A Hardcore Grill for Non-Smokers
The open-fire grills are hand-made in Michigan
About three years ago, Ben Eisendrath left behind a career at AOL and decided to revive a moribund company founded by his father, a former foreign correspondent and current journalism professor who in 1980 patented a grill based on the Argentine method of open-fire cooking.
The Adams Morgan resident has, in no time, become the grill man to the stars. He's sold his aircraft-grade stainless steel grills to a number of celebrities, from actor Matthew McConaughey to chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill fame.
I will unpack the Grillworks story more completely in next week's Young & Hungry column, but before then, I wanted to give you a quick look at this sleek, deceptively simple grill. Yesterday, Eisendrath gave me a demonstration of his Grillery Standard unit (a pricey piece of cooking equipment that'll set you back nearly $2,500) in the backyard of one of his Georgetown customers.
Take a look:
The grill works with any sort of wood, even unseasoned twigs and branches found in your backyard, although the company sells a number of seasoned hardwoods.
Because the grate can be raised 16 inches above the burning wood, you don't have to wait around for the fire to reach the right temperature.
The fire chamber channels heat so that the back of the grill maintains the hottest temperatures while the front is cool enough to warm items.
The V-shaped stainless-steel grates channel the meat and vegetable's juices into a catch tray.
The captured juices can be mixed with butter (or olive oil), herbs, and spices to create an instant basting liquid.
This is more like campfire cooking than traditional charcoal grilling or smoking.
The finished product: two medium-rare bone-in ribeyes, both with the unusual grill markings made by the Grillery.
5:59 pm
I love that grill. That kind of grill is exactly what i want. Just one small problem, price tag. If I buy one of the grills it will be 2 or 3 years before I can afford to buy anything to cook on it.
6:25 pm
Another yuppie cooking contraption for people who have more money than brains.
9:57 pm
Wow, that is a nice looking grill. I assume you saw John Kelly's column today on Eisendrath. Sounds like a good guy and it looks like he makes sweet product. Love that the grate can be raised and lowered easily.
8:36 am
if you are dumb enough to spend $2,500 on essentially a fire pit with a grill made of $100 worth of material, go for it.
10:52 am
And I'm sure people want to clean those channels out after every single time they cook on the grill, that sounds like a lot of fun.
4:51 pm
for that you can fly to argentina and get a nice grill and a vacation for two.
5:45 pm
This is one nice grill. I've sold hundreds of grills; Webers, kamados, Texas pits, gas/electric/charcoal smokers, and on and on...my experience: you get what you pay for. You want stainless, made in the USA, quality craftsmanship...
Price is high but so are SS Hasty Bakes, Klose BBQ pits, Traeger pits and many other products.
Probably not the unit for a casual griller, but if you love to grill,,,it would be a great investment.
ps...doesn't look like those grates will get clogged...and once the grates are preheated, it will be good to go.
Once I win a few BBQ tournaments this summer, I probably will add The Grillery to my stable...should dominate with chicken.
8:58 pm
Yeah, it's a pricey grill and it's certainly not for everybody. But I've seen the thing up close and it's cleverly designed, solid and USA-made. It'll outlast you. Worth the money, in my opinion, if you're serious about grilling.
1:33 am
Sorry Tim, but cooking steaks over wood flame is probably the worst thing you could ever possibly do. I'm surprised you didn't catch this. The real grills they use in Argentina feature a separate raised fire chimney contraption on the side that allows for the seasoned wood to burn down to coals which are then harvested from below and brought over to maintain a constant cook temperature under the steaks, organs and provoleta. Anyone caught cooking over wood and not coals would be "disappeared" Guerra Sucia-style.
1:01 pm
Michael,
A few things: I do know about the Argentine method of cooking the wood down in a separate unit and then transferring it to the grill. I also know that the Eisendrath family, specifically father Charles, designed his grill so he wouldn't have to wait. Charles, a former foreign correspondent for Time and now a journalism professor, says he's too Type A to wait for wood/charcoal to reach the right temperature. So he created the raised-grate system.
Second: I cannot begin to debate you over the proper ways to cook a steak. All I can say is this: I've eaten steaks cooked over wood, including the one above, and they were delicious. I will also add my understanding of the mechanics of the Grillworks grill: Because you have more flexibility to raise the grates than on a conventional grill, you can control temperature with the fly wheel instead of relying on the traditional method of cooking down the wood/charcoal to the proper temperature. What's more, the V-shaped grates, because they capture so much rendered fat and juices, don't spark the usual grease flare-ups of traditional grills. The grates are also spaced pretty close together.
Third: I would suggest you try it before making delcarative statements about efficiency of any particular grill and/or cooking method. As you know, because of your steakhouses, your opinion carries weight and could impact a small business. But best I can tell, you haven't tried the grill before offering an opinion. You, of all people, should understand the frustration of offering a public opinion without all the necessary facts and experiences.
2:24 pm
Michael, I won't repeat Tim's accurate explanation of Dad's original design for our grills, but I will echo the part about the grill having been designed to enable many styles of wood grilling, from open flame to charcoal; chef's choice. You might be relieved to know we also unveiled a line of built-in grills in exact keeping with the Argentine technique you mention, specifically equipped with fire-building cages at the side of the box.
