Tagwood vs Lone Star vs ???

[SoCalWJS]

Finally getting to the design/build phase of a Backyard kitchen, and I’m going to replace my old (almost worn out) Santa Maria pit (Costco/Santa Maria BBQ Outfitters) with one that I hope will last me a long time to come.

It will be a “Built-In” style - no wheels. I need to come up with some fairly accurate dimensions soon for the design & build.

I am leaning towards the Tagwood BBQ05SS as it has the features I want - taking it towards a Brassero style. I can also configure a Lone Star Grillz 36” Santa Maria with side Brassero that would do the trick. I’ve looked at a couple of others - Sunterra, AZ BBQ, but can’t get then quite how I want w/o talking to them directly. Pretty sure they can get something pretty close.

Features I want
36”x30” main cooking area (or close to it)
Brassero capability - leaning towards one on the side rather than the rear
Wheel for raising and lowering
Front door or similar - not constantly open (better air control)
Option of Argentinian “V” grates
Warming rack above
Possibly SS (we have high humidity and it would last a lot longer)(might eliminate LSG)
Option of a Rotisserie

I think those are the major things.

Anybody have experience with the Tagwood? A search didn’t reveal much. I know Lone Star has a good reputation. Prices as I want it configured are similar, so not a big factor. I’ve looked at a bunch of YT videos, but would love first hand experience of somebody neutral.

Any info/opinions appreciated.

 

[jeffshoaf]

Not sure if you're talking about AZ Bbq outfitters when you mention AZ Bbq, but I'd advise giving them a call. They're good to work with and still build almost anything you want. I'm very happy with the grill they made for me.

 

[SoCalWJS]

Not sure if you're talking about AZ Bbq outfitters when you mention AZ Bbq, but I'd advise giving them a call. They're good to work with and still build almost anything you want. I'm very happy with the grill they made for me.

Yeah AZ BBQ Outfitters is the one I was referring to. I like the looks of their stuff. I’ll have to look into them further.

Nice looking rig you got there! Looks bigger (grill size-wise) than what I am after, but it looks a bit low. Optical illusion?

I guess I’m looking at it wrong - grill height is the key, not bottom of the box. :becky:

 

[edmonds]

...
I am leaning towards the Tagwood BBQ05SS as it has the features I want - taking it towards a Brassero style. I can also configure a Lone Star Grillz 36” Santa Maria with side Brassero that would do the trick. I’ve looked at a couple of others - Sunterra, AZ BBQ, but can’t get then quite how I want w/o talking to them directly. Pretty sure they can get something pretty close.

Features I want
36”x30” main cooking area (or close to it)
Brassero capability - leaning towards one on the side rather than the rear
Wheel for raising and lowering
Front door or similar - not constantly open (better air control)
Option of Argentinian “V” grates
Warming rack above
Possibly SS (we have high humidity and it would last a lot longer)(might eliminate LSG)
Option of a Rotisserie

I think your feature list is spot on.
Except I have a "stainless steel" bbq prep table, and although it is not rusting, it tends to accumulate black spots/areas that are difficult to clean.
I have no experience with those brands, but I have a Sunterra 36" SM grill that I like, no brasero. I sometimes think a brasero would help with low/slow cooks. But I agree that the side brasero is better (you don't wanna be sticking your arm to the back of the firebox).

 

[jeffshoaf]

Yeah AZ BBQ Outfitters is the one I was referring to. I like the looks of their stuff. I’ll have to look into them further.

Nice looking rig you got there! Looks bigger (grill size-wise) than what I am after, but it looks a bit low. Optical illusion?

I guess I’m looking at it wrong - grill height is the key, not bottom of the box. :becky:

I find the bed is at the pretty close to perfect height for shoveling out the ash. As you can probably tell, I tend to build big fires so the grates are often at shoulder height when I start cooking!