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Chuckles

Chuckles

KKF Supporting Member
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I have a new home kitchen. There is no hood to vent outside just the microwave recirculating fan thing. I am smoking out this kitchen all the time. I am looking for a set-up to have just outside my back door for searing and high heat cooking. I initially was thinking grill with a burner but I am wondering if there is another solution. Has anybody used a wok burner or something similar that would work well for this type of application? I am doing a dive into Chinese cooking right now so perhaps this is the angle to take? I have a sneaking suspicion that KKF is maybe a better search engine than google for this question.

Thank you in advance for any and all help!
 
Also following. We do have an outdoor venting hood but for the moment we are stuck with electric burners :(. We hopefully will replace the cooktop with gas but even in that eventuality I think I'd prefer to keep wok work outside, at least for the six months or so that climate permits.
 
Chuckles said:
Has anybody used a wok burner or something similar that would work well for this type of application?
Click to expand...
I have a stainless steel BBQ outside, with a shelf either side. I had a hole cut into one of the shelves the right size to fit an industrial strength wok burner (somewhere around 80,000–100,000 BTU). This does the job nicely for searing, deep frying, stir fries, and the like.

I had a gas fitter make me a Y-junction that fits onto the gas bottle, so I can feed the BBQ and the wok burner from a single bottle. The wok burner has it's own regulator past the Y-junction because it needs high pressure to work.

All in all, it's a nice workable setup for jobs that produce a lot of smoke or are likely to spatter a lot.
 
That’s interesting. So it is a propane industrial wok burner added onto an existing grill? That sounds pretty good to me because the wok burners I have looked at so far appear to have flimsy stands.
 
wok burner sounds like a good idea. for dishes that need absurd amounts of heat, like blackened catfish, my propane grill doesn't get hot enough, so i end up doing it on the gas stove inside, but i literally have to wear a gas mask because it makes so much smoke (and burning cayenne packs a sting!)
 
Would you consider an ooni .
950° f in 20 min. Couple of pieces of cast iron and you can sear anything. Bonus you can make pizza or bayou classic high pressure banjo burner 210,000 btu sounds like a jet engine that and a lodge 15 inch skillet. Forewarned bayou will melt anything less than 14 in. Diameter.
You could wok on it with a heat reistant glove
 
I use a modified Bayou Classic for outdoor wok, paella, and nuke searing among other things. I bought the shorter unit for stability and keep it on a cheap table (not the chair). My brother does some welding and cut additional air holes in the frame and attached some sloping tabs to hold my wok. The Banjo Burner allows for control from full on nuke to low enough for the paella. I've got less than 100 in this one - my brother comes cheap. Hit me up for deets if interested.

Outdoor Burner.jpg
 
Y
Chuckles said:
That’s interesting. So it is a propane industrial wok burner added onto an existing grill? That sounds pretty good to me because the wok burners I have looked at so far appear to have flimsy stands.
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es, that’s what it is. I’m traveling right now; can post a photo once I get back in two weeks.
 
Chuckles. Google “thunder group” wok burner. It’s a blast furnace.
The single greatest advantage is that it has a pilot light. You can flip off the flame and flip it back on without having to dick with a lighter again.

I bought mine off Amazon for $98 shipped.

it is gonna steam crab tomorrow. And with a grate, I roast peppers in mere seconds.

14757E42-E81B-40DA-86C0-AC8443809BF7.jpeg
 
That burner looks identical to mine. I simply had circular hole cut into the side shelf of my BBQ such that all but the top two inches of the burner are below the shelf.
 
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Michi said:
That burner looks identical to mine. I simply had circular hole cut into the side shelf of my BBQ auch that all but the top two inches of the burner are below the shelf.
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Yea. I have a friend with a plasma cutter willing to cut a hole into a stainless table for me. But I’m lazy and enjoy the mobility of my system. I use it and toss it into a garage shelf when done.

Michi- I ordered the wok you have today. I’m totally jazzed to try one with a handle. Thanks for the thumbs up on the wok.
 
