Other grilling accessories?

That reminds me. You told me about these last year, and July 4th (whereupon I make about 40 lbs of ribs for my party) is coming up. I must look for some!

Yeah, I should look out some as well. I have two friends, each of whom claims to be the Western Canadian champion rib cook. We decided that the only way to deal with this is to have a 'rib off' at my place (I have 2 BBQs). The racks might be of some help in that. Any reccos on which ones, or are generic racks fine?

[Jenise]

That reminds me. You told me about these last year, and July 4th (whereupon I make about 40 lbs of ribs for my party) is coming up. I must look for some!

Yeah, I should look out some as well. I have two friends, each of whom claims to be the Western Canadian champion rib cook. We decided that the only way to deal with this is to have a 'rib off' at my place (I have 2 BBQs). The racks might be of some help in that. Any reccos on which ones, or are generic racks fine?

Weber and Charcoal Companion both make them. There could be others. I've seen both but held off buying because I wanted two racks, and wherever I was they only had one of whichever they had. You may have the same problem I have here (unlike, say, California or Arizona) where stores order in BBQ stuff in early spring and sell out quickly, not replenishing their supply. By Fathers Day everything accessory-like is pretty much cleaned out.

A clamp on shop light, so I can see what the heck I'm doing when it gets dark.
A grill brush.
A perforated half pan for stuff that wouold otherwise fall through the spaces in the grill
An assortment of spring loaded tongs
An assortment of pastry brushes
Big stack of disposable aluminum pans
Chimney Starter
Spray bottle filled with water

I could live without everything but the tongs

I don't have one of the kabob gizmo's. I was suggesting it as something someone could buy to prevent spinning.
Along with the rotisserie, we have a perforated pan that I use to grill potatoes, with peppers and onions, plus a array of veggies. There is also a jalapeño popper. We stuff the peppers then put them into this gadget and it holds them upright. They are made here in Redding. Also, a large wire basket that is used for many pieces of chicken/beef, fish, etc. An adjustable side make it easy for different thicknesses. We rarely use this as we don't do large crowds anymore. I think that is the extent of our grill pieces.
Oh, the usual tools necessary for cooking, Thermapen, and some sort of gadget that you wear around your neck and it talks to the other gadget plugged into your meat. You can stay in the kitchen and watch the temperature. Rarely use that because Gene is the watcher .....and insists on going on and poking them meat with the Thermapen.

[Jenise]

Well here is my favourite weenie roaster I made up from some coathanger and metal scraps.......you'lll need one on each end for those heavier weenies!

And was this little dude modelled after yourself or Chimpy Nuts?

[Jenise]

A clamp on shop light, so I can see what the heck I'm doing when it gets dark.

I didn't think to list it as a grilling accessory, but a few years back I bought Bob a Black and Decker snake light for same--really handy, you can just drape it around your neck, so the light goes with you.

A clamp on shop light, so I can see what the heck I'm doing when it gets dark.

I didn't think to list it as a grilling accessory, but a few years back I bought Bob a Black and Decker snake light for same--really handy, you can just drape it around your neck, so the light goes with you.

For those with Weber gas grills, they make a replacement lid handle with a light built-in.

I also picked up a small but powerful light with magnetic base that you put on the shaft of the spatula....provides an intense directed beam wherever you're working with the spatula.

For fish, I have a fish spatula....much wider than the usual suspect.

For ribs etc, spray bottles are useful to mist apple juice or other on the meat during cooking. Extra spray bottles are helpful to control flare-ups.

A mesh grate, more air than metal, for grilling veggies.

And was this little dude modelled after yourself or Chimpy Nuts?

You know what they say:



Modesty prevents me from inserting pictures, but I assure you this particular design was not my doing.

See http://www.RoastMyWeenie.com

And for those dog fanciers:

And for the Octodog Jenise previously posted: http://www.octodog.net/

[Jenise]

That's the meat that can't be beat!

Bill, here's what to drink with your outdoor creations:

http://dinnerinabottle.com/dirty-hot-dog

You need to send Stuart a case.

Are you too young to remember the "church key?"

Yes Chef...I have heard of one but couldn't say what they look like .

Here's an array...

churchkeys.jpg

Which one is Episcopalian?

LOL Stuart...

Chef, yes I have 2 of those actually! I call them beer or fruit juice openers...LOL! Can you tell me why they are called church keys?

That reminds me. You told me about these last year, and July 4th (whereupon I make about 40 lbs of ribs for my party) is coming up. I must look for some!

Jenise, how big is the cooking grid on your grill? What kind of grill? Gas? or Charcoal? I posted here about an experiment I did to see if I could increase the number of babyback slabs I could get on my 22.5 inch grid. So, I did one slab flat, and the other I rolled and skewered. They both cooked to the same degree of doneness, and were equally good to my taste. I find that the rolled slab takes less than 1/4 the space of the slab cooked flat. you might want to experiment too.

