Green Mountain GrillsCustom Grills, Explained: Offset, Santa Maria, Pellet, Trailer-Mounted, and How to Order One
Since February we take orders for custom-built grills in any style and ship them nationwide. Here is what each style is actually for, how our own shop grill was built, and what to have ready before you ask for a quote.
There is a grill on our sales floor that we did not buy from a catalog. We designed it, a fabricator built it, and Pat drove out to pick it up with a camera running. It has our logo cut into the steel and a grate you could park a truck on.
That grill is why we started taking custom orders in February. If you can dream it, we can build it, and we ship nationwide, right to your front door.
This post is the longer answer to the question that reel raised: what kinds of grills, what are they for, and how does ordering one work.
What we can build
The list from the announcement, with nothing added.
- Offset smokers
- Pellet smokers
- Santa Maria grills
- Trailer-mounted rigs
- Commercial units
- Backyard grills
Modern or rustic, competition or restaurant, with a logo or without. The style is yours. The steel and the welds are the fabricator's.
What each style is actually for
Nobody should order a custom grill because it looks good in a photo. Each style is built around a way of cooking, and the honest job of this post is to match you to the right one.
Offset smoker. A firebox on the side, a long cooking chamber, and a chimney on the far end. You burn wood splits and manage the fire by hand for hours. This is the stick-burner. Best for brisket, pork shoulder, and ribs, and for people who enjoy tending a fire as much as eating the result. Worst for someone who wants to set it and go to the kids' game.
Santa Maria. An open grate over a live fire, raised and lowered with a wheel. You control heat by moving the food closer to or farther from the coals instead of adjusting a dial. Steaks, whole chickens, vegetables, anything that wants fire and attention. The one on our floor is this style, which tells you where our heart is.
Pellet smoker. A hopper feeds wood pellets to a fire pot, and a controller holds the temperature. The easiest long cook there is. A custom build makes sense when you need more capacity or a specific layout than the factory models offer. If you do not, the Green Mountain Grills on our floor already do this job well.
Trailer-mounted. Any of the above on wheels, with a tongue and a license plate. For competition teams, catering, tailgates, church and fire hall chicken barbecues, and anyone who cooks away from home more than at it.
Commercial. Sized and built for a restaurant or a pit that runs every day. Capacity, cleanability, and fuel cost matter more than looks.
Backyard. The catch-all. Usually a Santa Maria or a small offset built to fit a patio and a family.
How our own grill got built
Pat picked it up at American Steelworks. The reel is thirty seconds of him opening the trailer, seeing the logo plate for the first time, and saying "look at that" about six times.
Two details worth copying if you order one. The grate is expanded metal, which holds heat, marks a steak, and does not warp. And the side shelf is wood, because a steel shelf in the sun is a burn waiting to happen.
If you can dream it, we can build it.The February announcement
How ordering works
- Call or message the store. Tell us what you cook, how many people, and where the grill will live.
- We talk through the style. Most people come in wanting an offset and leave wanting a Santa Maria, or the other way around. That conversation is the point.
- You get a design and a quote. Size, fuel, trailer or not, logo or not, finish.
- It gets built and shipped. Nationwide, to your door. Local customers can pick up at the store or arrange delivery.
Pit note
Have three numbers ready before you call: how many pounds of meat you cook at once on a big day, the width of the space it has to fit through (gate, garage door, trailer), and your budget. Those three settle most of the design before we draw anything.
When a custom grill is not the answer
- You cook two or three times a month. A pellet grill off our floor will make you happier for a fraction of the money, and it is ready this weekend.
- You want to learn fire first. Buy a kettle and a chimney starter, cook on it for a season, then come talk about steel. You will order a better grill for knowing what you actually do.
- The space is not settled. A custom rig is built to a spot. If you might move next year, wait.
If you have read this far and you are still picturing the grill, that is the sign. Come see ours on the floor inside the McKinley Mall, put your hands on the wheel, and we will start the conversation there.
