Good looking grill!!

[jps]

Anyone seen the bbq grill at Menards, looks much like the big green egg. Much better price. jps

[Moose]

Is it steel or ceramic? Is it the big steel keg brand? I've been looking up here for that grill @ Menards and have yet to see it.

[thirdeye]

Yeah, it was called a Bubba Keg, then I think they changed it to the Big Steel Keg. Early on some folks had problems holding barbecue temperatures for long periods of time, like for big pork butts and briskets. Maybe a vent control issue or something.

I've seen them in person and even though I'm a ceramic guy they do look like they are a good value. This style of cooker has been around for thousands of years.

[jps]

Looked at the picture of the Big Keg. Don't think that is the grill I saw at Menard's. Will have to get a name next time in store!! jps

[rundrave]

the one I saw at the local Menards was called "the big red kamado kooker" and was $348.00

I found some info via google etc on them

[jps]

The Big Red Kamado is in this weeks Menards flyer, $279. Looks like a good buy to me!!! jps

[McGurk]

I haven't seen this grill, but I do know that a good deal at Menards does not mean that it is good grill. Air leaks, poor ventilation controls, weak stand design and materials, and overall cheap build quality will frustrate you and make this thing nothing more than a deck decoration in no time. If it's indeed built strong and sound, call me wrong. I have been burnt by cheap Menards carp before, though.

The Big Green Egg that it it modeled after (and all of the actual Komodo style cookers like Primo, Imperial, Grill Dome, Kamado King, Monolith, Kamado Joe, etc) is a phemomenal way to do most everything you could want in a wood fired oven. They can go from 225 deg smoking to 700 deg pizza cooking and steak searing. They are really pretty efficient, but they cost a lot, weigh a lot, need no small amount of effort to move, and even need a bit of work to operate. Once you get over the price and get it on your patio, you will probably love it. If this thing does have air leaks (a very big deal with this type of cooker) you will not be able to control your cooking and will not like your results.

[McGurk]

Well, Curiosity got the best of me, and I was in the neighborhood and had a couple of things to pick up so I stopped by Menards. First off, this is NOT a Ceramic cooker, it is a double walled, insulated metal cooker. There is no weight to it at all, and it rings when you knock on it. Does that make it bad? Not necessarily, but the poor air control system will. The adjustable vents top and bottom are as cheap and ineffective as I've ever seen on something you can buy. I think $279 is not a very good price, but if you can get a BSK for less than $400 you'll be in good shape.

[jps]

It's great to have an expert on grills on this site!!!! jps

[thirdeye]

I was at Menards today to, and I had the same observations as you did.

Hey, did you notice that Royal Oak Lump (green bag) was on sale for $3.99 for the 9lb bag? I got 10 bags and might get a few more.

[McGurk]

Since thirdeye has chimed in, you now have an expert on grills giving an opinion.

Missed the cheap lump; I'll have to go back and check it out. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Gus]

Not to hijack the thread too much, it is BBQ related. You guys that use the RO steakhouse lump, does it spit quite a bit for you? I've used that and the regular RO lump in the red bag from walmart and the red bag seemed to burn better? Did I just get a bad bag of the green?

Also Menards has the cookin chunks on sale. I stocked up!

[McGurk]

I went back and grabbed 4 bags of green bag lump. The only red bag stuff I saw was RO briquettes, which was pretty cheap at under $5 for 18 lbs. I haven't had any issues with lump spitting, but I haven't used the red bag lump, either.

BTW if you are looking at stocking up on charcoal, don't forget about screaming deal that HD usually runs on Kingsford before Mem day, July4, and Labor day. It's $10 for 2) 20 lb bags! Watch your local flyer for it.

[thirdeye]

Not to hijack the thread too much, it is BBQ related. You guys that use the RO steakhouse lump, does it spit quite a bit for you? I've used that and the regular RO lump in the red bag from walmart and the red bag seemed to burn better? Did I just get a bad bag of the green?

Also Menards has the cookin chunks on sale. I stocked up!

Look at your bags of Royal Oak to see if they say product of South America. That is a different kind of hardwood and it sparks more than the RO that is made in the USA.

Mesquite charcoal is very sparky, I use it a lot but you have to be real careful with the stuff.

[Moonshine]

Has anyone seen the Bayou Classic Cypress model? I saw one the other day and it looked identical to the green egg. Seemed like a very nice unit with many accessories at a lower price than the egg. Reviews have been pretty good as well.