[Jenise]

That reminds me. You told me about these last year, and July 4th (whereupon I make about 40 lbs of ribs for my party) is coming up. I must look for some!

Jenise, how big is the cooking grid on your grill? What kind of grill? Gas? or Charcoal? I posted here about an experiment I did to see if I could increase the number of babyback slabs I could get on my 22.5 inch grid. So, I did one slab flat, and the other I rolled and skewered. They both cooked to the same degree of doneness, and were equally good to my taste. I find that the rolled slab takes less than 1/4 the space of the slab cooked flat. you might want to experiment too.

Bob, I wouldn't use the racks on the grill, but on the smoker. Ours is one of those Master Cylinder types (anybody remember Felix the Cat cartoons?) with two round racks about 20 inches across, one on top of the other.

Bob, I wouldn't use the racks on the grill, but on the smoker. Ours is one of those Master Cylinder types (anybody remember Felix the Cat cartoons?) with two round racks about 20 inches across, one on top of the other.

I had one of those once, I think it was a Brinkman smoker. Worked well except that I had to keep feeding it charcoal or wood. Mine was on my wooden deck and I wasn't watching it closely enough when the leg (which was rusted) fell off spilling hot coals. So watch it. However if you are doing 40 pounds of baby backs, how many slabs can you do at one cooking? Rolling them would double it would be my guess. Do you sauce your ribs on the grill, or after taking them off?

[Jenise]

Bob, I wouldn't use the racks on the grill, but on the smoker. Ours is one of those Master Cylinder types (anybody remember Felix the Cat cartoons?) with two round racks about 20 inches across, one on top of the other.

I had one of those once, I think it was a Brinkman smoker. Worked well except that I had to keep feeding it charcoal or wood. Mine was on my wooden deck and I wasn't watching it closely enough when the leg (which was rusted) fell off spilling hot coals. So watch it. However if you are doing 40 pounds of baby backs, how many slabs can you do at one cooking? Rolling them would double it would be my guess. Do you sauce your ribs on the grill, or after taking them off?

With the racks, I should be able to smoke all of it in two batches. I'll leave them long enough on the smoker to get a great deal of smoke flavor, move them to the oven to finish, let them cool down for clean slicing, then finish them on the grill after dipping them in a sauce. They'll cook in about three hours total, at which point they'll rip clean right off the bone but they won't be falling-off-the-bone tender. I like my ribs a bit more toothsome than that.

With the racks, I should be able to smoke all of it in two batches. I'll leave them long enough on the smoker to get a great deal of smoke flavor, move them to the oven to finish, let them cool down for clean slicing, then finish them on the grill after dipping them in a sauce. They'll cook in about three hours total, at which point they'll rip clean right off the bone but they won't be falling-off-the-bone tender. I like my ribs a bit more toothsome than that.

Good luck, and good eating!

Are you too young to remember the "church key?"

Or the "P-38"

Got mine in '67 and it's still on my keychain (wore it on a chain with my dogtags around my neck in '67-'68.)

Which one is Episcopalian?

The sort of blah looking one in the middle.

LOL Stuart...

Chef, yes I have 2 of those actually! I call them beer or fruit juice openers...LOL! Can you tell me why they are called church keys?

When I was a teenager there were not as many choices for us bad boys as there are nowadays.

The most evil things we had available were drinking beer and smoking cigarettes. But, drinking beer as a teenager was a truly evil pastime. I always assumed it was a sardonic nomenclature.

Every guy I knew had a church key. I never - not one time - heard them called anything but church keys.

Also, if you squint real hard they look kind of like the big keys used to open crypts and churches and joints like that - especially in movies.

Can you tell me why they are called church keys?

http://www.just-for-openers.org/Church-Key.html

LOL Stuart...

Chef, yes I have 2 of those actually! I call them beer or fruit juice openers...LOL! Can you tell me why they are called church keys?

From Wikipedia:

There is sparse, and often contradictory, documentation as to the origin of the term "Church Key", though most agree the phrase is a sarcastic euphemism, as the opener was obviously designed to access beer, and not churches.

One explanation for the term "Church Key" lends its origin an almost mythic significance; in Medieval Europe, monks and nobility were the only brewers. Lagering cellars in the monasteries were locked, as the monks guarded the secrets to their craft. The monks carried keys to these lagering cellars on their cinch, or belt. It may have been this key from which the "Church Key" opener got its name.

Another motive for assigning the device such an ironic name could have been the fact beer was first canned (for test marketing) in 1933[8] — the same year Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Cullen-Harrison Bill.[9] This act, which predated Repeal of Prohibition, amended the Volstead Act, making 3.2 beer legal. Some experts have posited the term "church key" was a way to "stick it to" the religious organizations who had effected Prohibition in the first place.[10]

Although the original definition of "Church Key" referred to a simple bottle opener that resembled the non-business end of an old fashioned key, most are now flat with a piercing end and a bottle opener at the other end, with no particular resemblance to a key.