Grill opinions

[Cowracer]

My beloved Brinkmann folding grille recently bought the farm.



It has served me well for 5+ years. Many a hunk of dead animal has slid across its grates. Viya Con Dios amigo...

So I find myself looking at new travel grills. Brinkmann makes a very similar grill, but the legs are different and I don't know if I like them. If I had one complaint about the Brinkmann, it was that it had no lid, which limited what I can cook and how I can cook it. My buddy has a Coleman Roadtrip LXE that works very well.

I am looking at the Coleman NXT3000. I like the design, I like that it has a lid. The big issue I can see is its only its only 321 square inches with a 20KBtu capacity when the Brinkmann is 490 square inches with 48KBtu.

I have more than a few times had the old Brinkmann fully filled with meat, corn, potatoes and whatnot. It seems I usually grill for a large group.

So, does anyone have first hand knowledge on the NXT 300 grill? I am leaning hard towards getting one, but I'd like to hear opinions.

Tim

[JoeR]

Weber Q. Pick your size. I have the Q100 for camping and a Q200 for home use. Last year they changed a bit and now are 1000/2000 numbered. It's very hard to beat a portable with a cast iron grate.

[Ramblin Recks]

Originally Posted by JoeR

Weber Q. Pick your size. I have the Q100 for camping and a Q200 for home use. Last year they changed a bit and now are 1000/2000 numbered. It's very hard to beat a portable with a cast iron grate.

X2 My Weber Q has been working great. Easy to clean, gets real hot, rugged, and easy to set up (with portable stand).

Reck

[Devilscreekw]

Don't have a picture, but have a Cuisinart stainless grill with folding cart. It has a solid steel grill, lid, temp gauge, two swing out shelves. Big enough for a family of four, and locks in its lowered position so you can wheel it like a dolly. It folds low enough that I can put in the rear of the truck and roll my Lund truck bed cover over it.

I used it for 4 years as my only BBQ till last fall when I bought a bigger unit for home cause the DW wanted to do beer can chickens, and it doesn't have quite enough clearance for that. Still in great shape. Probably good for another 4-5 years.

I paid $149 at Canadian Tire for it, and I still see them advertised for $169 up here, so I'm sure you can find them States side probably cheaper.

[bobfa]

Cuisinart All-Foods Portable Outdoor Tabletop Propane Gas Grill .

We have used this one for a few trips now. I also bought the portable stand. It can cook allot of food at once. Gets very hot quick. I run off the trailer tanks, and also from portable bottles. Amazon reviewers give it 4-1/2 out of 5 thumbs up.

[alparmer]

I have a big Charbroil at home with infra red and love how it cooks. Get's the meat cooked but leaves it juicy inside. I needed something smaller for the RV and I bought their Grill2Go and love it too. Cooks a lot faster than it's big brother. I love the fact that it uses the small bottles, it doesn't take much space, and it's built like a rock.

[BamaBob]

Do you want a Gas or Charcole Grill?

We love our Weber Road Trip - over 200 SQ IN of cooking surface and what we really love is the interchangeable grate! You can get the standard "grill" grate or a griddle so breakfast cooking outdoors is now a reality

If you are into classic charcole cooking, the son of hibachi is hard to beat! Saw one of these at a camp last year and even though I prefer gas to cook on, I am sorely tempted to get me one of these!

[Skippy38]

Picked this up at Wal Mart for $40. Brand is Backyard Grill. Nice compact package with folding legs. They also sell an adapter to hook it up to the main RV tanks but I am just using the small camping cylinders. May be a little on the cheap side but it gets very hot and cooks nicely. Hey, if I only get a year out of it the cost was only $40 haha

[cgotto1204]

I currently have the Coleman Road Trip Grill LXE. Had it for 5 years and I like the versatility of it, the interchangeable griddle top and stove top. The only items that I do not like about it is the drip pan. It is hard to insert and remove while using the one pound bottles. Would also prefer a stainless steel base as mine is rusted, burners still work though.

Viewed the Coleman NXT 300, and not sure about the stove top insert. It doesn't appear to be very sturdy. May bend under the lobster pot.

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by JoeR

Weber Q. Pick your size. I have the Q100 for camping and a Q200 for home use. Last year they changed a bit and now are 1000/2000 numbered. It's very hard to beat a portable with a cast iron grate.

That's a fine grill, but I would need two (or maybe 3) of them. 280 square inches isn't going to cut it.

