No Grill, No Chill....

[Lanky Livingston]

Half of my family is Sicilian, and half is Irish. The Sicilians are like me - EVOO is garbage. Like I said, just because tv and magazines want you to believe EVOO is the olive oil god and most popular, doesn't mean it is. Prior to the late 90's, most grocery stores didn't even carry it. Next time you go shopping, look at the olive oil. Most of what everyone carries is either virgin or pure. The EVOO gets maybe a couple of facings. It isn't as popular as the hype would lead you to believe.

Most restaurants I worked in when I was young didn't use it, and my brother in law refuses to put it in the restaurants he runs (he is executive chef/buyer for a lot of the restaurants run by Holiday Inn along the mid atlantic)

I have good friends who are 100% Italian and buy EVO in bulk, in those big tin can containers. Its a staple in their kitchen that they wouldn't cook without. Also not sure where you shop, but there is a ton of extra-virgin being sold at the stores I shop at.

But you're right, its all about personal preference. I like the flavor, so I will continue to use it.

 

[riggins44]

I prefer lard.

 

[Nobody]

I prefer lard.

Lard makes fried chicken deliciouser

 

[Nobody]

SO I was just shooting the **** with my grandma and brought up this topic. I asked her why EVOO sucks. Her answer enlightened me. She said it doesn't, you just can't cook with it.

According to her explanation, EVOO is only supposed to be used for topping salads, and other cold dishes. According to her, it's delicious if you do that. I have never had it that way. She says if you cook with it, it destroys all that's good about it, which makes it extremely bitter and gives it the plastic rancid taste I was complaining about.

She then said any idiot should know not to cook with EVOO. So, I had to look that up to see if there was any truth behind it, and I found this....

http://whatscookingamerica.net/OliveOil.htm

So basically she said if you use anything other than EVOO on cold dishes, you're an ass. Also, if you use EVOO to cook with, you're an ass.

According to grandma, we're both right and wrong. Basically arguing different angles. I had never heard this argument before, but she's a 96 year old Sicilian who was a chef in Italy for 30+ years, so I tend to believe her.

 

[riggins44]

I rarely fry any food, with crab cakes being the exception. For crab cakes use canola oil. If fry chicken I use shortening.

When grilling something the oil I use all depends on what I am fixing.

Personally I like cooking with beer or wine. A cold beer or glass of wine while watching the grill makes everything better.

 

[Neophyte]

Shopping complete! Had to order it to get what I wanted so no pictures yet but I will see about fixing that once it comes in. Getting hungry just thinking about it...

 

[Neophyte]

The new and the old tonight after I completed putting the new on together with the help of my 5 year old.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

The new looks great. The old still looks great. I'd take the used one off your hands if I lived nearby. Enjoy the eats tomorrow.

 

[Goaldeje]

Looks terrific, Neo! Putting it to good use today I assume? What are you planning on making?

 

[Neophyte]

No clue, Goal. The wife and I have not even discussed it.

I still have to read the documentation to see if there is anything other than assembly I need to do to prep this thing for use. I had to do some stuff to the old one when I first got it so I am guessing there is something to be done to this one too.

Burner, the old one looks good on the outside. It need everything inside replaced which is why I opted for a new one. I like the set up of the new ones better and I wanted the side burner. Even sucked it up and bought an rotisserie for this one.

 

[Elephant]

I am amazed at how the very simple things in life are the things we live for as we "mature". I was discussing this on Facebook recently with some friends.

Glad to see you enjoy the new grill. Now, go get some elk loins from wherever you can and grill them up! That was the first thing I put on my Weber when I lived in South Florida.

 

[Nobody]

I am amazed at how the very simple things in life are the things we live for as we "mature".

I couldn't agree more, and I was discussing the same thing with my wife the other day.

We have been together since we were teenagers, so we have a lot to go on. Back when we first met, we liked to party and go to clubs all the time. As far as material things, we were all about the more the merrier. Couldn't get enough cds, dvds, a car stereo, etc.

