I wrote this up earlier today for someone who wanted to start getting prepped on ~$75/Month but also wanted to not have to cook the foods. I did include some long term storage as the first step anyway because it's so cheap and easy, but so far as consumables go, this is a good start for you.

--------------------------------------------

A lot of this is a shelf life and storage space issue. If you have plenty of room for storage, I'd start like this:

• Month 1: This doesn't meet your doesn't-need-to-be-cooked guideline, but it's a really solid start to bulk up on available calories and requires minimal cash and effort, so it's going in anyway. Ignore it if it's not for you.
  
  Buy two 50lb bags of white rice from a place like Costco or Sam's Club. Find 3 food safe 5 gallon buckets with lids. Get Mylar Bags and O2 Absorbers. Then hit Youtube for instructions on what to do with them. If the Mylar bags bit will hold you back from doing this, then skip them and just clean the buckets then dump rice in them straight. Seal, date, set aside. That's 160,000 calories in month 1. Given normal pantry supplies that stretches things out quite a ways. Plan on rotating out at 7ish years if put straight into the bucket and 20 years if you use the Mylar. Realistically, with Mylar, white rice may be good for much longer than 20 years (most people say 30, but for the minimal investment I'd rotate earlier to be safe).
  
  
• Month 2:
  
  Grab a Water Bob (not right now though, hurricane season has prices high and stocks low for them). Also, a Sawyer Water Filter or two. That gives you an opportunity to grab an extra hundred gallons of water in your bathtub initially given enough warning, and some water purification options later on.
  
  
• Month 3:
  
  Assuming you have storage capacity, start looking at #10 cans of food. Those are the cans that are around a foot tall and very wide. Look for things that you would eat and would be usuable in your daily lives, but also ones that would be calorie dense. For example, refried beans, nacho cheese, baked beans, white potatoes, chick peas, chili with beans, etc. Those are things you can use in recipes at home, but can pick them up and store them for a couple of years first. Getting them in the larger can is a better return on investment/dollar than buying smaller ones.
  
  
• Month 4: This is probably more what you were looking for.
  
  If your pantry isn't topped up with the things your family normally eats, drop that money to get a little deeper on those things. Velveeta cheese, crackers, cans of soup, noodles, peanut butter/jelly, canned vegetables/fruit, pasta/sauce, salsa, dried/canned beans, seasonings, canned meat, canned chili, etc. Date them and make sure to work through the oldest first. Having the normal foods you eat in bulk will likely end up being what gets you through most things (like the current hurricane season, job loss, winter blizzard, etc). Spending on these things can be used to fill out whatever is left of your budget when it gets partially used up on other things. I'd also maybe consider having some flats of bottled water at home as well. I usually keep 4-7 Costco sized ones on hand for my SO and I.
  
  
• Month 5:
  
  Start looking at longer term bulk water storage. I like 5 gallon stackable water cubes as they're easier to move and use and you buy them as you have a little extra cash here and there, but if you want to bump the budget up a bit for a month and your wife won't look at you like you're crazy, a 55 gallon barrel is a better price per gallon than the individual cubes. Sometimes there's just no replacing having your own clean water source ready to go. Barring all of that, if your family will use them just grab a bunch of flats of bottled water and rotate them. Stacked high they don't take up a ton of floor space.
  
  
• Month 6 and Beyond:
  
  At this point you're pretty well set initially for both water and food. Keep the pantry stocked and rotating. Add on for long term stored water as you see fit and maybe invest in something like a Big Berkey if you really want to drop some money into it. At that point I'd probably begin considering longer term food storage. More rice, add in some dry beans (roughly 5 year shelf life in Mylar/Buckets), and if you're feeling really into it you can get unground wheat and that will last 30 years or better in Mylar/Buckets. You'll just need to have a hand crank grinder or two to use it.
  
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  I get wanting ready to eat foods, and that's pretty easy to do and a great place to start, but as one last recommendation... grab yourself a Propane Burner and a high pressure hose for it so that you can use regular propane tanks. You may be able to eat cold soup out of the can, but it's a lot more comforting when it's warm, and you can pretty easily have the ability to add more of your foods into your diet (like spaghetti or mac and cheese) when you can still have a burner to work with.

