If people thought of their grills like they do their stove tops, there would be a lot less problems with grills wearing out. Think of it this way, after cooking something on the stove you generally have to wipe up the spills. Of course, I could just be a messy cook, but I can't seem to cook without having to at least wipe down the surface. Every now and then, depending on how often it gets used, I'll do a more thorough cleaning. This includes moving everything out of the way and wiping around and under the burners. Well, a grill should be treated similarly. Every time it is used, clean it, at least lightly.
Cleaning Grates
Grates are the exception to this general rule. They need to be cleaned completely after every use. This prevents food from sticking on your grill making it much easier to cook on. There are a lot of products on the market for cleaning your grate, but really any good stiff wire brush will do. Now, few people seem to know the best way to perform this little task. First of all, it is better done after you grill and not before. Once your grill has cooled down a bit, but is still warm, take your brush and clean off any remaining food particles. It is much easier to clean off food particles while warmth is still present and not after they have cooled and been allowed to harden on the grate. If you have a cast iron grate clean completely then, brush on some oil with a paper towel to keep your grate in proper shape. Bare cast iron needs to be inspected regularly because they are more likely to rust.
Charcoal Grills
One of the great things about charcoal grills is that you clean it out after every use. However, many people don't take advantage of the situation and simply dump the ashes out. Keeping a good wire brush handy to sweep out the cooked on remains will make additional cleaning jobs much easier. And don't think that because you have one of those grills with the ash catchers that you don't have to do any cleaning. Everything you cook on requires cleaning. So every time you use your charcoal grill, clean the grate and brush out the ashes and cooked on foods. This will cut down on excess smoke and bad flavors. Periodically, get in there and really scrape out all that stuff that just seems to develop on the bottom of your grill. At least once a year, get out a bucket of soapy water and give it a really good clean. If you need to touch up the color get a can of grill safe paint. Just ask someone at the hardware store and they will know exactly what it is. If you do this, your grill will last for many years and produce great results.
Gas Grills
The bad thing about many gas grills is that they have a setting on the knobs marked “clean”. Many people are mislead to think that this is how you clean your grill. Like a charcoal grill, you need to clean your gas grill every time you use it. Make sure that the grates are cleaned after you grill and brush off the sides and lid after every use. Use the clean setting to preheat your grill. Yes, it will burn up stuff that has fallen down into the grill, but it doesn't really clean it. Regularly you should lift out the cooking grate and clean off the barrier above the burners. This might be lava rock, briquettes, or some variation of metal plates. However, it should get cleaned of the cooked on grease and food particles periodically.
Once a year you need to do a good clean on your grill. This requires that you take portions of it apart. First, start by disconnecting the gas and then lift out the grill parts layer by layer. Once you get down to the burners, make sure you inspect them thoroughly. There shouldn't be anything blocking the flow of gas. If the burner is clogged it will give you uneven heat and make for poor grilling. If you can clean it, do so, if not, then replace it. If your grill uses lava rocks or ceramic briquettes you need to make sure that these are not too heavily encrusted with cooked on foods. If they happen to be, replace them to avoid bad tasting smoke that dirty rocks can produce.
With everything out of the grill, clean it completely with soapy water. If the paint is coming off, or if your grill is showing signs of rust then you need to do some painting. Other than that, put everything back in, check to make sure that all connections are good, and then turn it on. Let the grill heat completely before you cook again to make sure that any left over soap residue gets burned off.
There are shortcuts to cleaning a gas grill, but these are not always a good idea and there is one method that is definitely How NOT to Clean a Gas Grill.
Stainless Steel presents some special challenges to cleaning. Stainless steel will show every finger print, and low quality stainless steel will rust and discolor over time. I have some special instructions you can read on cleaning stainless steel.
source:about.com
Extra Large Primo Ceramic Charcoal Smoker Grill
The Primo Extra Large Oval charcoal smoker grill is the best choice for outdoor ceramic cooker, featuring 400 square inches of standard cooking surface, and up to 680 square inches with optional rack extensions. It also offers a cast iron chimney cap, easy-to-read thermometer, reversible cooking grates, stainless steel lower vent door. And Primo's unique oval design allows for greater flexibility and versatility. You'll be able to cook using both direct and indirect methods at the same time.
