Have you ever longed for the rich flavor of charcoal grilled foods but wished they could be prepared with the ease of gas-powered grilling? Darin Duncan found himself feeling this way and decided to act on this desire. He developed the idea and constructed the grill he fondly refers to as “The Groker.”
What is a Groker, you ask? It is a combination of the functionality of gas grilling, the aromatic appeal of charcoal grilling, and a smoker box. Darin believes it will influence the future of outdoor grilling as we know it.
We had the chance to chat with Darin and ask him a few questions.
How did the idea of the Groker first come to you?
The Groker was conceived in my backyard. I was cooking on a gas grill and trying to turn my gas grill into a smoker. I was trying to use my smoker as a charcoal grill. I came up with all kinds of work-arounds until I realized that there must be a grill on the market that already combines all three cooking techniques, so I went in search of it. To my shock, it didn’t exist. And yet the value was clear – you could save a lot of manufacturing costs by combining all three grills into one. And the combo grill market proved there was latent demand for a “one-box flavor solution.”
Dual fuel ranges, which bring the best of both worlds in a gas cooktop and an electric oven, are already readily available in appliance stores. Why do you think no one considered that same type of innovation for a grill before now?
Like Steve Jobs and his obsession with “one button” on the Macintosh, a one-box flavor solution simplifies the customer’s purchase decision. By integrating multiple cooking tools into one product, a customer both pays a lower price and saves all the time and energy required to research a second or third product. And it also saves space in your home. I think combined products are a trend that will continue to grow.
But that’s not the only benefit. Having a dual fuel stovetop or grill means you can cook what you want, when you want, and the way you want. You can be confident at all times that you’ve got the tool to meet your cooking or grilling needs. The number one concern for any home cook is the flavor of their food. Combo products like a dual fuel stovetop or grill let you make the best tasting food. Though there is an avalanche of new cooking products, few give you better tasting food. So combo products are really all about flavor and flexibility.
There have been many attempts to combine gas and solid fuel in the past. The most recent and successful attempt is known as a combo grill, which is just a gas grill bolted to a charcoal grill. Others have tried but for various reasons didn’t succeed. Mostly they did not meet the needs of users for technical reasons. For example, they exposed the solid fuel to direct flame, which causes the fuel to burn up far too quickly, or they didn’t get cool enough for true BBQ.
The patent record shows at least 25 years’ worth of attempts to combine gas and charcoal. I even spoke to a grilling company CEO who said he had tried a similar thing 20 years ago. This has been an ongoing problem for the industry – how to build a grill with the convenience of gas and the flavor of wood or charcoal.
The Weber Summit, a $2,000 top-of-the-line product, has a smoker box in it, but they do not market it as a smoker. To be blunt, it’s not a smoker. There isn’t enough smoke (it uses chips) and the temperature won’t stay low enough for true low and slow BBQ. So the need for an all-in-one grill is something people have recognized and are actively addressing. It’s just that they haven’t succeeded. Not even the largest, most successful company in the industry has been able to build a true, all-in-one product.
It was a difficult technical challenge to build a grill that could perform three cooking techniques. With dual fuel ranges and ovens, you’re delivering maximum heat to food. With BBQ, you’re actually trying to cook at very lower temperatures. So it’s a different, more difficult challenge.
What features did you prioritize when constructing your grill?
The single biggest issue in designing the Groker was to make it work. It had to perform all three functions and do so without significant compromises. It had to be intuitive so you can easily refill your water and wood. Unlike a charcoal grill, you can change the temperature while charcoal grilling or smoking just by turning a knob. And because it’s a water smoker, it’s really forgiving compared to a lot of wood smokers. It’s better made than store-bought grills because we are selling direct to customers. By cutting out the middleman, we are able to build a higher quality grill that should last a long time.
What is your “day job”? Does it relate at all to the passion you seem to have for cooking?
My background is in corporate finance and the energy industry. My wife and I moved from Houston to Dallas two years ago, at which time I began working on the Groker project full-time.
I was a huge fan of the Food Network early on, back when they actually focused on cooking shows. Basically, I’m a foodie. So it’s not a big surprise that I developed a product to make food because it’s something I’ve always been very passionate about. I still remember making pasta with marinara for the first time; it was incredible. Though I did not, like Bobby Flay, ask for an easy bake oven for Christmas.
I notice you’ve already successfully cooked a turkey with your grill. What other foods have you tried?
I have cooked on the grill at least a hundred times, having made pulled pork, goose, and brisket. But I am also a foodie, so I get a little crazy sometimes. I really like smoked vegetables. One of the most amazing things you can cook over smoke is fruit. Peaches are amazing, for example, as is pineapple. But most people are afraid to do this.
One more thing that most people are afraid to do is to cook a steak “caveman” style. In other words, get rid of your grill grate and cook right on the coals. It’s easy to do and you will have the best steak you’ve ever cooked.
On your Kickstarter page, you use the pronoun “we” when talking about working on this project. How many other people are on your team, and what roles have they played?
Right now I am the sole employee. I have a CAD designer who may come on full-time once I have revenue. And an attorney, since patenting is involved. We are looking to add a marketing person full-time once we have inventory and hence revenue.
Besides Kickstarter, what other avenues have you used to promote your grill and gain more recognition?
I am a finance guy, a former CPA, and the owner of a company with a great asset (the grill design), and my marketing reflects that. Basically it is a guerrilla-style free media campaign. I’m using message boards, as well as paid media like Twitter and Facebook, with uncertain results.
What would you say has been the most challenging step in this project so far?
There have been several challenges. First, being the only employee means I have to do everything from developing the logo to being my own manufacturing expert. Which means I make a lot of decisions that in retrospect are huge mistakes.
I spent a great deal of time trying to license. I may still license, but I was told by two separate industry execs that nobody would believe that I had succeeded at building the holy grail of grills since people had been trying for 25 years and had all failed.
Bootstrapping any business is a challenge, but the one thing I have is the certain knowledge that I have a product which is obviously superior to existing products, in that it’s cheaper and works better. For example, my product obsolesces the “combo grill” category.
Thanks so much to Darin for his time in answering my questions. If you like this idea and want to donate, check out his listing on Kickstarter. Even $1 helps, but if you pledge at least $299 you could get a Groker of your own!
