Eggs are for Breakfast

Its been a long time but I finally decided on a backyard BBQ cooker.  I have had experience with all kinds of grills and smokers.  There is Bessie, our big trailer rig we use for big cooks and competitions.  There are the Traeger Pellet smokers, Big Green Eggs, Chargrillers, Bayou Classic Kamado and the list goes on.  These are all great cookers, but I decided to try the Big Steel Keg due to its portability, durability, and lets face it, the blog is called BrewsnBBQs so a keg was a natural choice for me.  BSK is a stainless steel keg shaped casing that is insulated and designed for portability, unlike the ceramic Kamado style grills.  It has an available trailer hitch attachment to hook it up to your bumper for some serious road trip tailgating.  More on that later.

She came in a big box all packaged up so a little assembly was required.  I enlisted the help of one of my brew and BBQ brothers.  John helped git 'r done so we could get this bad boy fired up.  The main body, lid, latch, hinge assembly, lower bracket, dampers, and thermometer come pre assembled.  The wheels, front and side handles, side tables, and utility hooks had to be installed.
Everything went together as expected and step by step instructions were helpful.  All in all it took about 30 minutes to unbox and assemble.

John and I were both excited about the keg, he helped me find it at a local little hardware store.  The Cooker Formerly Known As The Bubba Keg, used to be available at Home Depot and Ace Hardware stores.  The manufacturer was recently bought by Onward Manufacturing Co.  Their retailers list is currently being tweaked.  So far, the quality and design seem up to par with the other top names in BBQ cookers.

Without side tables

Once we got everything
 assembled, we wheeled her out to her new home on the porch.  The grates and top damper are made of cast iron so they needed to be seasoned before the first cook.  I use Crisco spread on the iron as seasoning oil.  I wiped it on the grates and damper, then lit the fire up and cooked it at 400 for an hour per the directions.  This is to both season the grate and to cook off any residue from packaging.

top damper

Grate rotates to lock into place

Lower damper angled for precise control

Too bad It was storming today or else i would have put the hitch adapter on.

Insulated, the outside remains cool to the touch.

 The keg is designed for mobility so it has a locking latch to secure the lid for transit.  The grate also locks into position so it will be secure when you take it on the road.  The handle has built in bottle openers for cracking open a brew or two.  We went ahead an got the trailer hitch attachment because we plan to transport this grill up to Huntsville, AL for the Whistlestop BBQ cook-off in May.  We also plan for this grill to hitch a ride to the beach with us this summer, compete in more cookoffs, and tailgate on campus this fall.  I will put it through its paces and see if this Big Steel Keg lives up to its name.  I think it will.