My grill is on fire

[Phil Herring]

Charcoal lighter fluid is in the air and that means summer can't be far behind.

What are your tips for good grilling on the water: gas, charcoal, round or cylindrical grill, surf, turf, or fowl?

Share your most searing experiences here.

 

[agprice22]

My grill experience started with mounting my newly gifted Magma to the stern rail. I was soooo happy! Finally, grilled EVERYTHING! I would start with an omelette in the morning, proceed to bratwurst in the afternoon, and some fish in the evening...
yeah... then I discovered that a mere bump of the regulator sends it spinning into the depths directly below the railing... I could SEE it, 12 ft down in crystal clear water, 50 degrees down there. It is surprisingly hard to convince oneself to dive in 50 degree water! We ordered a new regulator. After all... once water gets in one of those, it is toast, right?

 

[WayneH]

Get skinless chicken!!! You would not believe how much smoke can be generated by chicken fat on a grill. I was sure the Harbor Patrol was going to come out and see if we needed help.

We use gas on surf, turf, fowl and veggies. And I have replaced everything between the grates and the pan on our Magna. And it just keeps going. At home, we use charcoal only.

 

[NotCook]

Most of our meats get done on the round Magma - Steaks, chops, brats, smoked sausage, fish, chicken, lamb chops, lobster. We, too, have replaced most of the internal parts, including the burner twice. That reminds me - I need to order a spare to replace the one I just installed.

The biggest issue I find is the wind - balancing the flame and heat with the wind. Always wonder why Magma doesn’t offer a way to close down the holes on the top of the lid.

To keep the lid from blowing open when underway and not innusr, we have a Sunbrella cover with a drawstring which we also tie off to the rail. Our grill has a gas hose from the regulator down to the gas bottle in the lazarette.

 

[JamesG161]

My best recipe...
1) One Part Fresh Air
2) Mixture of Good Friends
3) A dash of Sunset
4) Serve with an Adult Beverage
5) Anything to cook.

Jim...

PS: Everything, even hot dogs, are the best ever on the water.

 

[Ken Cross]

We purchased a lower flow regulator for our Magma. It is way easier to cook with now. We even bake pizza on the grill.
We do keep it in a Sunbrella bag as well and remove it in the winter.

Ken

 

[pateco]

I have only had my Force 10 for a couple of months. Got it at a Local Marine Flea Market in February for $35. So far so good. I have grilled quite a few brats, one steak, and some asparagus so far. It worked great, but I am not sure how well it would work in a choppy anchorage. I am afraid I would lose brats that rolled off while it was open.

Get skinless chicken!!! You would not believe how much smoke can be generated by chicken fat on a grill. I was sure the Harbor Patrol was going to come out and see if we needed help.

I second that thought !!. The reason I got my Force10 grill so cheap was because it was totally black after some sort of grease fire. It took me several hours with some Bar Keepers Friend to get all of the burnt on grease off of it. If you are grilling Chicken, Ribs, or any other fatty food, keep a good watch on it, and don't let it go up in smoke

Also after cooking meats, let it continue to heat for a while after removing your food. That will burn off any excess drippings. Just don't forget to turn it off later.

 

[ToddS]

The biggest issue I find is the wind - balancing the flame and heat with the wind. Always wonder why Magma doesn’t offer a way to close down the holes on the top of the lid.

I make a cone/bung-shaped ball of aluminum foil, and block off some (or even all) of the magma lid vent holes to prevent the wind from messing with the flames... seems to get plenty of air to keep burning in there even with the foil blocking those holes. Otherwise I've had the wind completely "blow out" the flame, and you're sitting around waiting for dinner while no cooking is happening in there.

 

[pateco]

Hoping to see this on my boat sometime during Florida lobster season this summer. YUM!!!

 

[h2o_snow]

We purchased a lower flow regulator for our Magma. It is way easier to cook with now. We even bake pizza on the grill.
We do keep it in a Sunbrella bag as well and remove it in the winter.

Ken

Ken,

Wow - never knew a low flow regulator was available. We need one - our magma grill is like a blow torch even on low. Wonder how to tell what regulator we have now is - boat is 20 m away on Lucky Peak so I'll wait to check.

Only issue for this lowbagger is that we paid $20 for the grill and the regulator upgrade is $35. But: can't put a price on the number of burned breakfast sammies I have scorched. Even cut a stainless half moon to dissipate heat and place burritos on an inverted veggie grilling tray. Hard to focus at breakfast.

Ours is in a Sunbrella bag and is removed when we trail or for storage. JT

 

[Meriachee]

We bought a new small SeaBq for the boat and liked it so much when we tried it at home that we retired the house gas grill and bought another Dickson for home.

 

[Jackdaw]

Ken,

Wow - never knew a low flow regulator was available. We need one - our magma grill is like a blow torch even on low. Wonder how to tell what regulator we have now is - boat is 20 m away on Lucky Peak so I'll wait to check.

'Low pressure' in this case simply means the valve is downwind of the regulator. All Magma values are low pressure.

 

[h2o_snow]

'Low pressure' in this case simply means the valve is downwind of the regulator. All Magma values are low pressure.

You are correct Sir.

Just spoke with Magma - it is the outlet orifice which varies in size. They are sending me a low output (smaller diameter) replacement at no charge which I hope will solve our excessive heat issues.

 

[Jackdaw]

You are correct Sir.

Just spoke with Magma - it is the outlet orifice which varies in size. They are sending me a low output (smaller diameter) replacement at no charge which I hope will solve our excessive heat issues.

That's interesting. I note now that you indeed said 'low flow'. The New Mk2 and Mk3 units are double hulled, and MUCH more energy efficient. Once it heats up you have to turn it down or it becomes a blast furnace.. I've owned both old and new and the difference is remarkable. I'm assuming they changed the output between the two. Which do you have?

 

[h2o_snow]

Older I would assume.

Found it at a garage sale unused a few years ago. Seller asked $25, I offered $20 (this was before we had a boat big enough to put it on) Life (excluding burning breakfast sammies) has been good but one needs to remain diligent while cooking. (Sammies unattended for 5 minutes = burned.) This is affecting my sailing BBQ wah.

I will check the Magma construction this weekend while cooking shrimp, corn and T Bones. (Note to self for the new season: Cannot leave the grill. Must preplan beer and peeing.)

 

[Ken Cross]

'Low pressure' in this case simply means the valve is downwind of the regulator. All Magma values are low pressure.

No. They sell a high (read that too hot for most of us, and that's what the grills come with) a medium and a low which is great.

Ken

 

[Jackdaw]

No. They sell a high (read that too hot for most of us, and that's what the grills come with) a medium and a low which is great.

Ken

@Ken Cross ,
That's good to know! Do they advertise that? I can find no mention on the web site.

 

[Ken Cross]

@Ken Cross ,
That's good to know! Do they advertise that? I can find no mention on the web site.

I don't know anyplace they advertise that. I know you can buy them online and in our local Harbormarine store.

Do a search for "Magma Control Valve Type 1 Low Output" (or medium or high depending on your need.)

Ken

 

[capta]

I Love barbecue, but unfortunately my last boat had 370 gallons of gasoline under the cockpit! Kinda got out of the habit.

 

[NotCook]

Wow - never knew a low flow regulator was available. We need one - our magma grill is like a blow torch even on low.

We had that problem when we first bought our Magma. We sent back the regulator and the adjusted it to reduce the flow. Not it works the way it should.