The Primo Oval JR falls in the category of ceramic grill/smoker. This group is inspired by the Japanese kamado grills. The most famous of these is probably the Big Green Egg. They provide a number of benefits:
1. Ability to maintain a wide range of temperatures, allowing low/slow smoking at 210 degrees to high temperature searing at 700+ degrees.
2. Efficient use of charcoal and wood, using less fuel than similarly sized traditional grills also allowing for longer cooks without having to add additional coals.
3. Heavy sides insulate and capture heat, allowing for stable temperatures and protecting from exterior winds and cold to keep consistent heat.
4. Contain moisture, which is great for keeping your meats tender and juicy.
There are downsides to ceramic grills too:
1. They are heavy and thus harder to move around
2. Being ceramic, they are fragile. From the forums, a large % break in shipping so its good to get one that is backed by a good manufacturer. The top ones, including Primo are known to stick behind their products.
3. They are expensive compared to traditional grills for the same cook area.
There are three things that differentiate the Primo in my mind (getting tired of lists yet? :) )
1. They are oval, which is very handy for cooking long things like a brisket, as well as cooking two different types of food on each side of the grill, including doing indirect cooking on one side and direct on the other.)
2. They have more accessories than many of the other manufacturers, including additional levels of racks, the indirect heating 'plates', etc. Just more ways to get better utility out of your grill.
3. They are made in the USA, which is nice both to support local manufacturing but also because I'm more and more skeptical about letting anything made in China touch my food these days.
Okay. That's enough lists for a bit. This review is specifically about the Primo Jr. I spent a good bit of time deciding between the JR and XL. The difference in cooking area is significant with the XL having 2x as much cooking area. That said, I can cook two full sized briskets on a JR, and can easily feed six people. In addition, I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker and you can find my review for that on Amazon at well (a great great tool for the price), so if I want to mix smoking and grilling can always just use the JR to grill while smoking on the Masterbuilt to extend my capacity. If you really want to cook for a crowd you're going to want to look at the XL. Otherwise I presume the review will match well.
Let me summarize the rest of this review thusly: This grill is awesome. Its easy to get the grill to the temperature you want and maintain it. At high temps you can sear and cook steaks in minutes. At medium temperatures you can do poultry and vegetables that are delicious and infused with that flavor you only get from real wood lump charcoal, while staying moist and tender. At low temps you've got a smoker that can keep up with pros for making bbq and will meet all your needs. Wow.
The fact is, all kamado style grills are going to have very similar properties, so it really comes down to the details. I very much like the oval shape of the Primo. It gives me a bit more flexibility. Will I need the oval shape every cook? No. But when I want to cook two different foods at the same time perhaps with racks at different heights or one indirect, I can. Or if I want to do a big brisket which would be awkward on a similarly sized circular kamado, I have no problem. If you're getting a kamado you're spending a premium of $$$ already. I don't want to spend that premium and then have to compromise on utility.
The big way the Masterbuilt spoiled me is the simple way you can add additional wood in the middle of a cook. This is the only real way I can mark the Primo down. If you're doing a 12 hour smoke and your lump has burnt down, you have a bit of a bother adding more wood. You're going to have this with a lot of grills, not just Primos. The mitigating factor is that fuel efficiency I mentioned that you get from ceramic grills. If you're cooking at low temperatures a single load of charcoal should easily take you 10+ hours. And after a cook, all you have to do is close the vents and any remaining lump can sit for your next cook.
Everything else is just practice, and gaskets can wear over time particularly if you do high temp cooks and don't take care of flares when opening the grill. But the gaskets are easy and cheap enough to replace.
Overall, if you're waffling like I was you're going to love it once you try one of these. You can't really go wrong with any of the kamado style grills. I think the next generation of grill to compete with them is the Big Steel Keg category grill which is an insulated steel variant of the kamado, which has many of the same benefits while being significantly lighter and more durable allowing them to be transported. One of those will likely be my next toy, particularly when they come down a couple hundred. For now though, if you want a ceramic style grill for your backyard you really can't do better than a Primo. The oval shape is unique and gives some clear advantages in many situations, their various accessories give even more flexibility and like I said, they are made in the USA without being any more expensive than their circular competitors.
