Blog
2/9/2012
Price Increases:
In the mail yesterday we received the new prices for the River Country line of grill thermometers. Couple this with the new postal rates and most will have a significant price increase. We will hold our prices until next week when we will probably have to reorder at the new prices.
We have also received the new price lists for Outset Grillware, Kingsford Grill Top Collection and the Guy Fieri Bar-B-Crew product lines. These prices will begin to change immediately.
Superbowl Aftermath:
Well what do you know I got it right this year that makes me a cool 2 for 16. We had a blast. Why is it that no matter how much you clean up that night it still seems like a mess in the morning? Maybe it’s just the hangover.
2/5/2012
Superbowl Sunday:
This is one of my favorite days of the year. It’s like Thanksgiving without family. I spend most of the day outside tending to the grill and smoker, then most of the evening stuffing myself. I am ready for bed by the end of the game because I ate to much (as if that was possible) and maybe the alcohol has a little to do with it. This year instead of wings I will be smoking legs and thighs. It saves a few bucks and you get more meat for your money.
Back in the day we used to have huge parties but as we get older the crowd has thinned out. We still enjoy the day there is just a lot less cleanup afterwards. My prediction this year is that the Giants take it all. I have only gotten this right once in the last 15 years so bet the farm on the Patriots.
1/5/2012
Grilling Tip:
Grilling with Marinades and Rubs. When it comes to meat I come from the school of searing. Get the grill good and hot throw the meat down and let it sizzle, it makes me hungry just thinking about it. Seal those juices in right? Well the answer is sometimes yes and other times no. When using marinades or rubs the answer is no.
Here is the thing. When you sear your meat and seal the juices in you are sealing the additional flavors of your rub or marinade out. While you will taste it a little you are not giving it a chance to fully penetrate your food. By using the indirect method of grilling (here comes the science) you are giving your food the chance to slowly expand while it heats up allowing for better penetration of your added flavors and they will not shrink as much either.
We have always grilled our boneless skinless chicken breasts over direct heat after marinating them for 24 hours and were always disappointed with the results. You could taste just a hint of the marinade in them. After we started cooking them over indirect heat the marinades flavor really popped. By finishing them off instead of starting them over the flames you can end up with the great grilled flavor as well if you choose.
1/4/2012
2011 Food Discovery of the Year I was remiss in mentioning this my year end roundup post a few days ago. Last year we discovered the Tri-tip, this year we have discovered Chorizo. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it chorizo is a Mexican style sausage. I have had many different types of sausages and I cannot really make a comparison to another one.
This spicy sausage has become an obsession of mine; I can (and have) eat it for every meal of the day. Grilled in a bun with stadium mustard, pan fried and mixed with eggs, or even on a bun with cheese. It is especially good when cooked with onion.
So if you have not discovered it yet we suggest you give it a try. It can be found in your local grocery store but it you have a Mexican grocer in your neighborhood and they make it fresh that would be the way to go.
1/3/2011
Happy New Year Behind the scenes here we are working on major changes here at 4theGrill. The biggest one that you will notice is we are doing away with the flat rate $5 shipping option, shipping will remain free for orders over $50. We have begun by eliminating all mentions of it from the site while setting up both Priority Mail and Parcel Post shipping options. Once we make the postal options available the $5 option will disappear. The next step will be price adjustments on items that are under $50, a lot of prices will go down and a few will go up through this process.
Some of our urls are also changing to more search engine friendly versions. This will not change the way you surf the site however, if you came in from a link from a search engine you might get a page not found error.
We are doing away with generic (save on everything) coupon codes found on 3rd party sites. These were never used much in the first place and due to the new pricing structure we are putting into place there will not be a margin for them. Coupon Codes will now be item or category specific and found through our facebook or twitter feeds or in our newsletter.
Finally we have dropped the branding irons that we were carrying. We again had problems with drop-shipping. The problem was minor but, one thing I will not tolerate is other people making us look bad. We now stock everything you find on the site.
We appreciate your patience through this transition.
