Ideal two “appliance” outdoor cooking setup? Grill & Pellet? Griddle & Charcoal?

[nickwm21]

What is the ideal two “appliance” outdoor cooking setup in your mind?

IE; Choose Two:
- Gas Grill
- Charcoal Grill / Kamado / Smoker
- Electric Smoker
- Pellet Grill / Smoker
- Griddle / Flattop
- Pizza Oven
- Offset Smoker
- Santa Maria Style / Open Fire Grill
- etc…


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[adrenalated]

I don't think there's a universal "ideal" it depends on what and how you want to cook....

For me it's a pellet smoker + propane/gas burner(s) that can accept griddle, pans, etc.

[dan_pdx]

Personally, I'm agitating for a propane wok burner with fuck you BTUs to add to our existing gas grill. My better half is skeptical.

[Danno]

I think a gas grill is required. All the people I know that insist on "only charcoal" grill a lot less frequently.

[mcski]

Agreed. I think charcoal is vastly superior taste, but I grill a lot more when i can just turn on the gas

[nickwm21]

I started this thread because…..

I have a Weber genesis, a 14” wsm, and an old rusty 22” kettle.

I use the Weber genesis constantly + throw the pizza steel in it and use it as an oven or griddle…

But I use the WSM only a few times a year and the kettle is in the side yard rusting away…

I often wonder about swapping out the WSM & kettle for a:
- Charcoal Kamado - but would I actually use it? The reason I don’t use the WSM is all the setup, a nice charcoal grill doesn’t change that..
- Pellet - but now that modern pellets get to high temps and get there quickly there seems to be a lot of overlap between that and a gas grill…


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[XXX-er]

junior gave me some really good beef jerky from his Trager

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Gas grill and charcoal tandoor

[Cruiser]

Biggest best gas grill with side burner that you can afford plus one of the other options would be my choice. I have an egg, ooni, and a 180k BTU wok burner in addition to the gas grill and I definitely use the wok burner more frequently than anything but the grill.

[Danno]

I have no idea what WSM is; Woodfired Sado Masochist?

[nickwm21]

Weber Smokey mountain - classic bullet/barrel style charcoal smoker.


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[El Chupacabra]

I vote gas grill for one of them. For the other... ? I have a Kamado (egg type) ceramic oven/ charcoal grill, but don't use it very often.

What do people use griddles for? I see them a lot for camping or RV use, but I've never owned one. Pancake addicts?

[singlesline]

I don't think there's a universal "ideal" it depends on what and how you want to cook....

For me it's a pellet smoker + propane/gas burner(s) that can accept griddle, pans, etc.

Yeah, this is where I'm at and I think it fits my cooking needs--but my needs are based on my own tastes and amount of free time.

I have a 24" camp chef pellet smoker with the "sidekick" propane burner attachment. I have the griddle that sits on it, but you can take that off and use the burner with whatever you want (usually either a stock pot, cast iron skillet). In theory, I think I can get a grill box for it as well as stuff like a pizza oven.

The side burner is great. Super powerful--way more searing power than I get from my electric range indoors--and doesn't stink up the house. I use it pretty often. It isn't *quite* as versatile as a full size flat top griddle since the size is limited and with only one burner you can't run zones and have a hot side vs a warming area.

The pellet smoker is a pretty good compromise for convenience IMHO. You can do a decent job smoking with it with way less effort (especially if you add a smoke tube). You can do on OK job grilling on it--camp chef includes a lever to open up the firebox for searing, but it will never compete with a true grill. It also can work as a slightly smoky convection oven with very accurate temp control...anything you'd bake in your oven can be tossed in there.

Does that just count as one appliance since it is only one physical unit?

Not sure what I would add to the picture. Adding a propane grill doesn't excite me. I'm too lazy to use a "real" smoker. I'm not going to be that guy who's out in the morning making a big full bacon+eggs+potatoes breakfast on my full size flattop grill.
Charcoal would be my choice in theory, but I just don't have occasion to use one often. Maybe now that I have a kid that will change...the sitcom classic standing around in the back yard with the other dads...

Money no object, sure, build in dual-fuel pizza oven big enough to make multiples at once. I might not use it that often, but it sure would be nice.

[dan_pdx]

Biggest best gas grill with side burner that you can afford plus one of the other options would be my choice. I have an egg, ooni, and a 180k BTU wok burner in addition to the gas grill and I definitely use the wok burner more frequently than anything but the grill.

Nice, great to hear your wok burner gets used.

Re: pellet grills, I was at an Air BnB with a fancy pellet grill last year. It had electronic temperature control and it worked great. I've never had much success getting smoke flavor in a gas grill; I would consider a pellet stove like that if I had a bunch more room in the garage.

