Open Pit / Santa Maria vs. Charcoal with Wood Chunks?

[Pulmah Finger]

Eric - I was in same position as you and went for the Santa Maria. The beauty is that you can grill with a live wood fire when you are in the mood or burn down charcoal & chunks when its suits you. I find myself burning charcoal and chunks more often, which is similar to Argentine-style in which the wood is burned down to embers before sliding it underneath the food. Very little difference in taste IMO.

Sid Post nailed it - the real advantage of the Santa Maria style is not the fuel source, but the ability to adjust on the fly the distance between the coal and the food. So damn fun!

This video sealed the deal for me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTs0Slq_2Ek

I would highly recommend buying one with a lid though for windy days, keeping out the rain & snow and making the grill more versatile. It ain’t cheap, but its worth it!

Holy Crap, this seals the deal for me. I am adding a Santa Maria to the arsenal in the next year.

 

[jeffshoaf]

My Santa Maria/argentinian grill with wood has become my favorite eat to cook even tho i tend to build a bigger fire than i need. I do tend to use the kettle more often just because it's more convenient.

The high back and sides on mine help block a lot of wind

 

[edmonds]

I don't have any personal experience with a Santa Maria grill - yet.
But look what showed up today, a Sunterra 36" Santa Maria grill.

But I often cook over an open fire pit (campfire) with a rotating, swinging, height-adjustable grate, as pictured below.
See this video for an example of cooking ribeye steaks over open fire (I may have posted it here before).

In my experience, cooking over open fire produces a different flavor profile, and a Santa Maria grill should also.
I should soon be able to verify this myself.

 

[sandro]

I use my PBC to cook "Santa Maria style" by moving the grate up and down as needed... It's not an open pit per sé but it's open enough, if you will. Never thought it would make such a difference in flavor. I cooked two tritips on an open fire with small oak splits in the barrel and it was something else. I'm never cooking tritips any other way ever again. There is no flavor comparison with charcoal and wood chunks, it's another field entirely