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Product Review: Slow ‘N Sear® from SnS Grills

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Monk: SnS Grills is a grill and accessories company headquartered in Concord, NC. The story of the company and its founder David Parrish is covered in detail on their website but long story short Parrish got hooked in with the Amazing Ribs website and its community of amateur pitmasters and grillers before eventually deciding to tackle the riddle of how to turn a kettle grill into a legit smoker. The Slow ‘N Sear is the product of him using his physics degree for the good of barbecue and grilling.

And it’s won the company some acclaim, with Meathead Goldwyn of Amazing Ribs proclaiming it “the single best accessory for the Weber kettle ever” and Steven Raichlen calling it the “best new barbecue product of 2018.” Having re-ignited my love for my now-16-year old Weber kettle during the pandemic, I had to give it a try for myself.

Made of heavy duty steel (listed on the site as “18-gauge 430 stainless steel”), the Slow ‘N Sear is a charcoal basket that sits directly on the bottom grate of my Weber kettle grill. Where it differs from the Weber Char-Baskets is that it is made larger to fit more charcoal without needing to constantly refill but more importantly it has a built-in water reservoir to help evenly cook the meat.

I tried it out with a small chuck roast and the Slow ‘N Sear worked like a charm. The basket promoted airflow and burned the charcoal cleanly. While the website says the reservoir will get you 5+ hours of steam from the water reservoir, I refilled it once during the cook. I may have cooked the meat just a tad over but through no fault of the basket. And while this chuck roast was too small, had it been a steak or other piece of meat I could have flipped it directly above the charcoal for searing.

There are actually two models of this insert – this original and the Deluxe which has a removable water reservoir and a ventilated plate for $30 more.

SnS Grills has expanded into making a ton of other grill accessories along with their own line of kamado smokers and kettle grills and I will give serious consideration to the kamado next time I’m in the market for a smoker. However, if you are still rocking an old-school Weber kettle grill like me, the Slow ‘N Sear is an easy way to turn it into a legit offset smoker.

Linkdown: 1/5/22

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ICYMI, Kevin’s BBQ Joints rounded up from over 120 barbecue personalities what made barbecue so special to them. We were honored that Kevin asked us to be a part of this fantastic project. While some folks focused on their earliest barbecue memories, both Rudy and I focused our answers on bites that broadened our barbecue horizons from more than just the chopped pork they grew up on in NC. Definitely worth a read.

Native News

Ayden, NC (home to Skylight Inn and Bum’s) unveils new marketing campaign: “‘Que Marks the Spot”

Noble Smoke is the only barbecue restaurant on Charlotte Magazine’s annual list of the 50 best restaurants in Charlotte

Grady’s is closed until late January for their well-deserved “winter rest”

Lawrence Barbecue as well as Lewis Barbecue in Charleston gets some love from Eater Carolinas contributors on this “Best Restaurant Meal of 2021” post

Thankfully, Pik-N-Pig’s closure will only be temporary and they aim to reopen ths year

Huli Sue’s BBQ and Grill in Asheville serves a “Hawaiian influenced take on Texas barbecue along with some other island-esque plates”

ICYMI, the Jon G’s Barbecue x Salud Beer Shop/Salud Cerveceria pizza collaboration is happening now

Non-Native News

Barbecue options in Birmingham

Blake’s BBQ photo progress update from late December

From Lifehacker: “With my Weber, I smoked a little, grilled a lot, and learned even more—and I’d like to share my favorite dishes (and lessons) with you now, in no particular order. This is what my grill taught me over the past year.”

From last month, RIP John Mueller

Linkdown: 8/29/18

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– Brett Martin (for GQ) on how Houston got cool

– According to this article (which is about a new Jim Noble fried chicken concept), Noble Smoke is now being targeted to open in March 2019

– You can now vote for the best barbecue joints by state in Southern Living’s “South’s Best 2019” poll

– Texas Monthly on the Barbecue Nation exhibit in Atlanta

– According to this list, The Pit is one of Raleigh’s best soul food restaurants

– Yea…I’m gonna need to try this out soon on my own Weber

– A comparison of the two out-of-state whole hog joints coming to Birmingham in the coming months – Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint and Rodney Scott’s BBQ

– Your move, Texas Pete:

Product Review: Yukon Glory Grill & Tailgate Accessories

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Here at Barbecue Bros, we all know that “barbecue” is a noun and not a verb, and that “having cooking out” does not equal “a barbecue” (we all know that, right?). But that doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy meat over flame, even if it is of the direct-heat-via-gas variety. Yukon Glory, a Brooklyn-based grill accessories company, was kind enough to send over a few of their products for me to check out, and after running them through their paces a few times, here are my thoughts.

-Monk

 

Magna-Grill Magnetic Stainless Steel Beer and Cup Holder (link)

When smoking or grilling, a good place to hold your beer is always key. This heavy duty stainless steel cup holder sticks to any metal surface easily to keep a cold one within arm’s reach whether its a can or solo cup. On my grill, I found a spot just to the right of the grilling area to be perfect placement for when I needed to set down my beer to turn the burgers and dogs. And though I haven’t tested it out, there is a scratch resistant film on the magnet that means it can stick to the side of a car without scratching during tailgating. Why didn’t I come up with this idea?

Magnetic Stainless Steel Paper Towel Holder (link)

Similar to the cup holder, this easily affixes to any metal surface to give easy access to a roll of paper towels for messes or spills. Certainly not as flashy as the cup holder, but every bit as functional. As with the cup holder, it has a scratch resistant film so could also be stuck onto a car or truck during a tailgate. Because a messy tailgate is a less fun tailgate.

Stainless Steel Grilling/Serving/Warming/Tray (link)

This 4-in-1 tray and pan can be used as a grilling basket, cooking pan, serving tray, or a warming basket. I used it as a serving tray for burgers and dogs fresh off the grill primarily but can see using the perforated tray for grilling veggies in my near future. Remove the tray, and the pan would be a good way to transport a medium-sized pork butt from my smoker to the chopping block in my kitchen. Well constructed out of stainless steel and thankfully easily cleanable in the dishwasher.

Thanks again to Shaul from Yukon Glory. These accessories will surely be mainstays as I grill or smoke throughout the fall.