Santa Maria Grill - Brick lined (Sunterra) or not (Lone Star Grillz)

[Cageguy]

I will be buying a Santa Maria grill and have narrowed down to two manufacturers and two grills that have one glaring difference.

The Sunterra 36 inch Santa Maria Grill with a fire bricked lined coal box looks awesome and has some great accessories that would offer little compromise.  I was hoping for split grill grates to cook at different levels/temps but I'm looking at the 36" and only the 48" has that feature.  No matter, it looks solid and incredible.

The other consideration is Lone Star Grillz and their 36" Santa Maria.  Also a great looking grill with a steel mesh floor firebox with a claim that while frie brick has good thermal qualities they like airflow under the fire to create very hot fires controlled by dampers.  They also have great accessories including the ability to add a brasserie at a later date if needed.  I was impressed by the way this grill handles ash disposal, that really caught my attention. I think the steel is a thinner grade than the Sunterra but it looks like it's made to last and the price point is lower.

I appreciate any advice from the group from those that may have used one or both of these grills, and especially the fire brick vs grates for the coal bed

 

 

[Syzygies]

Sunterra SANTA MARIA 36" CART 3601-36DSICRT CD1

Lone Star Grillz Santa Maria

My neighbor has this style of grill built in, in his back yard. The other end is a pizza oven. Then his other equipment. My old POSK was #2 but he got rid of it long ago. His collection now rivals Jay Leno's garage. So he loves the Santa Maria grill but he doesn't use it much.

I'm a big fan of adjustable height grills. They simplify timing your fire. While my 23" sees duty for centerpiece cooks, my hybrid Solo Stove rig sees frequent use for preparing ingredients or grilling a single steak or two sausages... I can set up and light a wood/charcoal/isopropyl mix in a total effort of 90 seconds, go in to manage everything else I'm cooking, and time my return for grilling. With an adjustable grate, what's at stake is how long the grilling takes, not whether it works.

Solo Stove Ranger ($215)

Breeo Outpost 19 ($129)

Harbor Freight Service Cart ($38)

 

[jeffshoaf]

I'm waiting for my Santa Maria to be built and delivered so i don't have any experience yet, but i can tell you why i went with brick-lined with brassero. Of course, i could be totally wrong about any or all of these points!

o Brick-lined should be more efficient for longer cooks since it will radiate back the heat it has absorbed. With a mesh bed, any heat radiating down will be lost. You'll also be heating up the metal that makes up the firebox and losing some of that heat as it radiates thru the metal. While the cooking methodology is different, i considered this as similar to how a ceramic cooker like our kk's differs from a drum or thin metal smoker like a Smokey Joe.
o The added airflow from underneath should let you build a hotter fire, i decided that this is offset by the big benefit of the Santa Maria design - if you need more heat, lower the cooking surface! That extra heat from extra airflow will come at the cost of much higher fuel consumption. The fall-thru ash is a nice feature though.
o I decided that i wanted a brassero because i think it will be handy for longer cooks -  i initially thought about just having a wheelbarrow as a burn barrel but i really don't want to be shoveling hot coals from a one area to the grill, especially when there are others standing around. My back also doesn't like me doing a lot of shoveling; of course, there will most likely be some post - cook ash shoveling. Mine will have the brassero in the back instead of at the side of the firebox - although that will make it a bit more difficult to load it, the wood burning in the brassero will be adding to the cooking heat, especially if i decide to add a rotisserie later.

 Like most of my acquisitions, I blew my budget on mine: 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by jeffshoaf

[Tyrus]

Cageguy, I believe the Lone Star Santa Maria is 10 gauge approx 3/16 carbon steel. They offered a reason for staying away from the insulated brick which I believe was airflow/ventalation. If you purchase one with the fire brick make sure you get the grill cover or expect to store it in a pavilion set up or pull it in and out from the garage. My drawback on these is if not covered water could easily seep between the cracks and sit there on the metal for some time. My Santa Maria has a raised fire grate above a pitched floor to a grease catching bucket and I also keep mine covered and under a pavilion roof. Smoky ribs bbq did a review on the lone star 48, you can catch it on you tube. If I were to choose one of the two you suggested it would be the Sunterra. If cared for and covered, I like the brick lining, simply raise the cooking grates and shop vac out the ash. It takes alot of ash to fill one of these and you can push the ash over to a corner, I clean mine every 3 or 4 cooks.

