Labor Day shopping


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
We are having a “tropical wave” in South Florida today. (A lot better than a hurricane but not a day for bbq:(.) I decided to shop for grill bargains.

First stop was Target. I was just there a week ago, but I went back in search of an 18 Kettle grate and to see what else they might have. Picked up FOUR 18” Weber fold-up grates at half price of only $7.49 each! Got a few other things that were 60% to 70% off including a pair of cast iron mini grates meant for doing fish or other small stuff. I liked that they had ridges like a griddle for searing but also holes so that you still are GRILLING. Larry should like that! Now I can use those stainless grates with wider spaces and have nothing to worry about;). They should make me more motivated to grill fish filets that my wife asks for but I am always leary of doing. I have some good blackening and jerk seasonings, so hope to try soon. I will add a picture of these later.

Next stop, Home Depot. They had a few Labor Day sales including the 6 burner Genesis II at $999, but nothing very exciting.

Picked up a few small tool bargains at Harbor Freight, including a $2.99 ratchet side screwdriver set that fits in tight places - like the handles on the newer kettles where the screw is on the underside. Also got an aluminum/metal polishing kit and a deep, 8-compartment storage case both at 25% off. And a free case of AAA batteries - a change of pace from the free microfiber towels I have gotten a number of times. You can’t have too many of those doing grill restorations.

Last stop was Lowe’s. Wow! It is true that they have been cleaning out their Weber Genesis and most of their kettle grills. Not a Genesis in sight! I did, however, get an 18 inch Jumbo Joe for half price- $29.99 - and then got another $5.00 off via my phone, using a coupon referenced by another member. $25 bucks for a new Jumbo Joe was too good to pass up! They had already sold out their 18 inch kettles for $39.50 each. I was too late to the party, but my wife and wallet are happier for it:rolleyes:.
 
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You got some good deals Jon. Our JJ is the go to charcoal grill perfect for two people and it's easy on the KBB too.
 
Yes good deals right now. They had Genesis E310 at my neighborhood Lowe’s for $350 and E410 for $450.
Great deals but bad times to sell my refurbished ones. I guess I am going to sit on them for a while longer then. 😝
 
I was out and stopped by the Home Depot. I headed straight to the Grills and there was one, I think it was the 6 burner Genesis II at $999. At just $200 off, it wasn't a steal by any means....certainly nothing to interest me. Nothing else. I toured the main aisles around the store and they had some other random stuff marked down, but nothing earth shattering. Back home to check if I had any bites on my latest rehab. Just one of the "Is this still available" messages from Facebook Marketplace.

So, time to start getting the burger and sweet corn ready for the grill for dinner.
 
$5.38 cast iron at Target

I promised a picture of the cast iron mini grates that I bought at a Target at major mark down clearance price of $5.38.

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I think they will work great for blackened or jerk fish filets. I would love to impress my wife who laments that I never grill fish for her. As I mentioned I like that these combine searing grates with holes to alllow bbq flavor to come through. Not a griddle but an amplified grilling grate.

I will post a follow up when I use them.
 
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Great deals!

I picked up one of the Ignite smoke tubes at target for $5 this last week but have not had a chance to use it yet.
Still watching for more markdowns!
 
Why don't you grill your wife some fish. I grill fish all the time. Mostly salmon, but things like monk fish, trout, calamari, tuna, swordfish, grouper and so on. Lots of wonderful things. I even grill lobster tail, and shrimp on the barby is wonderful too
 
I smoked some fish in mine last year. I have yet to grill a slab of fish however. I should do that. If you are not grilling thick slabs like Salmon, is it advisable to use some kind of accessory to grill the fish on? Even RCP grates might be a bit wide for something like Tilapia.
 
Walked into Lowes and scored a stainless Summit Grill Center for $1,650. Someone ordered it and changed their mind.
 
Bruce said:
I smoked some fish in mine last year. I have yet to grill a slab of fish however. I should do that. If you are not grilling thick slabs like Salmon, is it advisable to use some kind of accessory to grill the fish on? Even RCP grates might be a bit wide for something like Tilapia.
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First things first. I would never (I mean never) subject myself or family to the poisons found in Tilapia currently found in markets. The Tilapia products found here are raised in extremely filthy and hazardous conditions. Why? Because they can. It ia a VERY hardy fish and can survive living on raw sewage and chemicals. Same with most shrimp found here.
Always stick with wild caught seafood or PROPERLY farm raised sea food. Raised in Canada, USA, Europe. Stay clear of everything else or you will be eating a chemical s^&t storm. Even watch large wild caught ocean fish (top of the food chain types) i.e. Shark, Marlin, Tuna, Swordfish, etc. Eat them sparingly due to mercury.
I have never used an accessory to grill fish either. Salmon is about the easiest to grill. It's firm, cooks VERY fast, and is really tasty. You could try it with cedar plank but me, ehhh not so much. I do it with a little hickory, pecan, oak, cherry or apple wood chips. I remove the spines (if not done) leave the skin on the fish. Place it skin side down on med grill (direct heat works fine but so does indirect), choose a rub or light marinade you like. (It takes very well to sweeter rubs/marinades and glazes BTW). Cook it to midrare about 135 in the thickest part. Slide the spatula between the skin and flesh. The skin will peel right off the grill when it cools. (yes no flipping let it roast skin side down). Wild caught alaskan salmon is VERY tasty BUT very hard to cook and very unforgiving. It will over cook before you can say "oh *****" and come out tasting awful. Try finding farm raised from Canada, Norway, Scotland, Ireland. They're great tasting, healthy and easy to cook. They also have high fat content that is high in Omega 3
 
Yah, I have recently heard about that. I just used that as an example since they are not huge fish and generally have somewhat thin fillets.

