Bullseye 380X decision

[C. Keeper]

Jody does seem like a genuinely nice guy. But if you made a drinking game where you'd have to take a shot every time he says "easy-peasy, lemon sqeezy" in most of his videos, I'd probably pass out!

And what's wrong with that?

 

[ghuns]

...Riot mode pizza, which was not as good as I would have liked.
View attachment 17830

I use 1 click below riot for pizza. Don't remember the exact temp. Like 500ish. Cook one side of the crust for a minute, flip it and top the grilled side. Cook 5-7 minutes. Always turns out great.

 

[C. Keeper]

I use 1 click below riot for pizza. Don't remember the exact temp. Like 500ish. Cook one side of the crust for a minute, flip it and top the grilled side. Cook 5-7 minutes. Always turns out great.

Pizza crust recipe, please.

 

[ghuns]

Pizza crust recipe, please.

I gave up making it from scratch. Too much effort, not enough better than easier methods.

I either buy it in balls from my favorite local pizza place or use this, "just add water" mix. The pic was the mix.

 

[Greg Jones]

Weisenberger’s is not that far from me. I drive there for all my flour and corn meal needs. Their grits are still stone ground. Great company, family owned and operated for six generations. They will ship direct if you can’t find their stuff in your local stores. Highly recommend.

 

[ghuns]

Weisenberger’s is not that far from me. I drive there for all my flour and corn meal needs. Their grits are still stone ground. Great company, family owned and operated for six generations. They will ship direct if you can’t find their stuff in your local stores. Highly recommend.

And that bag of mix makes two good sized pizzas, if you make them thin, and it costs about a dollar at my local grocery store.

 

[okie]

Just mentioned on another thread the possibility of using the new 380x as a charcoal grill when desired. Just dump you lit charcoal from the portable igniter onto the diffuser pan without turning on the smoker. Should work as well as a Weber Kettle? The new pull out ash drawer should make cleanup easy???

 

[Powercat]

Please point me to that thread. Sounds really interesting. Also, do you think you could do it on a B380 (original) also? Clean-up would be a little different, but a shop vac could clean up the mess, even without a clean-out. Right? And would this be lump charcoal ala ceramic grill, or briquettes like the Weber.

 

[okie]

It was on the thread asking about use of charcoal pellets. I just said the same thing. Not sure which charcoal would be better. See no reason you could not give it a try. Keep in mind that with the machine off, there would be no fan, but you should get some natural flow from below, thru the fan, fire pot assembly. I can't see any risk giving it a try. I would if I still had my 380. Personally, I am not that big a fan of charcoal.

 

[WooPigFoodie]

I’m a current 380 owner and love it! Does just what I wanted it for. Have had it less than a year, but I really like the improvements added to the 380X. Only thing is the $800 price or $700 currently I guess. Pretty high for a kettle grill. So those of you who have been around longer than me, do you think this price will hold? Does RT offer Black Friday deals or end of year. Paid $399 for mine and it was a deal for what it does!

Also, does history suggest you should wait a bit on new RT products so some bugs can be worked out or is their quality control good enough.

I have a 380. I’ve had it for about six months now. I got it on a special sale for $40 off. They don’t run really deep discounts so you might see this drop $50, maybe even $100 on a special sale. For me, I would like the Wi-Fi, but I’d just add on a $50 Wi-Fi unit to it and run it to my phone. For this money I just buy a(nother) Bull.

 

[Superchief]

I have been waiting for a wifi 380 for some time now but at $800, I'll be waiting indefinitely unless they come down with some amazing deals. Don't really need it and room is an issue anyway.

If $$ is not an issue for you.. go for it. You only live once so enjoy!

I’d buy the thermoworks signal, before upgrading just for wifi, they took away a probe, and the alerts do not work. Overal the app seems like an afterthought.

The other thing that concerns me is the app is server base, so it means they can track any info we give them from our phones. Which is a privacy and security risk from the app probably written by a foreign contractor .

 

[Jim6820]

Well, I’ve been pondering the 380X decision for some time now and think I’ve finally made my decision. Since my experience with Recteq’s wifi connectivity has not been positive, the wifi aspect is not really important to me. My ThermoWorks Signals provides all the wifi monitoring capability I need, and it actually works.

My go-to searing and quick-cook grill has been a natural gas Napoleon Prestige 450RB until now, but the new house doesn’t have natural gas available. Yet, I‘m not sure I want to go without a gas grill. IME, they are great for quick cooks.

