jeffshoaf

I just placed my order for the brick-lined Santa Maria grill from Arizona BBQ Outfitters. They're estimating the current lead time to get it built at 14 weeks; the 48" model is actually 57" wide so it's a big'un and weighs 800 lbs. I upgraded to the dual stainless steel grates. I went a bit over what i had hoped to spend once the shipping was added in, but it was less expensive than my KK and my pizza oven. They said the had two being built now; of course, those belong to someone else so i have to wait my turn. She also said the price of steel is going up so i wouldn't be surprised if they have to raise their prices. Based on their Facebook page, they've been busy and recently shipped a bunch of BBQ pits. Now i need to find a source for wood. We had a wood burning furnace when i was growing up so i have plenty of experience cutting and splittng wood, but my old worn-out back can't handle that anymore! Thanks for everyone's input!

To add to what @tony b said, if you're using a BBQ guru of other controller, I'd advise not connecting the fan until the KK is pretty close to your target temperature. If the fan is connected, it'll run full blast in an attempt to bring the temp up quickly and will probably overshoot the target, then shut down to let the temp come back down, leading to the issues i mention above only with it automated. It also could burn too much charcoal too quickly, potentially causing the fire to go out too early on a long cook. Again, please don't ask me how i know... I try to give the KK at least 2 hours to slowly ramp up and get heat soaked but have had success with a 1 hour ramp up.

Just be careful accelerating your fire in the KK if you're doing a low-and-slow cook - if you overshoot your target temp, it can take a while for the temp to drop back down! And if you cut off the airflow, the fire could go out before the temp comes back down so it's tempting to try to accelerate the fire again to make up for the time you lost and you get caught in a loop... Don't ask me how i know this.

If you' try to contact AZ BBQ, use the email link on their website's home page - looks like they're not getting messages sent via the "contact us" page. The brick-lined grill isn't on their website but they do still offer it and it should be included once they update the site.

No experience with the gun. I used to use a weed burner with mapp gas but i couldn't keep the spiders out of the burner so I'm now using paraffin blocks. For some of the lump of extruded charcoal that's hard to light, I'll wrap a chunk in a paper towel and soak with corn oil and stick it right by the paraffin before lighting. The paraffin works for starting wood in the solo stove as well. If I'm starting a wood fire for a Dutch oven or potje, I'll use a paraffin cube and some charcoal briquettes in a chimney starter and then either dump the burning briquettes on the ground and put the wood on it or do the briquettes on top of the wood. If I'm in a hurry, I'll force some air into the bottom of the chimney starter using a battery powered lead blower - gotta watch out for stray Sparks blowing out the other side. Assuming i end up with a Santa Maria grill, I'll probably use this method to start the wood or lump.

@tekobo a brasserro is the rack to hold wood above the fire box; the stuff in the bottom burns and falls thru as it turns to embers and is ready to move under the grates. You load fresh wood on top and it gravity feeds down. The AZ BBQ ones I'm considering can have independently adjustable split grids without a central post; you can lock them together by putting a pin in the shaft at the top. I checked out ox grills after seeing your mention in another thread; they don't seem to be available on the US but very nice! All stainless! I'll probably get stainless grates but I'm not prepared to pay for all stainless. I'm undecided about the rotisserie; there's a pop-up one on my gas grill with a dedicated infrared burner but i rarely use it. I guess it would be fun to string a bunch of whole chickens on one and let them tumble over the fire. Thanks for the input!

i couldn't tell if the lid was slotted for the rotisserie or not from the pics and videos.

@Tyrus, your earlier posts pointed me to the hoorays, but they're a bit more $$ than i was hoping to spend. That's a massive rotisserie! AZ BBQ has a similar model without the shelving and not so overbuilt. Do you have to raise the grates to refuel? Thanks for the input!

@Tucker, i saw your earlier posts (i think that's what got me to AZ BBQ) and went there to look at the Scottsdale thinking that the cover wood help speed up cooking bigger pieces of meat by providing some convection but I'm not sure I'd ever grill something that's too big for my KK. My brother was talking about smoking a whole pig a while back so that was in the back of my mind even though I think of rather just do a bunch of butts on the Kk - I think i could get 6 to 8 butts on two levels of the 23" KK, let 'em smoke overnight with the BBQ guru, then wrap and cooler them until we're ready to eat. On the Scottsdale, i think I'd would have to roast at a higher temp for a shorter time, get up way too early to get the hours needed for a lower temp smoke, or stay up all night to keep the Scottsdale monitored and fueled for the same amount of pork; that would take a lot of the fun out of it for me. To get some convection for food not requiring as many hours as butts ( like beef or whole chickens) on a Santa Maria, i think i could get some large and deep metal for service pans and set on the grates over the food. What do you think the lid will bring to it's capabilities? Do you think it would limit the height range for the grates? I'm building a list of questions to ask the AZ BBQ folks and I'll probably call them in a few days; i was wanting to get y'all's input before calling tho. Thanks for your input!

What's your favorite show on grilling and/or smoking food? Mine is Man, Fire, Food on the Cooking channel. The host is very personable and travels the US (and sometimes further) and helps someone cook with fire. He greatly hits two locations per episode and the guests are anywhere from famous chefs at famous restaurants to caterers to backyard cooks and they cook on everything from commercial cookers to custom rigs to holes in the ground. It's always interesting and fun and i regularly pick up toss and ideas.