12/31/2011
Looking Back on 2011 As we close the books on 2011 everyone seems to post end of the year lists so I figure why should we be any different round here. So with that I give you our 2011 year in review.
2011 New product of the year I will have to give this to the Charcoal Companion Moistly Grilled. Such a simple idea: twin cast iron bars that you fill with liquid to add moister to your grilling. A great product for indirect cooking and it also can be used as a smokier box if you prefer. Easy to use and will greatly reduce over cooking.
2011 New Grill Accessory Manufacturer of the Year The Guy Fieri Bar-B-Crew Grilling line has been a smash hit for us. I was a little leery of this line at first mainly because guy is not known for his grilling. However I was won over by his high quality products at reasonable prices.
2011 Most Improved Product Design of the Year The new Maverick ET-732 smoker thermometer has been a great improvement on an already great product (the et73 smoker thermometer). While you pay a bit more for it the additional range it provides is well worth the price.
2011 Grill Product Trend of the Year This would have to be the transformation of the grill light. The original grill lights clipped onto your side shelf and were just inconvenient to use. The trend has been to move them from the side shelf and onto the grills handle while adding LED’s for better light. A major improvement from the original design, now if they could just add an automatic on when the grill lid is up and off when the lid is down they would be perfect.
In closing this post I wish to thank everyone for making this another incredible year here at 4theGrill. We are aware that you have a million places to shop online and choosing to support a small U.S. family owned and operated site helps everyone.
12/22/2011
Merry Christmas Yeah I typed it instead of Happy Holidays. As a business person I always said I will start saying Happy Chanukah when it starts making me money. We have had a great Christmas season and we want to thank all of our customers and vendors as well. Neither the Post Office nor Fedex are working on Monday so providing we can find something better to do we will be closed on the 26th as well.
12/02/2011
New Product Spotlight One Grills 100 pound capacity rotisserie motor. This rotisserie motor is capable of turning up to 130 pounds. Why do we list it as only 100 pound capacity you ask. Well we figure more people will be searching for a 100 pound rotisserie motor than 130 pounds and judging by the hits we have already received on the page we were right. Weighing in at over 5 pound this thing is a beast and frankly we do not sell anything else that would handle that kind of weight.
It runs at 5 rpm which is faster then most other rotisserie motors and is designed to be water resistant. It is almost an impossibility to make something like this waterproof but it would still work in a light drizzle. This would be a great motor if you were designing your own open pit rotisserie.
11/27/2011
Cyber Monday I am sure you have all heard of Cyber Monday by now. Apparently it is supposed to be the media hyped largest internet shopping day of the year. I say “supposed to be” because it’s not even close. We have been at this for 5 years now and while the Monday after Thanksgiving is a good sales day it’s not even in our top 10. While we have a unique situation with our best moth being June and not December I would have to think that all other e-tailers have the same December situation going on.
Our best sales days during the holiday season are the Sunday and Monday that are 2 weeks before Christmas, this year it should be 12-11 and 12-12. However every year is slightly different. With this year Christmas falling on a Sunday the top sales days could actually fall a full week later than they typically do.
So if you feel guilty for procrastinating, don’t. Most Americans do the same thing.
11/25/2011
Thanksgivings Grilled Rotisserie Turkey Breast With as many rotisseries as we sell in the lead up to Thanksgiving every year (especially this one) I thought that this would be the best way to cook our turkey this year. We only have a few people over so we do not do a whole turkey just a 6-pound whole breast. We grill split breasts and turkey legs all the time over direct heat so I was very curious about how different this would turn out. We do not have a rotisserie burner we used indirect heat on a gas grill
We prepped the breast the same way we would if it was going over direct heat, injected with barbecue sauce and sprinkled with dry rub. Then it was mounted on the spit rod. I should note here that I set up the rod and cooking area before placing the food on it. I put the drip pan in place then get the rod in place and tighten the first fork in the spot where I want it on the rod. This way you know your food will be in the correct spot on the grill the first time. I used a cast iron pan for our drip pan and filled it with half a beer. After getting the meat in place on the rod slid the rod into the rotisserie fire up the grill turn on the motor and let her go.
