ottawa foodies

I love my Big Green Egg for barbecue, but the one thing it sucks for is open-lid grilling.

I yearn to grill seafood (shrimp and sardines) close to radiant coals so they get a nice char. I'd also love to be able to cook skewered meat the way it was meant to be done -- like a miniature rotisserie. The perfect solution seems to be a kebab grill with an optional grate for non-skewered foods.

These grills may be called kebab, satay, spiedini, shashlik, yakitori, or mangal grills.

The one in the photo (www.partygriller.com) looks darn near perfect for my needs but it doesn't ship to Canada. :(

I found a slightly less appealing one that's available shipped from Laval, QC via Amazon Marketplace: www.amazon.ca -- but the seller has received no feedback whatsoever. Too risky for me!

Has anyone seen anything like this available in or near Ottawa?

Does it have to be long and narrow?
What specifically about this design makes it right?
I've seen open lid grills down at bbqing.com though don't see them on their website right now.

See the photo (from www.barbecuebible.com). The long and narrow design allows you to perch skewers along it. The less narrow it is, the longer your skewers need to be in order to bridge the gap. There are a number of open lid grill designs out there, but this seems to be the most versatile to fill in the gaps of the kamado!

I know a guy who could make you one, no problem.

www.facebook.com

Tell him Rizak sent you.

I think a friend has a spiedini that came from Italy and he only used a few times. I'll check with him if you want and see if he still has it. And if he would be interested in parting with it

Oh OK, now that I see it in action I know why the shape is important.

I saw a few BBQ grills in the Middle East grocery stores along Bank St. between Kilborn and Walkley.

They looked like cheap home made units. Made of tin. But they are narrow and compact enough to take on a picnic.

The picture would be a fancy one.

I think I've seen some cheap ones at Middle East Market on St Laurent... the kind you can throw in the back of the minivan and unload at a park picnic.
Iffy on quality but I bet someone there could tell you where to get a better one.

Thanks for your offers and suggestions!

I do want to check out some middle-eastern groceries.. Especially the big one on Belfast/St-Laurent as I seem to remember seeing some equipment there.

Will post here if I find anything new!

Now I want one.

Dropped by several of Ottawa's middle-eastern groceries this morning and found that they all carried the same, rather flimsy units as shown. They're around $30, give or take depending on size. I'm looking for something somewhat more carefully made, with air vents, folding legs, and preferably more narrow for satay (longer skewers can be placed diagonally on a narrow grill).

If anyone is keeping track, here's where I went:

Mid-East Food Centre - where this picture was taken :)
New Middleast Supermarket - a couple of small units available
Matar Market - good assortment of sizes, but all the same quality

I also dropped in to Jordash and C. A. Paradis with no luck, although the latter has the skewer frames that can sit atop a regular grill.

Did you try Hendrix?

Warby,

Consider this secret info I should not be sharing with you and in fact it does require you to come cook for me at my place with it.

Get some pics of what you like off your favorite search engine. Figure out the dimensions you want for it. Take it all to Burke's Sheet Metal and he will fabricate you one out of heavier sheet metal at a reasonable price. Should not take them long to make it and it will be much stronger. You could also get some angle iron for legs from Loucon cut to the length you want and then just have them bolt on so it is more portable.

Heck now I want one I can use to rotisserie (sp?) multiple chickens on too.

As an aside I had fond memories living in Bayshore and walking through park on the weekend with ethnic families grilling the most amazing smelling things.

Krusty,

Shite.....this is food porn....g**gle image search "Foukou"

One more linkie:

www.bbqspitrotisseries.com.au/

This place has everything one needs in their back yard :)

The asian housewares store beside Nicastro's on Merivale had some about a month ago. Looks very similar to the first photo. Same folding legs and the charcoal tray is vented with an air channel underneath. The build is a bit on the flimsy side.

I bought mine there 2 years ago (smaller of the 2 lengths) and it's been awesome. It's a lot more stable when loaded down with charcoal.

I recall the shorter one being $40 and the longer being $50. Don't quote me on that.

WorstFoodieEver... ooooh, awesome tip, that sounds much closer to what I'm looking for! Thanks!

Kitchen Hut is a great place with a friendly owner. It's also the best place in town to pick up Kiwi knives, they stock more varieties than other shops. And also no-name, nigh-indestructible polycarbonate tumblers that I actually prefer to the Carlisle ones you see at restaurant supply stores (you know the ones, red plastic embossed with a 'leather' texture, friend to restaurants that offer free refills) for a couple of bucks a pop.

Kitchen Hut Housewares did the trick! Very close to the Party Griller product I was looking for, albeit with a few sharp edges and no grill grate.

It worked really well with some kofte kebabs I did, although flat metal skewers would be most preferable to round and/or wooden ones. Can't wait to grill some shrimp skewers on this baby!

Thanks again to WorstFoodieEver, and I agree with flandroid about the friendly owner. He was very helpful -- told me he asked the manufacturer to reduce the sharp edges but so far all they did was thicken the metal a bit. :-)

How much was it warby?

He mentioned it in the review section. 60cm: $60, 80cm (the one he bought): $75, 100cm: $90.

I was kind of expecting a demo with samples but a video of it in action would suffice :)