Weber Genesis on it's last legs, door fell off, bottom pan rusting out, both front legs rusting through. Here's the old Weber Grill:

ter removing it from the patio.

Went to Costco to check out the Weber they have for $1K, next to it was a Louisiana Grills Ceramic Grill, wife said, "didn't you want to get one of these?, after looking at it for a while, decided to go for it. Just $599, and I had a little over $350 in Costco reward bucks to use.



Took two guys to lift it into the truck, got it home and no way I was getting it out myself, so just opened up the box, removed everything I could, then assembled the base and had a neighbor help me lift it into the base.



Assembly was easy, just a lot of bolts to put the base together, comes with all the hardware and tools to complete the job. Rolled it back on the patio, takes up a lot less space,



Note the rust that fell out of the Weber on the deck, had to clean that up today.



Going to do the break in cycle and then cook on it this evening... then figure out what extra bits I need to have for it,

Get the Kamado Joe indirect cooking plate for smoking.

I got rid of the cast iron grate for a steel wire grate. MUCH better air control.

I picked up a Primo this past fall. Love it. I have a new genesis 4burner next to it and I find myself wanting to cook on the primo more and more.
Holy schnikes can that thing get hot!

Congrats

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Get the Kamado Joe indirect cooking plate for smoking.

I got rid of the cast iron grate for a steel wire grate. MUCH better air control.

It came with the indirect cooking plate, looking forward to tryin it out.



Did the break in cycle today, the starting chimney did great, glad I got one.



Cooked two baked potatoes, asparagus and a rib eye tonight, all came out good, put the steak on a bit early so it was medium not medium rare, will try again tomorrow night. Have to get used to the temp control.

On my wish list, along with a griddle. Right now I have an 14" and 18' web smokey mountain smokers, a 22" kettle, a weber go anywhere, a weber smokey joe, and a propane weber summit I don't touch any more. I'm all in on the charcoal and hardwook.

A cheap heat gun will start the charcoal right up in that chimney.

I just hold the gun up in the bottom until it sounds like a jet engine.

I have a Kamado Joe, but found it's easier and better to just put the natural coal in the grill (I really like B+B oak) and use a handheld torch and then light 3 small sections, versus the weber lighter, it seems to heat up the ceramic more even and really easy to get too much charcoal lit/heat with the weber can. So a hand held torch with Mapp gas or propane. If you overshoot the temperature, it takes a long time for it to come back down. Also the ceramic cookers are generally made to cook with the lid closed.....

The Kamado joe heat deflector is amazing, because you can do 1/2 of the grill and not all of it. I do only half a lot because I do a lot of veggies on the grill (indirect) and then meat on the other side.....plus can put the rack high or low.

A thermapen instant read thermometer is a must have.

For chicken (bones/skin) I like a lid temp of 400F, filet mignon 400F, for ribeye 550F......

+1 on a themapen. No more overcooked steaks. Use mine for other stuff all the time. Ie. Frozen chicken Kiev that's been in the oven for the suggested time. Confirm it is actually up to an acceptable internal temperature.

Welcome to the club! Now make sure you get lots of practice with it!

Sooooo much info here. I have had mine, (Classic) For years and I feel there is no better ceramic unit, you can bring eight levels of hell with the heat or you can slow smoke for 15 hours. What more can you ask for. For those of you that don’t have one. Buy one.......................

Congrats! Did you snag that one from Costco? I got my BGE from Jeff a little bit ago, and can't image cooking on anything else sans a baller pellet smoker.

Where do you put your implements?

Bob

Congratulations! I suggest a couple of books if you don't already have them, Adam Perry Lang's Serious Barbecue, and the Big Green Egg Cookbook. I have two BGE's and cook on them several times a week. We use BGE lump charcoal, and I light it with a Mappgas torch. Enjoy some great meals from that smoker!

We had a BGE. No doubt it cooked the best meat on the planet but we sold it as we didn't use it enough. We generally Sous Vide our steaks and air fry our burgers. Maybe we're just too lazy.

You will love it. Get lots of charcoal.

What you lose in ease of use vs the Weber/Gas is amazing versatility and taste. Get some kind of remote thermometer for longer cooks.

Take care, cook safe
Chris

We have a Kamado Joe and use it 3-4 days a week, year round.

Once you learn the process, I think you will not find a better cooking system.

Had homemade pizza that was cooked on it last night, pork chops on Saturday and will have burgers tonight.

Get some good natural lump charcoal and you will enjoy the heck out of it.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:
Congrats! Did you snag that one from Costco? I got my BGE from Jeff a little bit ago, and can't image cooking on anything else sans a baller pellet smoker.

Yes, we went in to get a new Weber Genesis they sell but they were out, next to it was the Kamado Red Louisiana model, two on the floor, after some discussion decided to get it...

Will place the cookbooks on the fathers day/bday list for the kiddos.

After using the chimney with paper as a starter decided that's a dumb idea, too much ash from the paper, so I'll go to the small propane torch to light the coals..

I have a pizza stone, so that's going on the list as well..

Also the top vent does a lot more to regulate heat than the bottom vent. A lot of times I leave the bottom vent fully open or close to it, and regulate heat from the top vent for grill temps of 400-600F.

Just put the coal right in the grill and use the torch for 30 seconds in 3 different spots and let it go with the lid open for 10-15 minutes (run your hand 10" over the coals to get an idea on heat) and then close the lid with vents full open and start regulating the vents as it gets close to your target temp.

Ohhh, and I use charcoal 2-3 times, I add a little to the existing if I need it, but on the last cook I decide to use it, I open all vents and get it up to 550F or more and burn all of the grease out of the grill.......

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,

That's the plan for the next cook