|
Click for larger picture
|
Great Outdoors Grills - Smokey Mountain
Series smoker grill
Reviewed by Jimmy2K^
Ok, so maybe your idea of a cookout is to light your propane grill
and BBQ up a few steaks, burgers and dogs. If so, then this product
may not be for you, but I would still encourage you to check out
the review for the great Smokey mountain series 3600 grill. The
unit pictured runs on propane, but the one I purchased is identical
minus the propane burner and has a pan that holds charcoal in the
bottom.
So what kinds of things can you cook in a grill like this? For
starters, this is not a burger and steak grill. Things like that
are best done on an open flame of charcoal or gas using a conventional
grill. Ruling that out, practically everything else can be cooked
in this unit and made to taste better then you can ever imagine.
So far I have cooked ribs, chicken, ham, pork chops, sausages,
roast beef, baked beans, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes in
mine, and all of that in only 4 cookouts so far. Cooking with this
unit is a charm because it is so well constructed - it has solid
construction, high quality racks that are easy to clean, excellent
temperature regulation with its two side vents and one top vent
(adjustable openings), and a thermometer built right in the door
calibrated in increments of 10 degrees Fahrenheit that allow you
at an instant to know exactly what's going on inside. The water
pan is high quality and I recommend you line it with foil before
using it because it makes cleanup a breeze. The stainless steel
racks clean up very easily with a piece of steel wool.
To have a cookout with this unit one should set aside at LEAST
4 hours ahead of time - preferably 5 to prep everything. Use a couple
of good starter logs down in the charcoal pan and fill it with 12-15
lbs of good quality charcoal. I never use lighter fluid on my charcoal
because I think the fuel ruins the taste, but sometimes I will cheat
a bit and use a small amount of match light charcoal mixed with
plenty of regular charcoal to get it going. Of course if you spend
the extra money and purchase the propane unit (pictured) you can
do away with charcoal altogether but somehow I just think charcoal
makes food taste better. Light the unit and get it warm - leave
your racks and water pan out for a bit, then slide your foil lined
water pan in and add water to fill it up. I like to toss in a couple
of large chunks of hickory while it's still burning just to help
season the smoker a bit before putting on the meat. At this stage,
your racks are not inside the grill. You can prep your food right
on the rack with some newspaper underneath them right on the table,
e.g., slating meats or adding a rub, etc.
Tinfoil is the bar-b-q-ers best friend. Buy the large rolls, in
fact, buy two - you can get it at a dollar store cheaply. Depending
upon the meat type and how you want to cook it determines whether
or not you wrap it. I like to put corn on the cob with lots of butter
and salt in tinfoil, likewise with potatoes, just cut them in half
put salt and pepper and a big slab of butter in them, and pack them
in with the other foods as they are cooking. Because of the grills
design, you can use the drippings off of meats to season other foods,
for example yesterday I cooked an 8 lb ham and a big pan of beans.
I used a Pyrex baking dish for the beans and put it right under
the rack that held the ham, and just let the ham drippings fall
right into the beans while they were cooking, occasionally taking
a slice off of the ham and adding it right in with the beans, and
some honey and brown sugar, which I also used to glaze the ham (is
your stomach growling yet?).
OK, ribs are something everyone likes. Imagine hickory-smoked ribs
and chicken drumsticks along with baked potatoes, corn on the cob,
coleslaw, and peach cobbler. I had a bunch of my friends from the
campground come over for this feast about a month back - in fact
we had 10 people and I still had leftovers for 2 days afterwards.
I like to cook the ribs without tinfoil (thawed first) for about
1 hour to 1 and a half hours first with one fist sized chunk of
hickory - don't over smoke them or they will taste like the tree
instead of having the nice flavor. While I am doing this I wrap
my chicken drumsticks in foil and put them in there along with the
corn and baked potatoes in tinfoil. After about an hour I wrap the
ribs in tinfoil and add one thick strip of BBQ sauce right down
the middle on the meaty sides of the ribs - use a decent BBQ sauce
- I like the Kraft thick original. Then I remove the chicken drumsticks
from the foil and place them directly in the smoker and check my
charcoal level and add a few pieces of hickory - remembering of
course not to over smoke the meat - but with chicken it's a little
harder then pork. After about 2 hours, I brush BBQ sauce all over
the chicken drums and cook them for about another hour. I would
recommend a 4 to 5 hour cooking time for a meal like this. If you
wish to serve your guests some appetizers, toss some Italian sausage
on the grill when you first put the ribs in - they will cook right
up in a couple of hours.
This is BBQ the way I like to do it - all afternoon thing where
you hang out with people, maybe have some cold beverages and just
yak, then feast like a roman. There really outside of the initial
work is not a lot of babysitting required with this unit but I like
to keep an eye on the temperature and try to keep it between about
225 and 275 degrees for optimal cooking.
Next time I fire this baby up I plan on trying to do a whole chicken,
but you can also do turkey, Alaskan salmon, etc. I will let you
know how that turns out.
This grill is a very decent unit - I highly recommend it to anyone
who loves to BBQ and entertain. It is a solid design and at $98
for the charcoal model (36 inch) and $149 for the gas model (36
inch), it's worth the money and should provide years of service.
It comes with an assembly video that also provides instruction on
cooking with your Great Outdoors Grill that I found very helpful.
I am so pleased with mine I am thinking of also buying a second
unit next summer except this time getting the gas model so I can
have the best of both worlds.
|