This particular breast took around 2 hours to cook on medium indirect heat (around 350 degrees). I checked on it every half and add water to the pan twice (sorry half a beer is all that I will waste). The skin did not begin to brown until an hour and a half into the cook.
I must say that this was the juiciest turkey that we have ever cooked. The skin turned out rubbery though so if I had it to do over again (which may happen on Christmas) I would finish it over direct heat over the last half an hour or so and maybe butter the skin.
With as crazy as the next month gets around here the may be my last entry for a while so Happy Holidays to all!
11/23/2011
Happy Thanksgiving! Today is the day most of us begin our Thanksgiving food prep, it’s the biggest pizza delivery day of the year btw. Around here we only have a few people coming so we are only doing a breast and not a whole turkey. Remember when we only ate turkey this one day of the year? Now it’s become a standard lunch meat for most of us and we grill it frequently as well. This year we are going to attempt to brine the breast before cooking. I have not decided whether to beer can it or grill it on the rotisserie though. I guess I will decide tomorrow.
To those of you who are planning to rotisserie cook your turkeys this year: If you have just purchased the rotisserie take the time to get it set up and run it for a while before placing the 25 pound bird on it. It will save you a few headaches in the long run. Check the rod clearance so it won’t drag and make sure the mounting brackets clear the hood. These adjustments are a pain to make on the fly. Finally add a small amount of cooking oil to the spit rod bushing to reduce the friction and don’t be afraid to re-coat it during the cooking process. A 20 or 30 pound load will create a lot of friction so you want things turning as freely as possible.
Eat well tomorrow. The dieting begins again in 24 hours or so!
11/20/2011
Awesome Service!!
I love when we receive e-mails like this one:
I wanted to thank you for your quick service and very fast shipping. I ordered the engraved steak plates for my groomsmen and you had the best price with free shipping. The engraving looks awesome and the transaction was perfect. Will definitely do business again and I will spread the word of your company.
Thanks again,
Will R***
Rarely do we ever receive negative e-mails and when we do typically it is something that is beyond our control. We do our best to only work with the best manufacturers and shipping companies, to minimize problems. Thank You for your kind words.
11/02/2011
New Product Spotlight The platinum prestige series 3-piece grill tool set by Mr. Bar-b-q contains a 4 in 1 spatula, tongs, and a grill fork. These stainless steel tools have a mirrored finish and are 17 inches long.
The 4 in 1 spatula has 2 cutting edges and a bottle opener.
This is a good basic three piece grill tool set and at $14.99 it is affordable. The rounded handles appear to be hollow to keep the heat from the ends from transferring to your hands. The 17 inch length is just about right for any grill tools.
11/01/2011
New Product Spotlight Jalapeno Pepper Shaped Grill Stand by Mr. Bar-b-q. This jalapeno rack is non-stick coated for easy clean up. It will stand up to 22 stuffed jalapenos upright for easy cooking. The legs fold for easy storage and it includes a jalapeno coring tool.
Rack is 11 x 5 inches with 3 inch legs.
This is not a unique product but it does fill a hole now that Charcoal Companion has discontinued their version of it. This one is larger in size and will hold up to 22 chili peppers. What I have yet to figure out is why every manufacturer of these uses 1-inch size holes. That really limits what you can do with them. I like to wrap mine in bacon, which makes for a tight fit. If any manufacturer reads this: hole sizes need to vary on these things from 1 up to 2 inches just assort them on the rack. Please
10/31/2011
Something Scary for Halloween Edible Food Coloring Spray Paint. The company the makes this product is Deli Garage of Germany at a cost of around $35 a can. The Germans are known for some strange things but this is ridiculous. They claim that it is safe to eat and will not add flavor to your food. I need to know how this is possible when one of the ingredients is ethyl alcohol. It seems to me that this has to be a novelty product that will soon be found in Spencer Gifts. Especially when you consider the fact most people are beginning to lean towards the natural when it comes to our food. It is not yet available in the US (thankfully) but when it is you will NOT find it here.