TL;DR warning

Are you willing to invest in some tools? Do you like Five Guys? (skinny burgers) The fastest burger procedure that I know of is Kenji's Ultra-Smash technique, which makes a pair of thin patties in no time. Takes about a minute per burger (two patties with cheese). Details here:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/the-food-lab-maximize-flavor-by-ultra-smashin.html

You can also do a regular smash burger, which is thicker (McDonalds-thin), but takes longer (~1.5 minutes per side, about 3 minutes total per burger):

http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/09/the-burger-lab-smashed-burgers-vs-smashing-burgers.html

The advantage of the ultra-smash is that it's super quick & you can toss a piece of cheese to melt between two patties, so you can pump out a ton of burgers in no time. You will need a few tools, namely:

1. A metal cooking surface
   
2. A hi-temp heat source
   
3. A smashing tool
   
4. A high-quality spatula
   
5. A scraper (if doing ultra-smash)
   
6. A cheap IR temp gun
   
7. A cheap digital kitchen scale
   
   It's not rocket science, but getting a proper setup will let you have a workflow that makes cooking for a crowd a breeze. I have a big extended family, so I cook in bulk a lot, but I also use this for just my immediate family because it's so fast to get setup. There is an up-front investment required, but everything you'll buy will pretty much last forever, so it's worth it if you like to eat burgers!
   
   So the first two things you need are a metal cooking surface & a heat source that can pump out a lot of heat. I don't recommend a regular grill because they simply don't get hot enough; you need 600 to 700F to do this. You can either do a compact setup (a 2-burger surface with a single burner) or invest in a quality flat-top setup (more expensive, but lets you do more burgers at once). The ideal surface to do this on is a Baking Steel, which is very expensive. There are knockoffs for cheaper, but I like BS because they have a Griddle version with grooves to catch the grease:
   
   http://www.bakingsteel.com/
   
   You can also do it with cast iron. Lodge has a griddle for $25:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-LDP3-Double-Reversible-Griddle/dp/B002CMLTXG
   
   If I'm just doing a single regular smash burger at a time, I use a 12" cast-iron pan. $28:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Cast-Iron-Skillet-L10SK3ASHH41B-12-Inch/dp/B00G2XGC88/
   
   If you do get into cast-iron, read up on this seasoning procedure (i.e. the way to keep it smooth & slippery without Teflon). It's a bit of a pain, but it's worth learning because anything you buy in cast-iron can be handed down to your kids because it lasts forever:
   
   http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/01/a-science-based-technique-for-seasoning-cast-iron/
   
   You will want a heavy smashing tool as well. I have this massive 2.5-pound cast-iron press. It fits inside the 12" pan above (but not the 10"). $13:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Update-International-Heavy-Weight-Hamburger-Commercial/dp/B002LDDKZ6
   
   If you plan on doing ultra-smash burgers, you'll need a scraper. This is the one Kenji recommends, but you can probably find something locally: (Home Depot or Lowes)
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Plextool-Wall-Paper-Stripper/dp/B00AU6GQLQ/
   
   Anyway, getting back to the cooking part: you'll need a hi-temp burner. I like Bayou Burners, they sell them on Amazon. I have an SP10: ($50)
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ
   
   I use that with my 12" cast-iron pan for when I'm just doing a few burgers for the family. 15 minutes = 5 burgers. You can also slap a flat surface like a cast-iron griddle or Baking Steel on that puppy. Also comes in a square version (not sure how the BTU's compare). I also have some KAB4 burners that I use with my Baking Steel, among other things. More expensive, but larger shell & burner: (more even heat over the cooking surface)
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-KAB4-Pressure-Cooker/dp/B0009JXYQY/
   