The only downside I can say about any of these ceramic grills is the real premium you have to pay in $$$ over traditional lump grills, but I can't mark the Primo down a star for that as they aren't any more expensive than any of their competitors. In the end, I have to say its certainly worth what I paid and that's the final measure.
 |
| Extra Large Primo Ceramic Charcoal Smoker Grill |
The Primo Oval JR falls in the category of ceramic grill/smoker. This group is inspired by the Japanese kamado grills. The most famous of these is probably the Big Green Egg. They provide a number of benefits:
1. Ability to maintain a wide range of temperatures, allowing low/slow smoking at 210 degrees to high temperature searing at 700+ degrees.
2. Efficient use of charcoal and wood, using less fuel than similarly sized traditional grills also allowing for longer cooks without having to add additional coals.
3. Heavy sides insulate and capture heat, allowing for stable temperatures and protecting from exterior winds and cold to keep consistent heat.
4. Contain moisture, which is great for keeping your meats tender and juicy.
There are downsides to ceramic grills too:
1. They are heavy and thus harder to move around
2. Being ceramic, they are fragile. From the forums, a large % break in shipping so its good to get one that is backed by a good manufacturer. The top ones, including Primo are known to stick behind their products.
3. They are expensive compared to traditional grills for the same cook area.
There are three things that differentiate the Primo in my mind (getting tired of lists yet? :) )
1. They are oval, which is very handy for cooking long things like a brisket, as well as cooking two different types of food on each side of the grill, including doing indirect cooking on one side and direct on the other.)
2. They have more accessories than many of the other manufacturers, including additional levels of racks, the indirect heating 'plates', etc. Just more ways to get better utility out of your grill.
3. They are made in the USA, which is nice both to support local manufacturing but also because I'm more and more skeptical about letting anything made in China touch my food these days.
Okay. That's enough lists for a bit. This review is specifically about the Primo Jr. I spent a good bit of time deciding between the JR and XL. The difference in cooking area is significant with the XL having 2x as much cooking area. That said, I can cook two full sized briskets on a JR, and can easily feed six people. In addition, I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker and you can find my review for that on Amazon at well (a great great tool for the price), so if I want to mix smoking and grilling can always just use the JR to grill while smoking on the Masterbuilt to extend my capacity. If you really want to cook for a crowd you're going to want to look at the XL. Otherwise I presume the review will match well.
Let me summarize the rest of this review thusly: This grill is awesome. Its easy to get the grill to the temperature you want and maintain it. At high temps you can sear and cook steaks in minutes. At medium temperatures you can do poultry and vegetables that are delicious and infused with that flavor you only get from real wood lump charcoal, while staying moist and tender. At low temps you've got a smoker that can keep up with pros for making bbq and will meet all your needs. Wow.
The fact is, all kamado style grills are going to have very similar properties, so it really comes down to the details. I very much like the oval shape of the Primo. It gives me a bit more flexibility. Will I need the oval shape every cook? No. But when I want to cook two different foods at the same time perhaps with racks at different heights or one indirect, I can. Or if I want to do a big brisket which would be awkward on a similarly sized circular kamado, I have no problem. If you're getting a kamado you're spending a premium of $$$ already. I don't want to spend that premium and then have to compromise on utility.
The big way the Masterbuilt spoiled me is the simple way you can add additional wood in the middle of a cook. This is the only real way I can mark the Primo down. If you're doing a 12 hour smoke and your lump has burnt down, you have a bit of a bother adding more wood. You're going to have this with a lot of grills, not just Primos. The mitigating factor is that fuel efficiency I mentioned that you get from ceramic grills. If you're cooking at low temperatures a single load of charcoal should easily take you 10+ hours. And after a cook, all you have to do is close the vents and any remaining lump can sit for your next cook.
Everything else is just practice, and gaskets can wear over time particularly if you do high temp cooks and don't take care of flares when opening the grill. But the gaskets are easy and cheap enough to replace.
Overall, if you're waffling like I was you're going to love it once you try one of these. You can't really go wrong with any of the kamado style grills. I think the next generation of grill to compete with them is the Big Steel Keg category grill which is an insulated steel variant of the kamado, which has many of the same benefits while being significantly lighter and more durable allowing them to be transported. One of those will likely be my next toy, particularly when they come down a couple hundred. For now though, if you want a ceramic style grill for your backyard you really can't do better than a Primo. The oval shape is unique and gives some clear advantages in many situations, their various accessories give even more flexibility and like I said, they are made in the USA without being any more expensive than their circular competitors.