Regarding Salmon, my wife doesn't like it for some reason...probably never had it grilled though. I would love to smoke some salmon one of these days. I wish I could catch some of my own. I don't like paying the price for it.
 
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LMichaels said:
Why don't you grill your wife some fish. I grill fish all the time. Mostly salmon, but things like monk fish, trout, calamari, tuna, swordfish, grouper and so on. Lots of wonderful things. I even grill lobster tail, and shrimp on the barby is wonderful too
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Well, Larry, I was really proud to tell you that I followed through and had my wife pick up fresh fish and that I grilled it halfway successfully. But then I saw your newer post about Tilapia :eek:. Oh well, that is what she brought home. Our Florida Grouper would be a lot better I am sure. We will save up or rob a bank for that next time.

Anyway, here is my attempt using Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk on the two filets pictured. I only bought two of the $5 cast iron trays, so one of the three filets I did had to be on the regular grates. Only for simplicity I chose my Genesis Silver currently outfitted with GrillGrates. The last thing I want to do is start that discussion again, but here is how they turned out:

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The third filet was my wife’s. She doesn’t like any heat, so she picked Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head. Wouldn’t you know it. Hers was the one that I couldn’t keep intact:mad::

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My wife was still happy that I grilled her poison filled, carcinogenic, contaminated, no good Tilapia...
 
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Jon, I am surprised that you went with something like Tilapia when you live on the coast. Your next hobby should be fishing.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Well, Larry, I was really proud to tell you that I followed through and had my wife pick up fresh fish and that I grilled it halfway successfully. But then I saw your newer post about Tilapia :eek:. Oh well, that is what she brought home. Our Florida Grouper would be a lot better I am sure. We will save up or rob a bank for that next time.

Anyway, here is my attempt using Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk on the two filets pictured. I only bought two of the $5 cast iron trays, so one of the three filets I did had to be on the regular grates. Only for simplicity I chose my Genesis Silver currently outfitted with GrillGrates. The last thing I want to do is start that discussion again, but here is how they turned out:

2uf3x1z.jpg


The third filet was my wife’s. She doesn’t like any heat, so she picked Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head. Wouldn’t you know it. Hers was the one that I couldn’t keep intact:mad::

x3irk6.jpg


My wife was still happy that I grilled her poison filled, carcinogenic, contaminated, no good Tilapia...
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Actually Jon she may not have ate poison filled, carcinogenic, contaminated, no good Tilapia. My wife eats it all the time we buy it at Costco I am not a big fan because usually its very thin but Costco's is much thicker so I have no problem with it.

We don't grill it though always do it in grandma's cast iron pan so the falling apart is not an issue and we kind of like heat so the shrimp and fish is usually blackened especially salmon. Here is a link to an article and it mentions the chains the company in the article supplies including Costco

Larry is correct there are certain countries which you should not buy fish or shrimp from really don't think its an issue when buying from the chains this company supplies.

https://www.brandpointcontent.com/article/22289
 
Bruce said:
Jon, I am surprised that you went with something like Tilapia when you live on the coast. Your next hobby should be fishing.
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Well, my wife is the one who picked it out, but I am not a fisherman at all. My boss LOVES it and takes his sons out on their little boat as often as he can. I wish he would bring me something fresh to try the next time. We do have a fishing town next to Hobe Sound that has some great saltwater fresh fish. So, I will try that next time my wallet is feeling fuller:rolleyes:!
 
That looks good. The grillgrates gave some nice marks! (Just trying to stir the pot! Haha)

Did your Target have any more good stuff? I am wanting to Weber covers to get a little cheaper and may pickup one of these cat iron for cooking asparagus.
 
Chris in TX said:
That looks good. The grillgrates gave some nice marks! (Just trying to stir the pot! Haha)

Did your Target have any more good stuff? I am wanting to Weber covers to get a little cheaper and may pickup one of these cat iron for cooking asparagus.
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They had a few covers marked down - but not enough to get me to bite, especially since not what I really needed. I pretty much cleaned them out of kettle grates and LP tank covers. There wasn't much else left. It probably varies from location to location, so it might be worth another look. At least some of our stuff (like the cast iron trays I bought) were down by 60% to 70%.

The cast iron trays were originally over $17. They are very solid and seem to be good quality cast iron. I like the design and was happy how they worked, and for five bucks it is hard to complain. I have to say, though, that I was kind of taken back myself by the results just using my *****Grates:o!
 
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Jon love the code word *****Grates and yes every picture you show using these pretty much agree with Chris and some others not sure anything you have done shows better results.
 
I am going to visit the folks tomorrow. They have a Target in town. I will be taking a run through there to see what they have going on in the grill section.
 
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