For instance, last saturday, I had 15 sausage and cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken breasts and 10 corn on the cobs going on the Brinkmann (not to mention the 15 foil potato packs on the buddys coleman). Now that was a pretty big group of people, but normally I would have 7-8 servings going at any given time.

In case that made you hungry, this is what they look like (this is on the home grill)



Tim

[Cornelius]

Another vote for the Webber Q series. I have used a Q-120 for several years and it works great. The biggest problem with Webber grills is that it is hard to find any discounts on them.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Skippy38

Picked this up at Wal Mart for $40. Brand is Backyard Grill. Nice compact package with folding legs. They also sell an adapter to hook it up to the main RV tanks but I am just using the small camping cylinders. May be a little on the cheap side but it gets very hot and cooks nicely. Hey, if I only get a year out of it the cost was only $40...

And the food tastes the same cooked on that grill as if it were cooked on the super duper expensive gas grills. We like the FR furnished 'el-cheapo' Side kick. Used on for 6 yrs now with no problems.

[Ford Idaho]

My Coleman hooked to a 20 pound tank with a Coleman lantern on top of the tree.

[Kaadk]

We just used the Sidekick that came with the TT all last year. I didn't care for it's uneven heat so I picked up a Camp Chef at Camping World that was on sale. I've only used it twice but so far I'm impressed. Still not as good as the 9 burner natural gas beast I use at home, but definitely better than the sidekick. I also like that I have options with the Camp chef line. Picked up both the grill box and the griddle for it.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

15 sausage and cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken breasts and ... 15 foil potato packs on the buddys coleman).

In case that made you hungry, this is what they look like (this is on the home grill)



Tim

Yes, it did make me hungery. Forum tradition has 2 general rules:
1. If you don't post picts, it never happened
2. When you post picts of yummy food on the grill you are REQUIRED, nay DEMANDED to post the recipe

So cough up the sausage and cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken breasts and foil potato pack recipe and no one will get hurt

[rlocicero]

Found A next to new Weber Q at a garage sale and paid $5.00 for it. Great little grille. Our sidekick was deforming the siding behind it.

[BeedoGoesCamping]

Went with the RVQ myself. Love that it runs off the low pressure TT propane and has a grill/griddle component.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by Cowracer

My beloved Brinkmann folding grille recently bought the farm.



It has served me well for 5+ years. Many a hunk of dead animal has slid across its grates. Viya Con Dios amigo...

So I find myself looking at new travel grills. Brinkmann makes a very similar grill, but the legs are different and I don't know if I like them. If I had one complaint about the Brinkmann, it was that it had no lid, which limited what I can cook and how I can cook it. My buddy has a Coleman Roadtrip LXE that works very well.

I am looking at the Coleman NXT3000. I like the design, I like that it has a lid. The big issue I can see is its only its only 321 square inches with a 20KBtu capacity when the Brinkmann is 490 square inches with 48KBtu.

I have more than a few times had the old Brinkmann fully filled with meat, corn, potatoes and whatnot. It seems I usually grill for a large group.

So, does anyone have first hand knowledge on the NXT 300 grill? I am leaning hard towards getting one, but I'd like to hear opinions.

Tim

Tim, I probably have the Brinkmann grill that you are referring to as the base being different. It has 4 clasps that you unhook and then the entire grill removes from the base/leg unit. You either fold or expand the two sides out (depending if your are closing or opening)......then replace the grill back onto the lower unit, then hook the clasps again. It's not really hard, but just a bulky proposition and not one that a lot of smaller females could do by themselves if needed. Mine is still going strong, but I use mine (and a 8 burner big brother imitation of it I got at Sam's Club) mainly at larger cookouts we have a few times a year.

I also have a Coleman NXT 200. I got it mainly because of the lid with thermometer and the fact it has two burner controls so I can turn one off for indirect heating when necessary. The NXT does a good job, but has some hot spots on it like most all grills do. I have about figured them out, and just make sure to move the meat around to compensate so it cooks equal.

It's kind of a pain to clean, but I could solve that by putting foil in the bottom before grilling. I also had a few screws/bolts come loose, but modified it a little with loctite and lock washers. The 2 wheels and their mounting seem frail to me, but I haven't had them fail yet.

