Spider Grills Pellet Adapter

Have you seen the pellet adapter from Spider Grills that converts a standard Weber kettle into a fully functional pellet grill? I can’t decide if this thing is the best accessory made for a Weber kettle or if it complete blasphemy!

I bought a Spider, it costs a little under $300 and tried it out. This is about the cheapest way to start playing around in the world of pellet grilling. Here is what it looks like 🙂

I love that the Spider has a PID controller as it holds temperature more steady than my other pellet grills.

This attachment only works with the Original 22 inch kettle and the Weber Mastertouch. The grill must have the One Touch cleaning system to allow the fire pot to be in the kettle. The attachment will not fit on any kettle that has a side table like the Performer.

So what do you think? Did these guys have the best idea ever or have they committed the ultimate sin in grilling? I suspect the barbecue community is going to be pretty divided on this device!

All I know for sure is that this little guy makes me happy!

Keep grilling, folks!!

Oklahoma Joe’s Rider DLX Pellet Grill Review

The folks at Oklahoma Joe’s have entered the world of pellet grills and have done so in a big way!

The flagship grill is the Rider DLX and it is a beast. The Rider DLX functions like most pellet grills and can be used as a great smoker.

The flaw with most pellet grills is that they don’t get hot enough to put a serious sear on steaks. The Rider solves this problem by adding a massive sear grate into the middle of the grill that can reach temperatures of up to 700F. The experience of cooking on the sear grate is close to cooking on a charcoal grill.

I made a video showing the Rider in action…the video is a bit shaky and I apologize for that…still learning this video stuff!

A few months after I made the original video I made another showing a few things that I didn’t like about the grill. I still think the Rider is an amazing grill but I wanted to provide a full, balanced review.

I have been having a blast using the Rider and am delighted to have it in my grilling arsenal. It makes me happy 🙂

Do you have one of these grills? If so, then leave a comment down below and let folks know what you think of yours!

Z Grill Pellet Smoker Review

Today’s post is about another smoker that I have been using for a while, the Z Grill Model 7002 Pellet Grill.

I have been using the Z Grill for two years now.  This was my first pellet grill and I quickly learned how fun and easy it was to use this style of cooker.

Here is the Two Year Review of the Z Grill that I put together.

This grill is essentially a clone of the early Traeger grills.  It is a no frills type of product so there isn’t Wi-Fi connectivity or a fancy PID controller.  What you get with a Z grill is an inexpensive cooker that works great as a smoker but mediocre as a grill.

When I first got this grill it maxed out at a temperature of 400F.  The last time I tried getting this guy up to high heat 385F was the best that it could muster.  On the flip side, this grill can get you anywhere in the 225-275F range and hold it all day.

The end result is that I started smoking all of my ribs on the Z Grill and grilling all of my chicken wings on the Weber kettle.

The Z Grill has help up great over the years.  The only issue that I ever had was when the connector between the temperature probe and the control panel got wet.  This caused the control panel to throw an error code and the grill wouldn’t start. It took me about 30 minutes to get the connector dry and after that I have not had any problems.

All in all I have been pretty pleased with the grill.  It has made me happy!

I hope all of you cool cats out there are having a great week 🙂

Playing With The Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco Drum Smoker

I had the chance to play around with an Oklahoma Joe’s Bronco drum smoker last year and really fell in love with the cooker.  The smoker had a better build quality than most of the Oklahoma Joe’s products and was easy to operate.

One of the “hacks” I figured out was how to get a burn time on a single load of charcoal that was equivalent to what you can get on a Weber Smokey Mountain.  Heck, I even made a video!

I know I am biased but I think the video is pretty fun!  I would really appreciate it if you would give it a watch and consider subscribing to my YouTube channel 🙂

The trick to getting a seriously long burn time in the Bronco is to use a large charcoal bed and, most importantly, light the charcoal from the SIDE.  When you light the smoker from the side then you can get between 12-15 hours of Low and Slow barbecue temperatures pretty easy.

On my first attempts using this smoker I lit it with the “Minion Method” that works so well for Weber Smokey Mountain cookers.  It turns out that if you light the smoker from the MIDDLE of the charcoal bed then you are unable to get more than 7 hours of burn time.

I used the Bronco to smoke briskets and ribs and even raised the charcoal basket to turn it into a pretty nice charcoal grill.  Overall this guy is a versatile cooker.

I saw a few Broncos on clearance sale at my local Walmart this month and they were going for something like $200.  These things are a great buy at full retail but if you can find one on clearance then you really should think about adding it to your arsenal!

Again, it would be greatly appreciated if you would watch the video and subscribe to the channel!

 

Do You Cover Your Grill?

Folks have been asking me what I want for Christmas and I am having a hard time coming up with suggestions.  I already have a great grill and just about every grilling gadget that has ever been made.

One thing that I don’t have, and people want to get me, is a grill cover.  I have mixed feelings about covers and wanted to throw my thoughts out there.

Why You Should Have A Grill Cover

There are a bunch of reasons why you want to use a grill cover.

• It keeps rain out of the grill which helps the grates last longer.
• It keeps bird poop off the grill (I have a LOT of cardinals at my bird feeders).
• It keeps the ashes dry so they do not form a corrosive soup that eats up the ash catcher.
• The manufacturer says you should use one.

While these benefits are nice they don’t really make me want to buy one.  Here is why…

Why You Don’t Want A Grill Cover

I love the way my grill looks.  I consider my Weber kettle to be a useable sculpture of maroon porcelain enameled metal.  I don’t really want to hide my grill!

I have a heavy duty stainless steel cooking grate and stainless steel charcoal grate.  I am not worried about them rusting through for another five years.

Where do you put the cover while you are grilling?  I do most of my grilling in the evening and the grill is not cool enough to put a cover on until late at night when I am in bed.  Do you just leave the cover lying around on your deck?

Covers don’t last.  My grill is going to last me another 10 years and a standard issue cover only lasts about three years.  I would end up buying three covers over the remaining life of my grill.  The total cost of those covers would be close to the original price of the grill!

But the biggest reason I don’t want a cover is that it is one more barrier between me and an evening of grilling.  There are nights when I think about all of the steps involved in grilling some wings…lighting the charcoal, waiting for the coals to ash, etc. and I end up just going to Hooters instead.  I don’t need one more step in the process and I sure as heck don’t want to end up with the Out of Sight Out of Mind issue.

I am afraid getting a cover would make me grill less.  That would not make me happy.

What About You?

Do you use a cover, want a cover or do you just let your grill stand around naked?

Have any great suggestions for last minute gifts for grilling fanatics???

Drop a comment and let me know!

• Here is a link that shows you how to make a grill cover.
• Here is a link if you want to buy a grill cover.