Tailgating Tips + Gear Thread

[cliftonparksufan]

Curious. For home use is the Blackstone appreciably different from a quality grill with good griddle plates or the Weber with the gourmet bbq system and a griddle insert?

Agree. 28’ is what you need for a big gatheringz

Walmart had a sale on the 28’ in June where it was going for $197. I think it normally goes for about $250. Good deal.

I've had my Blackstone almost 4 years and I use it an average of twice a week, so probably 300+ times. It's a 2 burner 28 inch model.

My personal experience is it's great for 2 to 4 people but you are limited on how many things you can grill due to grill space. I usually do two to three things at a time and I couldn't imagine doing that for more than four people on a 28 inch. For example if I'm doing chicken and corn on the cob for four people that takes up my entire 28 inch grill.

As far as how it compares to a gas grill, my feeling and many others is that you won't need your gas grill due to the ease, the versatility, the convenience and the performance of the Blackstone.

 

[ChrisCourt]

To chime in on this B.S. chatter. I have the 36" model, and we absolutely love it! We cook quesadillas, stir fry, chicken, steaks, smashburgers, sausage peppers and onions. Mannnn oh man! Easy clean up, and if properly stored, it can last for years. I've had mine now for 3 years, and it compliments my Traeger very well. Good stuff, now I am hungry and it's Monday morning...

 

[sutomcat]

Curious. For home use is the Blackstone appreciably different from a quality grill with good griddle plates or the Weber with the gourmet bbq system and a griddle insert?

I have a cast iron plate I used with my Weber for a couple of years, trying to get the wonderful crust on my burgers that you can easily achieve with a Blackstone.

It didn't work well for me.

There wasn't enough room to cook more than a couple burgers. I had to put my hand over parts of the very hot grill to flip the burgers. But the biggest problem was that the grease from the burgers had nowhere to go when it came off the burgers.

The cast iron plate I had had a drainage canal on one side and the fat drained as designed into it. But if I wanted to get the cast iron hot enough to get the crust I wanted, by the time I had to flip the burgers, there was a lot of grease in the canal and it was spattering all over. Enough to burn my hand some, get on parts of the grill and it was worried enough I left I needed safety glasses to finish them up.

Trying to put cheese on and then getting them off was hazardous.

They didn't come out great and the cleanup afterwards was painful. Was not a fan of bringing a heavy cast iron plate full of grease into the house to clean up (and neither was my wife).

I saw Weber had a more of a flattop griddle like solution for sale and almost bought it but a friend already had it and hated it because it did not fit perfectly over the grill and he had to deal with really hot temperature coming over the edges. And it was a royal pain to clean up/dela with grease.

The Blackstone has a slot in the middle of the back wall for the griddle designed for you to push grease, debris, etc. into as needed during the cooking process. It is really easy to keep things clean during cooking and when you are done cooking and it is cleanup time, it makes that relatively easy as well.

I still prefer my steaks cooked on the Weber but the convenience and consistency of the Blackstone is hard to beat. I like ribeyes and the fat in them can start a flareup that can mess up a steak on the Weber quickly. I find I need to be close to the grill at all times if I am cooking a ribeye on the Weber.

With the Blackstone, things are a lot more controllable and predictable. And cooking stuff like vegetables, fried rice, bacon, eggs and hash browns is not possible on the Weber and really convenient, especially on a hot day when you don't want to fire up the oven in the kitchen.

 

[TexanMark]

Some of you guys are way more fancy than me. I'm a coney, burger, steak and chicken grilling type of guy. I usually only work one or two items at a time.

BL: if you have larger gatherings or more complicated cooking events the larger grills are definitely needed.

If you are cooking coneys or burgers at a tailgate for 6-12 folks you can certainly make due with a smaller Blackstone or Weber Q. Portability is key to me for tailgates. Remember to get one of those cheap green/brown 3'x5' tarps to lay down if you are putting your grill away (grease) in your SUV after the tailgate

 

[VTAaron]

Some of you guys are way more fancy than me. I'm a coney, burger, steak and chicken grilling type of guy. I usually only work one or two items at a time.

BL: if you have larger gatherings or more complicated cooking events the larger grills are definitely needed.