10/28/2011
New Product Spotlight Large wire grill topper from Mr. Bar-b-q . This grilling grid has 3 raised sides to keep your food from falling off. It also has handles so it can be easily carried and a non-stick coating for easy cleanup.
16.5 x 12 Inches 1/4 inch mesh cooking surface
When it comes to most grilling tools we seem to prefer mesh. It looks good and allows more fire and smoke to reach the food you are cooking. This grill grid isn’t your typical mesh. The wire is a little thicker and the square holes are approximately ¼ on an inch. This item is great when you need to cook a lot of smaller items and don’t need much open space on your grill.
10/27/2011
New Product Spotlight The stainless steel wire mesh basket by Mr. Bar-b-q can be used as a shaker flip type basket, or the top can be removed for use as a grill wok and the top can be used by itself as a grill skillet. It is the perfect basket for stir-fry or grilling any smaller food items.
The large 14-inch basket is 5 inches deep, total length (including handle) is 22.5 inches
This is probably the nicest looking of the stainless mesh grill baskets we have seen to date. We love the fact that when you remove the top for use as a stand-alone grill wok it has two short handles so that you can close the hood of your grill.
10/26/2011
New Product Spotlight The Mini non-stick grill flip or shaker type basket from Mr. Bar-b-q has a rosewood handle and locking lid. Simply place your smaller food items inside lock the lid and either shake or flip the basket to turn your food over..
We love the compact size of this basket, it is 19 inches long and has a 9L x 5W x 3D inch non-stick cooking basket. Our main use for shaker grill baskets is typically mushrooms and onions when grilling steaks. This basket is a perfect fit for that.
10/24/2011
New Product Spotlight The Stainless Steel Marinade Injector by Charcoal Companion: This heavy-duty stainless steel marinade injector has offset holes in the injecting needle to prevent clogging and unscrews for easy cleaning. The heavy-duty stainless construction ensures smooth delivery of your marinade in the largest pieces of meat.
Marinade reservoir is approximately 4 x 1.5 inches, Needle is 2.5 inches.
10/21/2011
New Product Spotlight 36 Hole Stainless Jalapeno Popper Rack by Charcoal Companion. Again this item is not a game changer, just a new larger version of a jalapeno pepper rack. Its stainless for easy cleaning and it will stand up to 36 stuffed peppers at a time vertically on your grill. At only 16.99 it is very affordable.
Specs.: 9 x9 inches, stands 1.75 tall. 6 rows of six 1-inch holes.
10/20/2011
New Product Spotlight Stainless Steel Meat Claws by Charcoal Companion. This item is the perfect example of taking a good idea (see bear paws) and improving on it. For those who don’t know these are perfect for shredding pulled pork or chicken off of the bone. They can also be used for picking up large hot pieces of meat. The soft grip handles will keep your hands cool while working with the hot meat while the 4 pointed stainless steel claws do most of the work.
10/19/2011
Product Promotion Our giveaway with the Maverick et732’s is back on. Here is how it works: just purchase the Maverick et732 remote smoker thermometer and we will give you a set of C&C Grillin’s 3/8-inch Thermometer Sensor Grommets a $9.99 value for free. You do not need to do anything special they will be added automatically to your cart, and yes you may use a coupon code with this offer.
10/18/2011
New Product Spotlight The Moistly Grilled Grill Humidifier System is two cast iron bars with vented lids that go directly on your grill grates. The bars hold water or any flavored liquid that you prefer. This adds humidity to the typically dry heat of your grilling environment. Every once in a while a product comes along that makes you say “why didn’t I think of that”, this is one of those products.
According to the instructions it should be used with indirect heat. This makes sense because when you are cooking with direct heat generally speaking your meat is seared and cooks rapidly. Use these with any larger slow cooking piece of meat to ensure it ends up moist and juicy! Like any piece of cast iron cookware there is a little upkeep involved but the end results would surely be worth the extra effort.
The blog has gotten so out of control we had to start archiving the older posts.