So, the decision has pretty much been made to order a new Napoleon Prestige 500 (propane version). The button will likely be pushed just after Christmas/New Years in case any end-of-the year special deals pop up.

https://www.napoleon.com/en/us/grills/products/gas-grills/prestige-series/prestige-500-p500pss-3

Our Prestige 450RB (natural gas) has served us well for 12 years and will be “re-homed” as it still has a lot of life left in it. I will retain the rotisserie unit for use with the new Prestige 500 as it is the same as the one Napoleon is now offering.

We will also retain the RT-340 Trailblazer for slow cooks. The combination of the Prestige 500 and the RT-340 should pretty much meet our needs. And, the ThermoWorks Signals will work fine with either one, providing all the “wifi” connectivity I really need.

That’s the current plan and I’m sticking with it! Unless something changes.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, since Recteq didn’t notify me that I’d won the free RT-380 in their pre-Christmas giveaway, I was freed to make a final decision on a new grill. Now, for the amazing part! My wife brought the subject up this morning and said I needed to get with it and order the new grill. How often does that happen?

The button has been pushed and the new…wait for it…Napoleon Prestige 500 propane grill will arrive on January 4. And, it was available via my local Lowes big-box hardware store that offers (1) a 10% military/veteran discount and (2) free delivery to the house. What’s not to like about that? Napoleon rarely discounts its grills, so saving $130 with the veteran discount was a bonus.

OK, so the Napoleon doesn’t have wifi connection capability, but I have never been able to get the RT-340 to connect reliably anyway. And, my ThermoWorks Signals has worked flawlessly for monitoring temperatures via wifi, so the only function I lose with the Napoleon is being able to turn the grill on/off remotely.

The RT-340/Trailblazer will remain in the arsenal and will also join us at the new house for longer cooks. The Signals will work fine for monitoring temps on it as well.

Sometimes, “variety is the spice of life!”

 

[RattleR]

Now, for the amazing part! My wife brought the subject up this morning and said I needed to get with it and order the new grill. How often does that happen?

@Jim6820 I like your wife’s thinking. When momma is all in, you have a win! Exactly how I got my 2009 FLHTCU Harley, she said ride and buy it and let’s get it over. Then in 2014 she says you need to go get this new 2014 FLHTK HD as it has a lot of nice changes for me (her of course) and so it was. Again with the RT700. Smash the order button and be done.

I so like they give Vets a discount! Happy cooking!

 

[Jim6820]

Into every life, some rain must fall! Got notified today that my delivery date (tomorrow) on the Napoleon Prestige 500 has been delayed until February 1. Not a happy camper at this point, but they seem to be out of stock everywhere I look. Patience, Jim; patience!

 

[SmokeZilla]

Jim6820,

Perhaps you will prove “patience is a virtue” or that ”anything worth having is worth waiting for”. Good luck!

Edit: If you get tired of waiting take a look at the Lynx Pro or Sedona line of cookers. I have the pro with Trident and porcelain burners and it impresses me every time I use it. Just make sure your wife is still in a good mood when you show her. lol.

https://www.lynxgrills.com/

 

[Jim6820]

Jim6820,

Perhaps you will prove “patience is a virtue” or that ”anything worth having is worth waiting for”. Good luck!

Edit: If you get tired of waiting take a look at the Lynx Pro or Sedona line of cookers. I have the pro with Trident and porcelain burners and it impresses me every time I use it. Just make sure your wife is still in a good mood when you show her. lol.

https://www.lynxgrills.com/

I have looked at the Lynx grills and they are very nice, but quite pricey. While I am disappointed at the delivery postponement, I have been very pleased with the Napoleon I now have; it has been a great grill. And, I guess January is not a prime BBQ grill sales time.

We’ll try the “patience is a virtue” thing until February 1 and see how that goes.

In the meantime, the Trailblazer will be relocated to the new house and we’ll see how “fast cooks” go on it.

 

[Jim6820]

Well, so much for “patience is a virtue;” after thinking about it this morning, I cancelled the order. That lasted quick, didn’t it?

I’m looking at other sources that may have the grill I want in stock. I do have a couple of leads at this point and am awaiting confirmation that they actually have the grill in stock. Stay tuned.

 

[Jim6820]

We’re back on track! BBQGuys.com had the Napoleon Prestige 500 in stock and ready to ship immediately. It is supposed to go on the truck tomorrow and be here mid-next week. The grill is being shipped from San Bernardino, CA, so hope the heavy rains and flooding down there don’t throw a monkey wrench into the works.

BBQGuys.com matched the 10% veterans’ discount Lowes was offering, so the price is the same. And, the cover I have, but wasn’t using, for the Napoleon Prestige 450RB has the same dimensions as the one listed for the new grill. And, the rotisserie unit for the old grill will work on the new one, so I’ll have a spare.

Looking forward to using the 1800F “searing station” on the new grill for my quick steak cooks. Yikes, that’s hot!