If you are cooking coneys or burgers at a tailgate for 6-12 folks you can certainly make due with a smaller Blackstone or Weber Q. Portability is key to me for tailgates. Remember to get one of those cheap green/brown 3'x5' tarps to lay down if you are putting your grill away (grease) in your SUV after the tailgate

I figured I’d weigh in on the grill topic, for tailgates, and large parties. I’ve had all sorts of grills/griddles/smokers etc, except for some big LANG tow behinds, but from the marketplace (stores) I’ve used most. I think if I count them know I have about 13 of them in my back yard. Used about 40+ through the last 2 decades. I gave away about 3 or 4 of them brand new in box at the office as I did win a few, but also had too many and gave up on them… They included a Cuisinart 28” & 36” Griddle, a Blackstone basic 28” 2 burner, and the ever popular Coleman RoadTrip this last year. I’ve had everything to a portable charcoal tabletop, to a single burner propane to a Coleman stove top and the big arse ones which need a forklift.

Right now, I currently use only about 4-5 main grills/griddles/smokers in my backyard that doesn’t travel and they include:

Home Use Only:

• Pellet Grill:
• Basic PitBoss Pellet Grill
• It’s a Walmart Special ~180 bucks, but does the job for a quick on and off, smoke flavor for grilling burgers/dogs/sausage/chicken etc. But, it is also handle for the overnight holding the temperatures for a Brisket/Pork Butt or Ribs. It is more than enough for a few big packs of dogs, 20ish burgers, or piles of chicken, and has a warming rack that is basic. It’s cramped but does the job, doesn’t waste piles of charcoal and/or propane, and you can add or blend your flavors.
• I use this for all my one off’s, quick grills, and also small get togethers (5 or less).
• It is also good for those long smokes where you want to sleep, but one caveat is you need to close that burner ‘grill plate’ and put your meat and items on a wire rack inside an aluminum pan, to avoid burning in the grease drippings, etc. Plus, you will want to drain off save the liquid and/or cover at some point.
• Big Boy All Around Propane/Charcoal/OffSet Smoker:
• Chargriller Texas-Trio with offset Smoker:
• Dual burner Propane Grill
• Side Propane Burner with Shelf
• Charcoal Grill with side Offset Smoker Box with a grill on it, and shelf on top.
• Similar to the Oklahoma Joe but opposite layout
• Cool Features:
• Burner can heat stuff but great for lighting charcoal.
• Offset Smoker/Charcoal grill can be independent, but large enough to grill on one, smoke on the other.
• Lids to not open the whole top like the Oklahoma Joe, but just the front plate. Helps keep heat and stuff in.
• Bad Features, but similar to others.
• Drip pans/water build up with any rain sucks. Grease system sucks, but same as any other grill/griddle except for some pellet smokers/griddles.
• Main GoTo for Parties/Breakfast/GriddleTop:
• 28” XL Griddle with RangeTop (BUNDLE Too) (PIZZA MAKER)
• It was expensive $999 from Blackstone with ~300 in tax and shipping total added on. But worth it.
• This Griddle isn’t a 36” 4 burner, but is a 3 burner and bigger and an upscale from the normal 28”.
• The Side Shelves go down and are magnetic on the front. Also has the normal tool levers.
• The doors have 2 shelves for holding squirt bottles etc. And an internal dual shelf rack along with closing front doors with one side holding the propane tank. It’s fully enclosed except for halfway up the back. I’ll get to how I use the internal space later.
• The dual side burners have a cover and act as another shelf if not in use without having the ‘wings out’, and also comes with an outdoor OIL FRYER basket that can site on top. This is not an air fryer but a real deep fryer mode item.
• GREASE MOD: can’t say enough about this griddle, as it can hold 3 heat zones that are very large, and the rear grease trap I altered. As I mentioned above some issues with grease management suck, but Blackstone mods are cool. I have an addon that attaches to the rear shoot, and with the lid closed:
• It covers the grease trap when the lid is closed to prevent rain water going in. It also blocks the griddle from food going through the grease trap hole.
• Has a tube that attaches that I have go into a 5-gallon bucket, with a perfect hole in the lid for the hose… This sits inside the grill next to the propane (but pushed to the outside) and I even put an additional heat shield between the top of the griddle and the plastic collection bucket. No water in, no water out.
• This bundle also comes with the BlackStone PIZZA Oven
• While it isn’t an OONI BLAH, it does a great job. It just takes time to get use to. But makes great pizzas!.
• When using the biggest issues are the heat settings for the type of pizza, and expected heat required for them. I use to scorch the bottoms to charcoal before the top bubbles. The ooni has some advantage in that it projects flame on the top, but this has a top ceramic stone and a bottom one… I figured out it is better to put the pizza on a metal pizza rack first. Let it partially cook, then drop off on the bottom stone to finish… Perfect everytime.
• BONUS on this: This sits on the 22” Portable Griddle base (2 burner) to make it portable as a griddle you just need to buy the steel griddle grate. And if you want to add a lid, same etc.
• FYI never use the built in propane regular on this, as it is made for 1lb tank pressure… And adapter hose will not work. Buy a separate one that can fit the nipple when using a 20lb tank that has it’s own regulator built for it. FYI this is common with all 1lb to 20lb adaptations. Never use the built in regulator assembly. Get the hose that hooks directly up that has the regulator with it.
• My last two items are basically smokers I use on occasion, and the traditional that are hard to part with.
• One is a popular vertical charbroil/chargriller, I forget the brand, propane smoker. I use it for the shelves and water pan for a lot of those LONG smokes with a lot of meat that requires even temperatures.
• The Second is the ever-popular BARREL assemble vertical charcoal smoker. I just can’t get rid of this, and sort of love it as I some times use it since it is portable just like the propane vertical.