   For cooking more at a time, you can get a cooktop. Blackstone has a 36" cooktop available, but it doesn't get very hot (don't get me wrong, it's an awesome tool, but I've had trouble breaking 500F on mine, which means you're not cooking 1-minute burgers on it, plus the heating is kind of uneven, so you have to work in the hot spots for faster cook times). Also comes in a slightly smaller 28" version (but it's only like $50 less, so it makes more sense to get the full-sized version because you get so much more cooking area). The nice thing with this setup is that for $299 (or a bit less if you shop around at places like Cabela's), you can cook like 20 burgers at a time, it's absolutely insane! I make epic breakfasts on it. Plus it folds up for transport, which is really handy. We use it for all of our family events & holidays:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYN0438
   
   A better version is from Tejas Smokers. They make camping stove carts that have burners built-in & have griddles available separately. They get super hot, downside is the cost: you can easily spend $700 on a nice setup.
   
   https://tejassmokers.com/Camp-Stove-Carts/23
   
   Oh yeah, Blackstone did just come out with a compact outdoor griddle which can run off those little one-pound green tanks if you want. They go for around $99 ($79 if you have an Ace Hardware near you). I have not tried this, but it gets good reviews. I'd be curious to see what kind of temperatures it can achieve:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Blackstone-Portable-Griddle-Outdoors-Camping/dp/B0195MZHBK
   
   So that's a basic introduction to the cooktops: you need some kind of decently-sized metal surface, a hi-temp burner, a smashing tool, and optionally (but recommended) a scraper. You will also want to get a strong, high-quality spatula. A good one is $32:
   
   http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/07/equipment-the-due-buoi-wide-spatula-my-new-fa.html
   
   Available here:
   
   http://www.duebuoi.it/x/uk_usd/catalog/p/spatulas~805-16x10.html
   
   If you opt for cast-iron, get an infrared temperature gun (doesn't work too well on shiny metal surfaces like steel tho). $17:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-1080-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00DMI632G/
   
   A cheap digital kitchen scale is useful too, for measuring out the proper amount of meat. $14:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Ozeri-Digital-Kitchen-Capacity-Stylish/dp/B003E7AZQA/
   
   This collection of tools ensures that you have the proper workflow: a metal surface to cook on, the ability to bring the surface to a high temperature (and know what that temperature is for precise control), the ability to weigh your meat so you can pre-measure out what you need, the ability to smash the burger down, and also to properly scrape it off. Again, it's not rocket science, but if you have a wussy grill or a crappy surface or weak smashing/scraping tools, you're gonna have a bad time. You just need the right setup to pump burgers out fast!
   
   So on to prep. For ultra-smash, you do a pair of 2-ounce ground beef balls. In the tutorial above, they use a mix of meat for 25% fat. I just grab some regular 80/20 ground plus some salt & pepper. For regular smash burgers, do a single 4-ounce ball (optionally 5 ounces...useful if you have a big cooktop for a bunch of burgers at one time & are only doing a single patty per burger). The nice thing is, there's no special prep required for the meat, so you can make all of your burger balls ahead of time. If you have 10 people & are doing ultra-smash, let's say half of them get 2 burgers, so 15 burgers total, or thirty 2oz balls. If you have 20 people & are doing regular smash, again with half getting an extra burger, that's 30 burgers total or thirty 4 or 5oz balls. So that takes care of prep...adjust as needed. If you're feeding mostly dudes, you'll want to add more seconds (and thirds) to the equation.
   
   There are a variety of buns you can get. Crap buns will make for a crap burger. See if you can find potato buns or brioche buns. Those are pretty soft. Buns aren't overly hard to make, but I have yet to find a decent recipe that takes under 40 minutes, so I usually only doing fancy home-baked buns for my family rather than a crowd. Buying 5 or 10 pounds of ground beef & making smash balls out of them will take you all of ten minutes, but making buns can take forever. Here's a good recipe if you want to try it out tho:
   
   http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/07/light-brioche-burger-buns/
   
   Or this, if you wanna get crazy:
   
   http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/fresh-cemita-rolls-mexican-sandwich-burger-bun-bread-food-lab-recipe.html
   
   Or this one, nom nom nom:
   
   http://amazingribs.com/recipes/breads/brioche_hamburger_buns.html
   
   But eh, just hit up Sam's/Coscto/BJ's and buy some hamburger buns in bulk, problem solved. Or find a local bakery that has good rolls. There's a good shootout of buns here:
   
   http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/the-burger-lab-whats-the-best-bun-for-my-burger-taste-test.html
   
   (continued)

This burner has done me very well. It will handle 10 gallon batches if you ever plan to upgrade.

