Should I start a post on great American BBQ products made in China?
- Thread starter Ponks123
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I'm sure there are lots of great products from around the world. Perhaps you can let us know what left you disenchanted so some of us don't make the same mistakes?
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I have always been a great admirer of certain American traditions and products but until now I have not been able to afford the import taxes, shipping and local taxes that I have to spend on buying US products here in the UK.
I don't want to get embroiled in the good and bad economics of manufacturing products in China but....
I have always believed that great BBQing is based in America (and also Australia) so, with a little extra money the last few months, I started researching Smokers. Amongst other things I ended up buying a product that sounded as American as you can get and the videos and advertising were adding to that All American feel.
In addition to the smoker I also bought a cover, some rub, a thermometer and apron. All with American names and marketing, all made in China.
When I opened the packaging I was hoping to see 'Made in America' on at least a couple of items. The only product that was 'Made in America' was the wood pellets. Really!
I'm sure the products will be fine but it's taken the edge off a bit of this quite large investment. I also hoped that it would help American manufacturing, which we hear has lost a bit of momentum over the last 12 years.
I think you just started the thread.
If I recall... you just bought your first smoke, right? A pellet grill. Ready to move up already?
I caught the bug 20 years ago and went through a myriad of grills and smokers. I live in the NorthEast where barbecue culture is somewhat lacking so I can easily cook circles around local barbecue joints (really, any competent backyard pitmaster can around my parts).
Here's my take... A good grill/smoker helps but pretty is as pretty does, I've had some pretty darned barbecue that came out of a hole in the ground. The James Beard award winner, Rodney Scott, cooks whole hog concrete blocks over coals burned in a barrel.
If there's 1 advice I would give to a 20 year younger version of myself is keep it simple and learn how to master the smoke. After all those years, it wasn't until very recently that I learned to differentiate from good smoke and bad smoke. BAM! that's the secret. Yeah... yeah... build a relationship with your butcher, buy quality meats, yada yada... do all that. But see... barbecue is nothing more than fire management. Smoke is the most important ingredient. Go Blue!
Rubs... tried a million different recipes and commercial pre-mixes... came back full circle to.... salt and pepper. maybe mix in garlic, paprika, brown sugar once in a while.
I suggest a Weber 26" for your next cooker (I don't think made in the US any more). You really need no more than that to master recreational barbecue. Once you've figured that thing out... Like anyone else... myself included, you'll want a stick burner.
A little searching and poking around and I was able to determine that the UK has a pretty vibrant barbecue community with metal crafters who build pits. I think you can stay local.
Oh and sorry... we can't lay claim to barbecue. Barbacoa came to us from the Caribbean.
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The Pit Barrel Cooker is made in China now, amazing product. Manufacturing in China is no different than manufacturing anywhere else: if you want quality, you pay for quality.
Membersmark grille made by Grand Hall. What a hunk of junk, straight from China. The adjustable burners had only two settings. Nuclear and off. I ruined more meat on that grille. I was amazed that my new Weber actually could cook meat without burning it.
Marketing departments spend a lot of time and effort to find ways of giving a certain "quality" feel to an item that might not be what the customer would agree with upon closer inspection.
"Chocolaty coating" ... that's a coating of something "chocolaty" (as in similar to or reminiscent of chocolate) rather than a coating of chocolate.
Ditto the examples in just about every other product category ... including smokers and BBQs. IMHO, if they actually CAN say a product is "Made in the USA" (or shoes "Made in England" or suits "Made in Italy" &c &c) they will say it very clearly on the website. (And yes, there are manufacturers who push those "Made in" rules to the edge, doing juuuust enough in the prestigious country to get the designation.)
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- #8
Lets just hope the Chinese smoker isn't the usual rubbish that I've got used to over the years from that country.
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- #9
I thought I was paying for quality. I think $1100 for a Pit Boss Navigator is more than enough.
OCCASIONALLY........ One can find old, OLD! Weber REAL Weber grills at the curb, waiting for the garbage man (person?) to pick up. Or for sale for pennies on the dollar at garage sales.
I know a guy that I see every single day in the mirror that was shtoopid enough to throw several Weber grills away after buying or finding them.
Yeah but that same grill here might run us $699 for the largest model, so while it's likely well made it's by no means a spare no expenses type of a product. Still it's not a cheap grill and it should get the job done for you plenty well.
These things can get very pricey. If you're looking for, spare no expense, top of the line, all stainless steel stuff then there are made in America brands like Mac and Memphis that'll set you back five to eight times the cost of the Pit Boss Navigator. While I'd love to have one of these brands I haven't allowed myself to shell out the cash needed to own one. I'm happy with the Green Mountain smoker that I'm using as it does everything perfectly. It apparently is manufactured in China as well.
Maybe I'll upgrade when I replace the smoker that I currently own but I can't imagine my food would taste several thousand dollars better. I can think of many much better uses for the difference in cost, including investments that will appreciate instead of depreciate.
Thread hijack alert!!! Have any of you made your own smoker? Like from a 55 gallon drum? Ok, I should probably just do an internet search!
Haven't made one myself but very important to get a food grade barrel. You don't want something that held any kind of chemicals or solvents that could leach into your food and get you sick. Plans should be easy to find online.
Thanks my friend! I actually bought some food grade PLASTIC barrells that I've used around the homestead for irrigation, etc, that held dill pickles! Oh! The humanity when the sun hits those!!!
What you're looking for in your search will be called UDS: Ugly/Upright Drum Smoker. You can find websites selling the full conversion kits and all possible parts you could need. Big Poppa Smokers sells such a kit.
For those who want to DIY...There is a kit designed to make a 55 gallon drum into a stove (about $30) and fabricate what is needed to put on atop the other, and with some re-engineering, can make for a truly fine smoker rig.
Or....Plenty of folks in Texas who are making some world class smokers here in the USA. Lang in SE Georgia is also worth a look.
Or....Plenty of folks in Texas who are making some world class smokers here in the USA. Lang in SE Georgia is also worth a look.
When I was in my 20's. I bought an ancient old farmhouse with the money I'd saved up from soldiering. I had a very poorly paying job. I heated that farmhouse for years with one of those, in upstate New York.
Nationalism is a very funny concept, when you think about it. Most "isms" are. As often as not, isms are used to exploit people who buy into the discourse. As we see here, stuff made in the nation of China is marketed as "American," and I've seen stuff made in China marketed as "Canadian" (in Canadian tire stores in Canada.)
Personally, I consider myself a citizen of the world.
Personally, I consider myself a citizen of the world.
Most of the stuff sold in Canadian Tire stores ... is made in China.
If it makes you feel better, I'm sure there is an all-American board of directors that just got a tiny bit richer because of your purchase.
Manufacturing in the US has been in decline for a lot longer than 12 years, I'm afraid. First it was just the "low quality" items that got outsourced, but now it's pretty much anything that will fit on a cargo ship. Everything from Iphones to the new Tesla is made there now. They can handle welding thick enough metal to make a decent smoker. I think you're going to love it.
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