If you wanted to see some video cooks on a Sunterra 48 split with the fire brick and also the review unpacking, check out Dski Grillz on you tube. He's cooks alot on it and shows you around the block in what to expect

Edited March 24, 2021 by Tyrus

[Dennis]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:18 PM, Tyrus said:

Cageguy, I believe the Lone Star Santa Maria is 10 gauge approx 3/16 carbon steel. They offered a reason for staying away from the insulated brick which I believe was airflow/ventalation. If you purchase one with the fire brick make sure you get the grill cover or expect to store it in a pavilion set up or pull it in and out from the garage. My drawback on these is if not covered water could easily seep between the cracks and sit there on the metal for some time. My Santa Maria has a raised fire grate above a pitched floor to a grease catching bucket and I also keep mine covered and under a pavilion roof. Smoky ribs bbq did a review on the lone star 48, you can catch it on you tube. If I were to choose one of the two you suggested it would be the Sunterra. If cared for and covered, I like the brick lining, simply raise the cooking grates and shop vac out the ash. It takes alot of ash to fill one of these and you can push the ash over to a corner, I clean mine every 3 or 4 cooks.

If you wanted to see some video cooks on a Sunterra 48 split with the fire brick and also the review unpacking, check out Dski Grillz on you tube. He's cooks alot on it and shows you around the block in what to expect

@Tyrus Bringing up an old post to find out how you are enjoying the Santa Maria?  Which model did you purchase?  Would you have changed anything.  I am very interested in adding one to my outdoor kitchen set up.  Seems like a fun cook for steak and ribs?

TIA Dennis

[Tyrus]

  Pull up a chair Dennis, this could take a while lol. You know there are multiple Santa Maria's out there, each having something to draw you in..be it styling, size, design, options, budget, stainless vs steel, gauge of steel, mechanics, interpretation of quality, reputation or reviews, shipping, firebrick or not, weight, portability, and the list goes on. The main concern is, in the end it's what your happy with regardless of the confusion, there are so many factors to consider depending on your wants and desire. The pit I bought was called the Hooray Grill, it's manufactured here in the USA in Kansas, I'm not going to lie...it was expensive compared to the other manufactures. I liked something in each one but settled on a 36 inch/3 rack Hooray because I was first intrigued with the mechanics of how to lower and raise the cooking grates and simply how it locks in when you stop. Next was the rotisserie, it was 5/8" or 3/4" thick 304 SS with massive SS spits and it could hold and turn 80 lbs with the One grill motor. There's a little work involved when cleaning, nothing hard but involves lifting out the bottom coal grate by attaching forks and then raising it with the crank mechanism. At first unusual, a bit daunting but in the end once past the apprehension your safe to vac out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I also purchased the 3 ft grill because it fits my need, the Goldilocks syndrome so to speak. Would I change anything? Good question, like David mentioned earlier in a post concerning the dreaded rust and it's demise, well I'd consider SS...however it's wicked expensive, yah, sticker shock.  This is how I look at it, if you do what you can to minimize this and in the end you get years of enjoyment from it then it's worth the investment. Besides, have you ever been outside on a sunny day near a SS grill, hell if your not wearing sunglasses the reflection going to blind you and then having those glasses on you can't see what your cooking. Toss a coin, I'd say. I'm thinking that ol'bbq bug bit your ear and whispered sweet nothings into it mentioning how much you need it and how well it's going to look parked in the backyard. He's right, you will love it, pull up a high chair, light that stogie, crack that beer and watch the rotisserie go round and round. Now look at you, living down there in Port St Lucie Fl and the other Dennis in Bali so warm and comfortable ....I envy you both, so if you see where I'm leaning, you my friend have all year to perfect your technique . Others here have there own, I hope they weigh in and provide their nickels worth. Let us know which way the wind is going to blow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

[Dennis]

22 hours ago, Tyrus said:

  Pull up a chair Dennis, this could take a while lol. You know there are multiple Santa Maria's out there, each having something to draw you in..be it styling, size, design, options, budget, stainless vs steel, gauge of steel, mechanics, interpretation of quality, reputation or reviews, shipping, firebrick or not, weight, portability, and the list goes on. The main concern is, in the end it's what your happy with regardless of the confusion, there are so many factors to consider depending on your wants and desire. The pit I bought was called the Hooray Grill, it's manufactured here in the USA in Kansas, I'm not going to lie...it was expensive compared to the other manufactures. I liked something in each one but settled on a 36 inch/3 rack Hooray because I was first intrigued with the mechanics of how to lower and raise the cooking grates and simply how it locks in when you stop. Next was the rotisserie, it was 5/8" or 3/4" thick 304 SS with massive SS spits and it could hold and turn 80 lbs with the One grill motor. There's a little work involved when cleaning, nothing hard but involves lifting out the bottom coal grate by attaching forks and then raising it with the crank mechanism. At first unusual, a bit daunting but in the end once past the apprehension your safe to vac out.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I also purchased the 3 ft grill because it fits my need, the Goldilocks syndrome so to speak. Would I change anything? Good question, like David mentioned earlier in a post concerning the dreaded rust and it's demise, well I'd consider SS...however it's wicked expensive, yah, sticker shock.  This is how I look at it, if you do what you can to minimize this and in the end you get years of enjoyment from it then it's worth the investment. Besides, have you ever been outside on a sunny day near a SS grill, hell if your not wearing sunglasses the reflection going to blind you and then having those glasses on you can't see what your cooking. Toss a coin, I'd say. I'm thinking that ol'bbq bug bit your ear and whispered sweet nothings into it mentioning how much you need it and how well it's going to look parked in the backyard. He's right, you will love it, pull up a high chair, light that stogie, crack that beer and watch the rotisserie go round and round. Now look at you, living down there in Port St Lucie Fl and the other Dennis in Bali so warm and comfortable ....I envy you both, so if you see where I'm leaning, you my friend have all year to perfect your technique . Others here have there own, I hope they weigh in and provide their nickels worth. Let us know which way the wind is going to blow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

@Tyrus  First let me thank you for your insightful reply.  Even more your very enjoyable way of writing ✍️.  
Yes, I too buy up and over any budget set for most of my purchases as well.  Research leads to more knowledge and well, you know the results, we justify the buy it once and get what you want.  Or what we think we want.  The KK was easy as a 20 year BGE smoker, it was clear how the superior build and engineering was going to up the game.   However, the new bug for open wood flame grilling has bit and there is a lot of confusion in the due diligence process.  Do we want a brasserio or is it complicating the cook and does it have drawbacks with regard to higher heat on the back wall to dial in?  Fire management of the embers, not going to want to shovel hot embers out over my deck to distribute.  And of course how do we plan to use it?  Steaks primarily, roti chicken, ribs all seem like the sweet spot for this style of cook.  How did you use yours?  Sunterra also seems like a good product and plan to review Hooray as well.  It is under a covered lanai so SS is a possibility.  Thanks again and have a great weekend. 

[jeffshoaf]

The brassero is good for long/big cooks, especially if (like me) you're not good at estimating how much wood you'll need. I like my grill design over Santa Maria store grills since the high back and sides help block the wind while the fold-down front makes it easier to play with the fire and is handy for cleaning ash out. I'm not sure how much heat retention is helped by the fire brick since I've not cooked without them, but the grill definitely holds heat well.

The tilted Argentinian-style grates are nice but do make grilling hot dogs more difficult!

This is still my favorite way to cook.

[Dennis]

15 hours ago, jeffshoaf said:

The brassero is good for long/big cooks, especially if (like me) you're not good at estimating how much wood you'll need. I like my grill design over Santa Maria store grills since the high back and sides help block the wind while the fold-down front makes it easier to play with the fire and is handy for cleaning ash out. I'm not sure how much heat retention is helped by the fire brick since I've not cooked without them, but the grill definitely holds heat well.

The tilted Argentinian-style grates are nice but do make grilling hot dogs more difficult!

This is still my favorite way to cook.

Thanks @jeffshoaf for the intel and pic’s!  Do you use a cover to keep rain out?  Looks like it’s under some structure.  
You mention it’s your favorite to cook with.  Is your KK primarily reserved for the long and slow smokes?

[Tyrus]

22 hours ago, Dennis said:

How did you use yours?

First I must compliment Jeff for the great pics and display for what his grill is capable of...good show and that's an understatement. On the flip side though I use mine for much smaller cooks or I'll have the Kamado helping me with another entree'.  When I first started out looking I had in mind something smaller, versatile and capable of doing it all. I use wood, lump coal and briquettes depending on what I'm preparing, but generally I'm tossing in wood over the top in moderate amounts because my roof line is close & made of a polycarbonate overlap. I only use on most occasions one or two grate sections or a small fire centered below when using the roto, on some occasions I've used both...however nothing like Jeff is doing although if he'd let me borrow it for a weekend I know I'd love it too. So here are a couple of pics, they're self explanatory but show the roto and coal bed grate on mine, sorry I should have done so beforehand.  So, they all acomplish the task, they get you to the finish line, just in different ways.