Since a lot of the nicer ones are built to order and all of them ship via LTL common carriers, it's probably too late to get one within 30 days! I'm thinking the first steak from that ribeye will go on the gas grill since that is the most neutral cooking method and adds the last outside influence on the taste so i can get good feedback on the effect of aging. It has a sear burner so the technique is very straightforward. The 2nd will probably be on the KK. A small roast in the oven or low and slow on the KK (depending on the weather) will most likely be the 3rd.

Thanks - I'll check them out! I tried watching videos by Ballistic bbq; he has a sunterraoutdoors pro grill but he tends to stand in front of the grill while he's talking and blocks the view of what he's cooking. I know i can be wordy (witness the initial post in this thread) but it seems to me that a lot of posters on YouTube really enjoy the sound of their own voice...

Hey folks - I'm intrigued by the Santa Maria style grills and know that several of you have them. I'm having trouble finding much info on techniques for using and comparisons to other types of grills, so I was hoping y'all could provide some input and/or links. I have a 23" KK which will still be my go-to for low and slow cooks and a big Weber summit natural gas grill for quick convenient cooks, both on my deck where they're convenient to the kitchen and monitoring, plus a Weber kettle and a solo fire pit ( good for wienie roasts) down by the pool for pool parties. Most of the deck is roofed and screened in and is good for more formal sit around the table type meals. I've found the kettle good for hamburgers for up to 8 or so people but becomes an aggravation with more people. The pool is downstairs and inconvenient to the kitchen, so I'm thinking a Santa Maria would be good near the pool and i could bring the kettle up on the deck to supplement the KK and gas grills. I think the Santa Maria would be good for handling larger volumes of food for larger parties but still good for smaller gatherings as well without running up and down the stairs, plus open the door for different types of techniques and types of food. I've been considering two grills from Arizona outfitters: I first considered the Scottsdale (AZ BBQ Scottsdale) thinking that the lid would be good for things that like to roast (whole chickens, beef and pork roasts, etc.) while still having the flexibility to grill burgers, chicken wings, etc. but it's hard to beat the KK for roasting. Also, the lid limits the height you can raise the grates They also have a nice looking Santa Maria with fire brick lined fire box and windbreak on YouTube, but i can't find it on their website: Brick lined Santa Maria. This one also has a brasserror for keeping fresh embers ready, but I'm not sure whether if I'd use that much of would stick with lump charcoal. They have several versions without the firebrick and brasserro. They have a bolt-on and stand-alone boxes with brasserros as well, but I'm thinking a wheelbarrow with a simple iron or steel rack would work as well ( but not look as nice). The manufacturer is very open to doing customizations. So, any thoughts and/or suggestions? If you have or have used one of these types of grills, what do you like and dislike about them? Any changes you'd make to the one you have if you could? Do you stick with lump or do you use wood? It's a brasserros worth having? Any links to sites with discussion of techniques for this type of grill? Thanks!

Got him loaded up yesterday with: Choice boneless ribeye - 19.7 lbs for 30 days Sirloin tip - 12.24 lbs for 21 days The sirloin tip was really wide on one end so i had to cut it into two chunks; I'll probably cut one chunk up into steaks and cook the other as a roast. I also discovered that it's very stressful trying to truss up meat when there's a nosy almost 9 month old kitten in the room - gotta be very careful with the twine!

try clipping the guru prove to the dome thermometer and see what its reading. If they're reasonably close, then you'll have good evidence that the grate and come temps - which we already know...

It's here! Now i gotta get some beef...

5% discount code on the Steak ager: GC5 It's good on the main unit but not the accessories. It was provided by the Grateful Chef - he has a lot of videos on YouTube, is a big fan of the SteakAger, and is active on the FB page for users. I've ordered mine...

The steakager allows you to add the humidifier at any time so if i go that route, I can add it if i do try charcuterie later. I do have a grinder for my kitchenaide but I've never used it. I think it would be difficult to handle both uses in one cabinet without having two refrigeration units and two humidifiers and all the associated controls; once you've gone that far, you're pretty much at the cost of two separate units.

You really need two - one for primals and one for charcuterie! I make a lot of pizza and I'm tempted to attempt pepperoni but i doubt I'll follow thru with that.

Tekobo, DryAger was the 1st one I looked at - I'm not ready to pay that much!

Thanks Tekobo! Here's the ager I'm looking at; it can also be used for dried sausages with the optional humidifier: https://steakager.com/ It's more economical than others I've looked at but seems pretty capable. Uses UV light to help sanitization.

Tekobo, any updates on your dry aging efforts? I'm thinking about getting a dry ager but I'm not sure... I noticed that you have aged some smaller chops; in my limited research, I saw something warning not to age individual steaks and small pieces of meat and only age primal and sub-primals; have you had any issues with mold getting so far into the meat that you had to toss it? I also see that you mention washing off the mold; are you trimming off the really dry pieces and/or moldy pieces? Thanks!

I think the pic is upside down...

The dome is usually hotter than the standard grate level. For low and slow, i usually give the kk 2 to 3 hours to get up to Temp and saturate before adding the meat. I also try to get it close to the final temp before plugging in the guru fan since the guru runs wide open to bring the temperature up as fast as possible - that has caused me issues because it overshoots the target temp and shuts down to allow the temperature to drop, running the risk of the fire going out. All of this is why i tend to do my long low and slow cooks overnight so i don't have to get up at 3 am to light my fire... If the meal is scheduled for the evening, i end up foiling the meat and sticking in a cooler stuffed with towels until mealtime. This also accommodates the occasional slower or faster than expected cook.

Looks good! In my experience, it's a lot less stressful to have a cook get done earlier than expected instead of later than expected, especially if you have a crowd waiting hungrily.