had a whole isle of BBQ accessories.. and I couldn't resist.
Below, is my loot from the trip:
Behold... the assembled grill, and all of my swag.
Side view: swag
I must say... $29.00 for this grill is a steal!
Construction: although the pictured grill in the other thread was red... mine is black... no matter, I prefer black. It's 22.5 inches, and the top fit snugly. The first thing I noticed was that the grill is ceramic. Is the coating as good as a Weber? Probably not (we'll see, over time)... but it's solid, nonetheless.
The legs screw into the bottom, and I must say, I was expecting legs that were only slightly better than the legs on a TV tray: WRONG! The legs are aluminum, and substantial. The screws are of a good thick gauge, and when assembled, the grill stands solidly. I have no qualms about loading this grill up with meat.
The wheels are plastic, but, I don't care. I won't be wheeling this more than a foot or two. It's got a bottom storage rack that screws on, and in fact, acts as the axle for the wheels. This really helps snug up the entire base... and an aluminum grease catcher, which is slotted so as to allow it to be easily removed for dishwasher cleaning, completes the base.
The handles, a bone of contention on Webers these days, are of a high quality ceramic, and the screws that hold them are substantial. the front handle that allows towing are "twist bolts"... so they're easy to tighten should they loosen due to heat...a very nice touch.
The bottom of the grill, as well as the top, have round, ajustable air vents, for intake and exhaust. Again, the metal's thickness is of good quality, and the bolts are substantial enough as to allow ease of use without worry about their design.
There are 2 grates... the 22 on top, and a lower grate on bottom (see images). Both fit snugly, and side brackets are not needed.
The final piece is a wall mountable hook (with screw) that allows for the grills storage on a garage of shed's wall. A nice extra you wouldn't normally expect.
Analysis: this grill is easily worth the better part of $100.00. $29.00 is a steal!
Now, the accessories were so "one of a kind" and so inexpensive, that I loaded up on them. The pans were $7.00 each: suitable for grilltop cooking, and teflon coated. The frying pan has a moveable handle, and is perforated, so as to allow grease to drain through. Probably better suited for campfire cooking, but place it over a grease catching tray, and it's quite grill-friendly. The mini-beanpot has a million uses for the BBQ'er.
The sauce bottle w/built in brush is unique: fill it with sauce, screw the top on, and you can easily paint your sauce on your meat. Dishwasher safe, so it's easy to clean. $3.50... again, a steal.
The two-handled black meat rack is solid, and allows for easy carrying of meat on or off, as well as acting as a serving rack. You can load it with meat and plop it right on the grill. When the meat is done, you've got 2 handles to lift it off with. This looks like a perfect way to grill shrimp. $7.00.
The beercan chicken holder was all of $3.00, and looks like it'll do the job nicely.
The legs & wings rack ($7.00) is another of those "may or may not be a useful item" pick... but its uniqueness, and cheap price made me grab it. A time will tell purchase.
The mop ($2.00) could be used on meat... but I'll use it to clean ashes out of the grills bottom. It hangs nicely over the front towing handle.
The charcoal and lighter speak for themselves: cheap, but for $3.00... what the heck.
All in all... value.
A Weber? Nope! But surpringly good quality... and an excellent grill to have as a back-up.