I'd be honored to host you for a first hand experience with our grills. I promise not to "disappear" you
9:22 pm
Michael,
Not all wood produces a ton of oily creosote, which is a complicated subject to say the least. If it did, Texas barbecue would never be the success it is. I mean, a brisket cooked for 16 hours over nothing but wood smoke? Seasoned hardwoods are often the answer, if creosote is your worry.
-Tim
8:45 pm
Tim--
Everything about the grill looks absolutely amazing, and if my future did not promise dipsomania-induced homelessness and/or prison as a more likely outcome than a house in the suburbs, I would be the first to buy one of Ben's built-ins, having in fact cooked using this type in Argentina both in private homes and at La Vaca Atada (an idiomatic expression which in addition to it's bondage overtones means "all the good things in life close at hand"), in the country-side outside of Buenos Aires.
However, I could never in good faith recommend anyone cooking over creosote-producing wood smoke, regardless of how delicious the results. Nor should anyone else. It is simply a matter of wood grease and toxins.
If you care enough to buy one of the world's best grills, which Ben's certainly appear to be, you should care enough to use premium charcoal, or to wait until the wood burns down to coals.
And Ben, if it wouldn't hurt your business too much, I will definitely offer my services as unpaid endorser for your built-ins anytime, as there truly is no finer way to grill meat.
7:38 pm
It's a deal, Michael.
If we all weren't passionate in our opinions about great food and grilling none of this would be nearly as fun.
And by the way, I plan to grace Ray's imminently.
2:01 am
I have had a double-wide version of this for over 20 years.
Had it made in Ecuador from Argentine specs. Maybe $300 custom-made?
Makes the best damned wood-fired chicken ever. The. Very. Best.
Great for parties, but a pain to fire up for a weekday evening meal.
10:56 pm
Hstreet, would love to see a photo of your grill. Send to orders at Grillery.com if you have a moment(is it here in DC?). Experiences like yours and ours are what got us on the road to building the ultimate stainless version of what you describe here in the USA.
We make the "double wide" and larger versions too, but a single like shown in the photos is better for the easy weekday grill.
10:35 am
This grill looks fantastic, but I have a problem with patenting something that it has already been invented: Argentinians have been using the exact same grill (no stainless though) for decades. The V-channels, the catch tray, the crank, their grills are the same, just not as sturdy (and beautiful)! I know cause I've lived in Argentina myself! You can perform a search on the internet if you need so. How can you patent something that already exists (but not in your country)? Is it even legal? I am glad the Eisendrath's do mention their grill is based on Argentinian style, but a patent?
5:45 pm
Daniel, they have not been using the "exact same grill" for those decades. They use grills that have channel surfaces, but they usually do not grill directly over a live fire(they do coals), generally don't do anything with the juices and have limited height adjustment.
There are grills in Argentina that do one or more of the things that ours do, just not all in one grill
10:51 pm
I welcome the clarification. All the best!
11:51 pm
1.Something smells like some sort of plagiarism...
2.It's really ashamed how this "ARGENTIAN" GRILL is sold here for so much money,It is cheaper to go there,buy it, n bring it back to the U.S.A, as my husband did. For the record in Argentina costs no more than 200 U.S.D.
Of course I see how this might be a better version of "THE REAL THING",but still does not seem like a good excuse .
3. A couple of changes can make someone else's stuff your own, that is true ! , I could make my own coffee place, I will call it Starbicks n I will use blue instead of green !!.
4.Nahhh...that is not how I'd been educated.
.
2:31 pm
Is it legal to patent something that is already patented in another country, such as ARGENTINA, here in the U.S.A.
Will love to have an answer .
4:14 pm
Minina, it is not plagiarism if you give credit to your sources and influences, as we enthusiastically do. We lived in Argentina when I was a kid, after spending time in France and elsewhere in Europe. We go back to BA regularly, and many of our customers are Argentine.
Our grills are built to allow our customers to use European and South American wood fire techniques on a single grill. As anyone from Argentina will tell you, our grill is not a copy of the grills down there but certainly owes some features to the region!
Best and happy grilling,
Ben
2:44 pm
Well a stainless cookware set made in USA or Canada can go up to $2000. I don't see why a stainless grill cannot be sold for $2500. If it lasts a lifetime, and you are a passionate griller and cook (as I am) why not? Oh, but I would use premium lump charcoal in this baby. More difficult to get started, but definitely healthier and the results should be great too.
5:55 pm
Cheers Dan. Yes chunk charcoal is great in our grills and are often mixed into my fires to stretch out my wood supply and hasten a nice coal core.
Prime open-fire grilling season now, gather round that flame.
7:09 pm
I see nothing wrong with "The Grillery" Argentine grill. However, it is a bit pricey. My understanding is that Argentines are more likely to cook on rebar than on stainless steel. There are Santa Maria style grills available for much less, and you can even get them with the "V" grates. I know, I designed one today. Provided you keep them dry, they will last a long time.
I will say that there is a lot of unnecessary complexity in the grill, for example, if the rod that turns is made small enough so that the cable does not create a large bending or turning moment, then the ratchet can be replaced by a spring and a washer. The wheel is also silly.