The thunder group one looks like it gets hotter. Maybe harder to simmer a paella tho. My big paella pan I usually do over wood so I am leaning toward wok ready.
 
Chuckles said:
The thunder group one looks like it gets hotter. Maybe harder to simmer a paella tho. My big paella pan I usually do over wood so I am leaning toward wok ready.
Click to expand...
Yea. The heat is too centered for paella. I use my Weber charcoal for that dish.
 
Honestly a Iwatani 35FW or two could handle pretty well. Pretty high heat too
 
So I got the Thunder Group burner on the way. Now I need a wok or two. Amazon really wants me to buy one for about $45. Is that reasonable?
I am thinking 14 inch for me and my family. I also need one for 85 person parties. What size is ideal for that application? Is amazon the right place?
 
Chuckles said:
So I got the Thunder Group burner on the way. Now I need a wok or two. Amazon really wants me to buy one for about $45. Is that reasonable?
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Sounds very reasonable to me. Just make sure that the steel isn't too thin. I bought this one last year, and I'm very happy with it. It's more pricey, though.) I'd also strongly recommend carbon steel over something that's stainless or coated.

14" is a good all-rounder size. You can make a meal for four persons with that (up to six, in a pinch), but it's small enough for a single meal and not too unwieldy.

I can't help with a wok for 85 people. Making a wok larger than 14" will help some, but keep in mind that there is only so large you can go before your burner no longer keeps up with the size of the wok. Juggling larger amounts food in a very large wok also requires more skill (and a wok spatula that is long enough).

Having said that, you can buy woks up to 32" (or maybe even larger). I have no first-hand experience with those though. I certainly would spend some time practicing with a really large wok before trying to cater for 85 people and having things go south.
 
Chuckles said:
Looks like a workout.
Click to expand...
Thanks a lot for that link! That burner must put out 200,000 or 300,000 BTU…

There clearly is a lot of experience involved. It's also almost comical how he has to jump up and down to get enough momentum into the food :)

This is definitely not something I would experiment on my guests with, at least not without having done it lots of times before. The problem is that this is learnable only in a commercial environment, gradually moving up a wok sizes, I imagine. I mean, it's not terribly economical for me to make kilograms and kilograms of stir-fried rice at home for practice, only to throw it away until I finally get it right :)
 
i bought the same wok as Michi. its good. seasoning it is slow and steady, but it's getting there. the wood on mine is ever so slightly loose. it clicks. i can handle it later this spring when i can dowel the drilled holes and use better hardware.

big woks. my stepdad would make massive fried rice dishes. he once tried to teach me. he uses the spatula and throws the rice into the ladle, where it gets yanked back into the mix. it is SO DIFFICULT a move! my arms cramped almost immediately. it was awesome to experience and i'll never forget it. my stepdad was badass and had forearms of steel.
 
oh..14" is perfect for up to four.

i have two now. my old one is so seasoned it is EXCELLENT. but i wanted that big handle for the wok toss.
 
Chuckles the Thunder Wok burner has a sucky attachement to your propane tanks. it thread to the INSIDE of the valve. and it has a tiny thin knob to get it done with. i bought a $14 fuel level gauge from Home Depot that i thread it on tight and converted it to the easier valve that threads to the outside of the propane tank valve.
 
I thought I would update this thread with some feedback from the wokshop that daveb linked. I bought everything needed for a wok station. Wok, utensils, steamer etc. Everything went smooth through checkout. Then I got an email saying they needed to double the shipping cost from what was quoted. I inquired about what could be removed from the order to reduce shipping cost to keep the total purchase in line as not everything was 100% vital. The response was a voided order with no note or possible solution. I feel like I got kicked out of a store for trying to buy too much. Leaves a strange feeling behind. I guess I will have to purchase the items elsewhere. Bizarre in a day and age where most of the items I was purchasing ship for free from amazon. I was going out of my way to support an independent business but have ended up empty handed.
 
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