Spoiled from the built-in grill at our Las Vegas Lot, we found ourselves wanting a portable grill setup. I started, as always, researching the bejeebus out of things (Lehnanne’s words, not mine).
Here are the thoughts that went into the decision:
- We have an all-electric coach, so I didn’t want to deal with little (or big) propane bottles. The smell, need for inspection ( at certain bridges & tunnels ), the cost of propane, yet another fossil fuel, etc.. Thus, propane was out.
- Natural Wood grills seem to need a LOT of tending to maintain temperature. They also take a while to get up to temperature and are large and/or heavy. Sure, there are add-ons and modifications to ease this temperature maintenance chore, but what if there was something.. smarter.. and more integrated that just works out of the box?
- This lead me to Pellet fired grills, of which Traeger Grills seem to be the reigning champ. However, their portable unit doesn’t get very good marks compared to the rest and the grill isn’t particularly “smart”. The Traeger also require 120v AC power to operate.
Enter, Green Mountain Grills “Davy Crockett” (Amazon Link)
Green Mountain Grills – Davy Crockett
This is a pellet fired, Wi-Fi enabled portable grill that operates on 12vdc and has great reviews! I, being impatient as always, decided to do some searching around Pheonix and came upon Grills Galore in Scottsdale which both had the unit in stock, and honored the current sale price! That night, we had grilled filet mignon and it was DELICIOUS!
The Davy Crockett can hold a temperature from 150 F to 550 F, and thus can be used for slow smoking all the way up to full on searing and grilling! The Wi-Fi app lets you not only monitor the temperature of your grill, but also that of your food with it’s included food probe. It also lets you adjust the grill temp and even set up custom profiles!
For example, if you wanted to heat the grill to 250 F, and keep it there until your food reached an internal temperature of 165 F, then turn the grill down to 200 F for 2 hours, then down to 150 F until you turn it off, all that can be configured into a profile that you can save, and re-use later! It will also send you alerts when each step is reached and can do so (and be controlled) remotely via their cloud connection. A true Geek’s Grill! It also gets better with time. They continue to release firmware upgrades for the grill to improve temperature accuracy, integrate the cloud option, etc.
I’ve now cooked several filet mignon steaks on the grill, burgers, and brats. I’ve not ventured into smoking yet but hope to soon.
*now you have Run-DMC’s “You Be Illin'” rolling through your brain, you’re welcome <3