[Conundrum]

I have a gas grill, Traeger and Kamado. I bought the gas grill 20 years ago and use it at least once a week, often quite a bit more than that. Has a side burner that is handy and a griddle insert I use occasionally. I was "gifted" and old non-working Traeger and refurbed it. Use it 1-2x per month. Won the Kamado. Use it 3-4x per year. If I were buying, I'd absolutely have a gas grill. Side burner and griddle is nice to have but I don't find them need to haves. I'm either going to rebuild my grill again or am in the market for a new one. I'd consider a pellet feed smoker. Ease of use is pretty big here. The egg style is fun but I'm not proficient enough to get the temp right and leave for hours so when using it, find myself sticking close to home. Good for rainy football days around the house. Some people are really good with eggs and lump charcoal. Everyone cooks differently but I think for outdoor grilling and a busy lifestyle, hard not to have a gas grill.

[singlesline]

What do people use griddles for? I see them a lot for camping or RV use, but I've never owned one. Pancake addicts?

Most things you'd cook in a frying pan can be done on a griddle, but the griddle gives you more space to work, potential for higher heat, easier cleanup (just scrape and dump the grease drain), etc.

I use my aforementioned sidekick griddle for stuff like smashed burgers (been trying oklahoma onion burgers recently), or any other high heat/searing application I don't want stinking up the house. Steaks I use the burner, but I usually throw a cast iron skillet down instead just to contain juices/butter/aromatics when searing. Also useful if I'm cooking something in the pellet grill just to not have to run back and forth inside...make griddled asparagus while chicken is roasting in the pellet pooper.

But yeah, I think the people who get the most use out of something like full size flat top just love feeling like they are a short order cook at a diner. Work with your big spatulas cutting up eggs and sausage, making pancakes for 6 all at once, big stir fries, etc. Lots of clanging and swiping the tools together and feeling like you work at a Benihanas.

[irul&ublo]

Gas grill and buy a plancha. You can put it right above the burners on the flavor bars


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[adrenalated]

- Pellet - but now that modern pellets get to high temps and get there quickly there seems to be a lot of overlap between that and a gas grill…

There is and is more or less why I chose it as one of my appliances. The pellet smoker can basically serve the function of both a charcoal smoker (with much more convenience) and a gas grill (with slightly less convenience).

As singlesline says, then you add a propane burner(s) to cook basically anything else whether it be in a pot or pan, on a griddle, etc.

In your case, where you already have a gas grill you really like, the pellet smoker might make less sense. Would you run the smoker more if the setup was easier? If so, might be worth it, if not, probably a pass.

[riser4]

I vote gas grill and a gas burner(s) if we can only have two. Id love to get a mini Weber black ball again for the occasional steak on wood lump charcoal, but that's not essential. I would like to move up from a 3 burner gas grill to a 4 which would allow me to smoke larger cuts and amounts of meat. Unfortunately the one thing a gas grill set up for indirect can't do is cold smoke. At least I don't know how. I have a coffin that I fill with chips and light, set on burner under grate. It only gives off big smoke for a long time above about 350° as measured on the cold side. I want to go colder and still keep big smoke as opposed to a slow smolder.

[DBdude]

Personally, I'm agitating for a propane wok burner with fuck you BTUs to add to our existing gas grill. My better half is skeptical.

my friend had this for outdoor cooking. it was really great. It was used all year (seattle)

[UTpowder]

I have a camp chef pellet grill with a side burner attachment and an Egg. Use the egg probably 80% of the time. Takes a bit to get the lump charcoal lit but I like the flavor and higher temps better then a regular gas grill. We do a lot of pizza on the egg. The local pizza joint sells dough and more often then not we just pick up some of that.

The pellet grill does well enough to take the place of the gas grill for me. Was gifted a big flat top griddle a couple years ago. Its still in the box. Don't see much difference then cooking inside on the stove top. My brother has big griddle and he uses it almost exclusively. Guess its ok but if I go to a summer cookout by the pool I want a grilled burger.

Not sure there is a right answer here.

[Going Coastal]

My favorite two piece combo is a Bradley smoker and a classic 22in Weber. Bradley really wins for smoking fish since it can smoke at a very low temp.

Had a Traeger for a few years before giving up and going back to a Weber. Traeger tries to do everything at the expense of doing any particular thing well.

[irul&ublo]

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[garyfromterrace]

I vote gas grill & kamodo (or egg or similar charc). I can dial the kamodo down to 190 or 200 for 8 hrs for smoking, or charcoal grilling if I'm not pressed for time to and if I'm in a rush to barbq I can flash up the propane grill.

[mark AT]

This looks interesting

https://www.weber.com/US/en/wood-pel...l/1500121.html