One more thing, and I learned this the hard way and emails to Coleman. Their grills have a built in flow sensor/surge protector. If you buy an adapter hose and hook to a 20 or 30 lb propane cylinder, then you need to s-l-o-w-l-y open the cylinder valve and then the stoves control knob. If it senses too much propane flow too fast, then it activates and you get a very low flame. I have posted this info before in a few threads here, and it is also on Coleman's site.

http://coleman.custhelp.com/app/answ...cW1SZUo4WGw%3D

The NXT 300 may be better in all these categories. I think I read where you could easily remove the 300 from it's base, and use it on a table or such.......which you cannot do easily with the 200. I got the 200 because Dicks Sporting had a heck of a sale on it one time.

Hope this helps.

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

Yes, it did make me hungery. Forum tradition has 2 general rules:
1. If you don't post picts, it never happened
2. When you post picts of yummy food on the grill you are REQUIRED, nay DEMANDED to post the recipe

So cough up the sausage and cream cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped chicken breasts and foil potato pack recipe and no one will get hurt

Simple.

Cook up a pound of pork sausage in a skillet. When done remove from heat DO NOT DRAIN, toss in a block of cream cheese and cover.

While the cheese is getting all melt-y, prepare your chicken. if they are real thick breasts, you can butterfly them, otherwise just pound them out to a uniform thickness of about 3/8 to 1/2 inch or so.

Stir the cream cheese into the sausage and put a spoon full or so on each chicken breast. Fold up the chicken breast. Make sure the sides can touch, if not, you got too much sausage. Wrap in a strip or two of bacon. The bacon is not for flavor. It's structural. Load-bearing bacon, if you will. It will help hold the chicken breast together. You could pin them together with toothpicks, but c'mon! Bacon! Who wants to eat a toothpick. If needed you go ahead and pin them with toothpicks if they are really fat and meaty (as in the picture) but usually I don't bother. I season them with Weber's Kickin' Chickin' seasoning.

Place slot side up on grill so the sausage mix won't fall out and cook over medium heat about 6 minutes. By then the chicken will firm up enough that you can turn them without fear of the sausage mix falling out. The grease from the sausage mix will baste and flavor your chicken as it cooks.

For the potato packs, cube up 1-2 YUKON GOLD (and ONLY yukon gold) potatoes per person. Throw them on a square of foil, salt and pepper liberally, add some chopped onion, and top with a pat or two of real butter.
Seal foil packs TIGHTLY, and toss on the edges of your grill. Stay away from direct heat if you can. Leave them alone, don't turn them or futz with them for 30-40 minutes. Top with crumbled bacon and a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Get the potatoes going before starting to cook the sausage. If you time it right, everything will come off the grill at the same time.

Tim

[Cowracer]

Originally Posted by wmtire

Tim, I probably have the Brinkmann grill that you are referring to as the base being different. It has 4 clasps that you unhook and then the entire grill removes from the base/leg unit. You either fold or expand the two sides out (depending if your are closing or opening)......then replace the grill back onto the lower unit, then hook the clasps again. It's not really hard, but just a bulky proposition and not one that a lot of smaller females could do by themselves if needed. Mine is still going strong, but I use mine (and a 8 burner big brother imitation of it I got at Sam's Club) mainly at larger cookouts we have a few times a year.

I also have a Coleman NXT 200. I got it mainly because of the lid with thermometer and the fact it has two burner controls so I can turn one off for indirect heating when necessary. The NXT does a good job, but has some hot spots on it like most all grills do. I have about figured them out, and just make sure to move the meat around to compensate so it cooks equal.

It's kind of a pain to clean, but I could solve that by putting foil in the bottom before grilling. I also had a few screws/bolts come loose, but modified it a little with loctite and lock washers. The 2 wheels and their mounting seem frail to me, but I haven't had them fail yet.

One more thing, and I learned this the hard way and emails to Coleman. Their grills have a built in flow sensor/surge protector. If you buy an adapter hose and hook to a 20 or 30 lb propane cylinder, then you need to s-l-o-w-l-y open the cylinder valve and then the stoves control knob. If it senses too much propane flow too fast, then it activates and you get a very low flame. I have posted this info before in a few threads here, and it is also on Coleman's site.

Troubleshooting Coleman® grills with little or no flame

The NXT 300 may be better in all these categories. I think I read where you could easily remove the 300 from it's base, and use it on a table or such.......which you cannot do easily with the 200. I got the 200 because Dicks Sporting had a heck of a sale on it one time.

Hope this helps.

Thanks! That seems ackward as hell compared to my scissor leg one. I am thinking I might just buy the Brinkmann and make/adapt a cover for it. As I carry it on the front deck of my 21SSL, Height is not too much of a concern. That there would be the PERFECT grill for me.

Tim