Then last week we bought a new couch that reclines on both ends, and you would have thought we won the lottery

 

[Boone]

As Neo already knows, I moved from the exact same Genesis grill, upgrading to the exact same Genesis grill...I'd replaced the guts of my original Weber at least 3 times, to the point where the actual frame was rusting out. Finally pulled the trigger on the new Weber. You'll love this one Bob. Only major difference is that the 3 burner rows run vertically, not horizontally. I like the new configuration because if you want to cook indirectly, you've got a much larger area to do it in. This grill also gets very hot - which I really love. Great gas grill...looking forward to Neo's assessment...

 

[Neophyte]

Looks like the first burn will be here in a little bit and the Mrs has requested Bob's Famous Burgers for dinner tonight. That seem pretty American to me so that is what we are doing.

Boone, the reconfig of the burners was a big reason I opted for a new grill rather than replacing the guts in my old one. I could have gone that route but so much of what I want to do requires the indirect cooking and that was just hard on horizontal burners. Much better this way. In fact, I nearly moved up to the Summit model with 4 burners to get even more distance between the outside burners but just couldn't justify the price difference.

 

[Boone]

I think you'll find you've got plenty of room now. I love mine...only thing I wasn't crazy about was the strange color combo...but that's really not in my top ten list of critical factors

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Burner, the old one looks good on the outside. It need everything inside replaced which is why I opted for a new one. I like the set up of the new ones better and I wanted the side burner. Even sucked it up and bought an rotisserie for this one.

See, this is what some of us have been talking about in the photography thread. Your picture taking skills made this older grill look far better than what it really is - nice picture indeed.

Seriously though. Hope the first usage of it this evening was a success. Let us know how the first burgers tasted.

 

[riggins44]

Burner, the old one looks good on the outside. It need everything inside replaced which is why I opted for a new one. I like the set up of the new ones better and I wanted the side burner. Even sucked it up and bought an rotisserie for this one.

I have one that is just over 10 years old. Luckily, just before it was 10 I called to see cost for a replacement body. Mine was slightly warped and the part of the lid was coming off as well. Come to find out they had a 10 year warranty so they sent me everything I needed at no charge.

In couple years will replace it any way, but at least will get some more use. Have to give Weber props for standing behind their product.

 

[DieselPwr44]

I've owned both charcoal and gas grills and even with today's modern technology,they've never solved the defect that neither will light without holding a cold beer.

One of life's grand mysteries I guess.....

 

[Boone]

Hey Bob,
A warning. I was having trouble lighting my grill last night (it would light but the flame wasn't normal, very low, as if gas wasn't getting to the burners). The tank happened to be fairly low on propane, so today I got a brand new one. Went to light it and same result. I know something else was going on. Looked under the hood and found a quarter sized hole in the propane hose where it had been melted just under the burner. You might want to check yours out. I think mine was looped the wrong way which put it too close to the burner area. I'm going to ask Weber for a free replacement since in my mind that's a pretty major design flaw.

 

[Nobody]

Hey Bob,
A warning. I was having trouble lighting my grill last night (it would light but the flame wasn't normal, very low, as if gas wasn't getting to the burners). The tank happened to be fairly low on propane, so today I got a brand new one. Went to light it and same result. I know something else was going on. Looked under the hood and found a quarter sized hole in the propane hose where it had been melted just under the burner. You might want to check yours out. I think mine was looped the wrong way which put it too close to the burner area. I'm going to ask Weber for a free replacement since in my mind that's a pretty major design flaw.

I actually had this happen with a Weber years ago. I thought the same thing you did, but it actually ended up being that the screen for the hose was clogged with rust. In those days, I didn't keep it covered like I do to my grill these days, so it could have been rain or humidity that caused it.

My solution was to remove the screens from future grills and keep them covered when not in use, and I have never had another problem.

Not saying this was definitely the cause, but the hoses are supposed to be made to withstand the heat unless there is flame directly on it, and a clogged hose will almost always force the flame out to the hose area.