Tailgate/Travel: (used exclusively for the last few years)

• Blackstone 17” with Portable Stand, extra side table attachment, 20lb tank with a separate 6x4ish portable table for serving items.
• This gives me 3 shelve spaces. One to hold raw food, an area for the necessities (tools/oil towels etc, and the output area for offloading.
• The table is for the serving area but can be used for other purposes.
• All this fits in a car easily… you can also get one of those 4x4 foldables tables for more space.
• As I mentioned above throw away the 1lb tank items with adapter and get the real hose and a 20lb tank.
• Only has one zone but kicks ARSE.
• This thing can cook 2 two or more vacuum factory Hoffman packs. I’m not talking about the 12 dog ones in stores, or the 18 dog big freezer air bags but the 24+ ones direct from factory.
• NOTE: At some Mark tailgate, I think it was UNC.
• Got there around 8-9am. 9-11 or something I made some breakfast sandwiches for early people… Eggs/Sausage/Cheese etc.
• After that until 2-3. I Think I Cooked over 200 dogs on that grill, and there were 4 griddles/grills with 1 not in use.
• Some Tailgate notes and Caveats:
• This is great for single item things and cook then shove off thing and I would highly recommend. But stick to one thing. FYI no need for the grease trap setup as you shouldn’t be cooking something like that above for the big boy griddle as you shouldn’t need that.
• Should have multiples don’t mix burgers and hotdogs.
• Same setup can use the 22” grille which as 2 burners so you can have more zones, but you are only adding 5” and instead have a warming space that sucks into the rest. So instead of 17” of cooking you now have 12” of cooking and 12” of just keep warm.. but the middle area is going to the wacky zone, and always is. Normal a tailgate and or other stuff is on and off, not sit on the sideline to keep warm. IF your keeping warm you just don’t add more and wait a second and turn down the heat.
• FYI This came with a lid.
• Weight is an issue and a carry bag. It can get heavy, but is worth it…. Carry bag makes it easy to get in and out and there are two types…..

I’ll go in the rest of the grills I have for my camper and have used through the years and have in my outdoor graveyard a bit later. But for tailgates on travel I'd go with the portable Blackstone's. It can keep stuff simple, and easy to do with limited time. Roadtrips are nice but horrible packing items compared to these, and the grease can go everywhere... Plus I 'use' to use them camping... They just rust out and don't get hot enough... They die in the wind. FYI, I do have the wind guards on the Blackstone's and that makes the difference.



Aaron

 

[VTAaron]

Belshaw pancake … $180 bucks???

https://www.culinarydepotinc.com/belshaw-type-k-pancake-5-5-lbs-stainless-steel-type-k-pancake-dispenser/?wickedsource=google&wcid=21250804277&wv=4&keyword=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADy510UjD6ZcPaq4HWWW-j7gcmo-6

FYI some china knockoff person was selling the 28’ blackstone for 99 free shipping on Amazon… might be worth it as I think they have H burners even if only 2