Sunday, January 29, 2012

My Equipment

I have several outdoor cookers: a New Braunfels Silver Smoker, two Weber charcoal grills,  and a Char-Broil Commercial Series four burner gas grill. New Branfels (the smoker company, not the town in Texas) was acquired by Char-Broil and they still sell the Silver Smoker. It's an introductory smoker and requires modifications for good results. I'll detail what I did to mine in the future.
My main charcoal grill is a 22.5" Weber kettle. I also have an 18.5" Weber kettle I won in BBQ Sauce Reviews' Mad, Mad Giveaway, which also included a selection of Mad Dog BBQ Sauces. The little Weber is handy for cooking sides like grilled vegetables
For weekday grilling I use the gas grill. It's convenient, fast, and easy to clean. Perfect for quick grills during the week after a long day at work.

This is an "infrared" grill, which means there's a perforated steel sheet between the grates and and burners. It helps even out the cooking and eliminates flare ups.
It doesn't matter whether it's gas or charcoal, when I'm grilling I'm using a variety of wood chips to add some smoke to everything. I like hickory and mesquite for beef. Mesquite, apple wood, and cherry for pork and poultry.