"Clark W. Griswold, Jr." wrote in message
...
Speaking of poor heat output....

Has anyone else noticed how anemic outdoor grills are? The only proper way
to
cook a steak is on a very hot grill, yet the largest burner I've seen
recently
is only 40,000 BTUs.

Wasn't that long ago I had a 44,000 BTU unit, but I couldn't find one of
those
anywhere recently.

I solved that problem a year ago by getting a Kamado ceramic barbecue
(kamado.com, if you want to look at them). Mine has a removable gas option
which I really only use for starting the charcoal, but I can get this
critter up to well over 700 degrees to quickly sear a steak. I also use it
for cooking that "monster turkey" ( I did a 20 lb bird last Thanksgiving)
and most anything else you can put in an oven. I've avoided breads and
pizza so far (and who wants to eat smoke flavored cookies?) but any meats or
foods that you would either grill, bake, broil, roast or smoke are fair
game. I can also hold the temp at 200 degrees for an indefinite period of
time, sometimes upwards of 20-24 hours, for the occasional carolina-style
pulled pork or beef brisket.

I've also got a twin burner outdoor gas stove, I forget the burner output
but it's something like 30,000 btu per burner. I use that with a wok ring
for stirfry and for really large pots that the kitchen stove can't handle.

JonE