[jeffshoaf]

10 hours ago, Dennis said:

Thanks @jeffshoaf for the intel and pic’s!  Do you use a cover to keep rain out?  Looks like it’s under some structure.  
You mention it’s your favorite to cook with.  Is your KK primarily reserved for the long and slow smokes?

I have a fitted cover that I keep on the grill when not in use; I try to get the ash out the day after a cook and then put the cover on unless I'm planning another cook within the next few days and there's no rain in the forecast. The cover goes all the way to the ground and there are separate covers for the wheels that raise and lower the grates; it keeps both the rain and the critters out.

The grill is under my screened-in and roofed deck; there's plenty of clearance - I considered mounting some kind of metal fire/heat shield over the grill but it hasn't been needed (plus I was afraid birds would nest between the shield and the floor of the deck). As you can see, I've built some pretty big fires but the flames have come nowhere near the floor of the deck. The back of the grill extends out from the base in the back where the brassaro is and that part is out from under the deck so even if the wood in the brassaro becomes fully engulfed, the flames won't be directly under the deck. I've not had that happen since that wood burns from the bottom up and the high back and sides help to keep the wind from fanning the flames.

To be honest, I've not done much cooking in my 23" KK in the last few years - with the charcoal basket so far down inside, it kills my back to bend over to clean the KK out and work with the charcoal. I've not been able to talk my cats into doing that for me... Cleaning out and building a fire in the Santa Maria/Argentinian grill is much easier on my back since it has the fold-down front panel. I've been doing my low and slow cooks in an insulated gravity feed smoker and I recently got a reverse-flow stick burner. I've worked out ways of moving and handling my wood splits without putting much strain on my back but I've not been able to work out a way of using the KK without having to reach down inside it.

[jeffshoaf]

@Tyrus You're welcome to borrow mine sometime, but it's over 800 lbs with the fire brick installed and is a pain to move unless it's on some sort of pavement!

When I ordered it, I intended to cook with charcoal mostly and wood occasionally but that hasn't happened - I've used a chimney of charcoal to get a jump start on getting the wood started a few times but the vast majority of cooks have been totally with wood. The chicken in the pics with the stuffed peppers and skewered veggies was done over oak and was the best chicken I've ever had. Lots of excellent steaks and pork chops as well. I did hamburgers and hot dogs for a big family cookout a few years ago and had numerous attendees ask what hamburger I used and I was honest with them (frozen members mark burgers from Sam's Club, with Worcester sauce, salt, and pepper), but they thought I was holding out on them - the "secret" was grilling them over oak wood.

[Dennis]

@jeffshoaf @Tyrus thanks guys for all the great info.  Your cooks look amazing.  We are building and my wife strongly suggested we wait until our new home is completed.  She’s right the rental we are temporally living in has enough stuff to cook on.  KK, 4B Halo, Fontana Pizza Oven.   Isn’t is amazing how the cooking bug bites and we can’t get enough.  

Keep sharing and keep smoking! 

 

[jeffshoaf]

16 minutes ago, Dennis said:

@jeffshoaf @Tyrus thanks guys for all the great info.  Your cooks look amazing.  We are building and my wife strongly suggested we wait until our new home is completed.  She’s right the rental we are temporally living in has enough stuff to cook on.  KK, 4B Halo, Fontana Pizza Oven.   Isn’t is amazing how the cooking bug bites and we can’t get enough.  

Keep sharing and keep smoking! 

I just had my Ha!o 4b delivered last week and converted it to natural gas last Thursday - I've had my Fontana pizza oven for several years now. Looks like we're about synced up!

[Dennis]

11 hours ago, jeffshoaf said:

I just had my Ha!o 4b delivered last week and converted it to natural gas last Thursday - I've had my Fontana pizza oven for several years now. Looks like we're about synced up!

Halo 4B is amazing you will love it.  It’s a lot more than just a smash burger and breakfast maker.  We just last night used it to blacken some swordfish steaks and wife said the best she ever had.  Enjoy 😉