This is my first of a series called "Tools of the Trade" where I'm going to look at different tools, appliance, utensils, gadgets, etc.
Being from the east coast of Canada, when we talk about barbecue, usually we are really talking about grilling meat and more often than not, with a propane grill. When it comes to food, there is not much that won't taste better if it is cooked on a grill, rather than inside. Not to mention that a grill has the uncanny, magical ability to become the center of attention of a house or party. When is the last time that you can remember the guys gathering around the oven while food was being prepared? My point exactly. The grill is also in many cases the most accessible form of cooking for men who usually have very little input in food preparation, at least around here few men will cook in the kitchen but will gladly fire up the grill.
I grew up eating a lot of grilled food during the summer, great taste, less dishes, and it got the whole family out onto the deck(even in the winter if we could get away with it). Now when my wife and I got together, she hadn't done much grilling growing up but I made sure that i quickly converted her.
Why is this important you may ask, well we have been living in our current house for almost a year now and all we had for grilling was a small portable grill that leaves much to be desired when preparing a full meal, the least of which was grill real estate. Though it is still great for taking when we go camping. With our anniversary having just passed, we decided that it was time to get a proper grill, so that we could do some more outdoor cooking and I make less mess while I am home and she is at work. We figured that we could live with a smaller middle of the road model but thanks to a anniversary present from my parents who were apparently on the same wavelength as us we were able to jump up a level and get a nicer grill with a few more frills.
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| We ended up settling on the Master Chef E480 from over at Canadian Tire: |
- A large grilling surface (So that the main and side dishes can all be cooked on the grill without being too crowded.)
- A side burner (Great for boiling shellfish, a little slower to get going but it keeps the smell outisde.)
- Electronic Ignition (Those old red push button work fine for the first month or so but they tend to fail quickly, the electronic ignition uses a battery to create sparks to ignite the propane and is much more consistent.)
- Even heating (There is nothing worse than hot or cold spots on a grill, so a higher number of burners allows for more control of the grill and less hot or cold spots.)
- Enclosed tank storage with doors (The panels on the front give the grill a nice finished look so that the white propane tank is not just hanging out in the open, opening doors are also a must for this style of pedestal because you can store tools on the doors as well as providing easy access to the tank for opening and closing the valve. Some enclosed pedestals do not have doors which proves to be a pain for accessing the tank, a lesson learned from my Father's grill)
- Nice solid construction, and nice stainless steel lid.
- Assembly was very straight forward, the box recommends two people and I can see why but I was able to assemble it alone in an hour and a half.
- The tank can be a bit of a pain to seat underneath of the grill in the hole provided though is quite secure when you do.
- Heats evenly and the porcelain coated cast iron grates are a nice touch.
- The four tube burners when compared to two double burners are a bit more of a pain to get lit however, they do provide more precise control over the grill temperature.
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| No grilling session is complete without my grilling toolkit. |
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