The only downside I can say about any of these ceramic grills is the real premium you have to pay in $$$ over traditional lump grills, but I can't mark the Primo down a star for that as they aren't any more expensive than any of their competitors. In the end, I have to say its certainly worth what I paid and that's the final measure.
Metal and Ceramic Smoker Grills, Which One to Choose?
When it come to choose the perfect smoker grills, You should understand the most important factors before you decided to buy a smoker. First thing you should aware, about the materials used to made the smoker. Ceramics is one of the most widely used material to made a grills. Ceramics has many advantage if its compared to one made of metal.
In this article I will reveal some benefits of using ceramics made smoker grills.
Efficiency
If its compared to metal made smoker grills, the ceramic grills is more efficient because they have thick walls that will hold the heat very well. While the metal grills lose more heat by radiation. So they're not really efficient. With this advantage, of course you can cook more food using less energy, in the other words ceramic grill is more friendly when it comes to energy saving.
Exterior Heat
You have to be careful when using a metal grills, because there is always the danger of burning yourself on the outside of it. Ceramic grills don't present this problem. The ceramic absorbs the heat, so the exterior of the grill will be cool even while its in use.
Maintenance
Another benefit of ceramic grills is the maintenance. Metal grills can be a chore to clean and maintain. Those made from ceramic are far easier to maintain. There won't be a lot of excess grease to clean up because the heat from the inside of the grill will get rid of it. Also, there will be less ash to clean up because ceramic grills burn slower and more completely.
Moisture
Grills need air flow in order to burn the fuel. Metal grills need a lot of air to burn their fuel. Ceramic grills don't require as much air flow, so they will cook the food evenly while minimising the loss of moisture. This means that your food will stay moist and won't dry out like foods cooked on metal grills.
Waste
One of the final benefits of ceramic grills is that they don't produce as much waste. If you use charcoal with metal grills, it will keep burning long after you've finished cooking. Ceramic grills don't waste as much charcoal. After you have finished cooking, you just have to close the top and bottom draft doors so that the charcoal will stop burning. You can even use the unburned charcoal when you use the grill again.
These are some of the benefits of ceramic grills.
There are far more efficient than metal grills, so you don't have to use so much fuel to cook food. Ceramic grills will also retain moisture so your food stays juicy. These grills also don't present a safety hazard because their exterior isn't hot like the exterior of a metal grill.
In this article I will reveal some benefits of using ceramics made smoker grills.
Efficiency
If its compared to metal made smoker grills, the ceramic grills is more efficient because they have thick walls that will hold the heat very well. While the metal grills lose more heat by radiation. So they're not really efficient. With this advantage, of course you can cook more food using less energy, in the other words ceramic grill is more friendly when it comes to energy saving.
Exterior Heat
You have to be careful when using a metal grills, because there is always the danger of burning yourself on the outside of it. Ceramic grills don't present this problem. The ceramic absorbs the heat, so the exterior of the grill will be cool even while its in use.
Maintenance
Another benefit of ceramic grills is the maintenance. Metal grills can be a chore to clean and maintain. Those made from ceramic are far easier to maintain. There won't be a lot of excess grease to clean up because the heat from the inside of the grill will get rid of it. Also, there will be less ash to clean up because ceramic grills burn slower and more completely.
Moisture
Grills need air flow in order to burn the fuel. Metal grills need a lot of air to burn their fuel. Ceramic grills don't require as much air flow, so they will cook the food evenly while minimising the loss of moisture. This means that your food will stay moist and won't dry out like foods cooked on metal grills.
Waste
One of the final benefits of ceramic grills is that they don't produce as much waste. If you use charcoal with metal grills, it will keep burning long after you've finished cooking. Ceramic grills don't waste as much charcoal. After you have finished cooking, you just have to close the top and bottom draft doors so that the charcoal will stop burning. You can even use the unburned charcoal when you use the grill again.
These are some of the benefits of ceramic grills.
There are far more efficient than metal grills, so you don't have to use so much fuel to cook food. Ceramic grills will also retain moisture so your food stays juicy. These grills also don't present a safety hazard because their exterior isn't hot like the exterior of a metal grill.
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