Maybe overkill for you, but it is pretty good quality.

I only brew outside. No infections to date and I don't do anything beyond the basics as far as keeping contaminants out. It's so much more comfortable brewing outside than in some cramped kitchen.

You can get a pretty decent propane burner (nothing needs to be "converted" about it) for around $50 new (here's the one I have). If you need a larger brew kettle, the turkey fryer pots should work as is. Another $30 or so for a filled propane tank and you're all set.

That's a boil pot. You would need a burner with sturdy stand like this one

I use this burner and this kettle.

Bayou Classic SP10

Buy a turkey fryer.

This is the pot still link from the sidebar.

http://homedistiller.org/forum/download/file.php?id=12153

Build it yourself, it's a much better investment than a $700 copper pot still. Also, your aforementioned still isn't going to magically make you nice, well rounded spirits.


If you're looking to get into this and haven't read the sidebar, that's step one. Not deciding on a recipe, not finding a still, it's getting informed. At this point, you're green as all getout. You don't know what you don't know and you're going to have to read more and watch more youtube videos, so you can ask better questions.


If you're going to buy anything, buy a used stainless steel beer keg, at least a quarter barrel, but better if you can get a 15.5 gallon (half barrel). Try to source it locally to save on shipping. Then you can buy a pot still column off ebay that'll triclamp right onto it. Combine that with a cajun cooker/turkey fryer burner and some hoses to bring water in/out of your condenser and you'll be there. Should be less than $200. I get that you don't understand any of these terms, and I encourage you to read the sidebar and google what that leaves out. This is an adventure, you're going to have a blast.

If you want cheap: Bayou Classic SP10. A li'l more expensive, the SP50 - same burner as SP10, but on stilts. I could see where this could be helpful or desired.

Next step up Bayou Classic KAB4 or the KAB6. Same physical burner, the KAB6 supposedly has better heat distribution, and it has the hose guard. Probably not worth the extra money unless you want to feel good about yourself.

All of the Bayou Classic burners are good. They will boil your wort, they will get the job done. The paint will also flake off, and if you are brewing every weekend it might crap out on you after 2 years.

If you don't want to buy a Bayou Classic for whatever reason, get a Blichmann Burner. Its $150, but you get what you pay for. It's stainless steel, and will last a lifetime.

About $200.

$80 for a new 18.5 inch Weber kettle, these can be found used for much less or free.

$45 for a nice quality pizza stone, inexpensive ones tend to crack.

$46 for the propane burner

$10-$15 fire bricks, aluminum foil...

This one pumps out 150,000 BTU. That should keep up with anything.

I also have the Bayou Classic SP10. Bought it from Amazon with free shipping. I think I paid $40, but right now it is $46.98. List price is $65 for what that's worth.

From what I can tell, there are four kinds of propane burner heads.
The BG-14 - aka "Banjo burner" as seen on the KAB4
The BG-12 - as seen on the SQ14
the BG-10 - as seen on the SP10
and the jet burner - as seen on the SP1

Personally, I have two of the BG-10s, from Academy Sports, and they do rather well for me on a 5-gallon batch. Though, I will admit, that this winter I was gifted a banjo burner from my grandfather, it's been in his basement for 40+ years, and he used to use it for crab steaming. I can't wait to hook it up and see how she sings!

Yeah i'm stuck with the electric range (I rent), however, my uncle has an interesting solution. He has a giant cast iron wok which is too large for his gas range, but uses [one of these] (https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1499041258&sr=1-3&keywords=propane+burner) when it's nice outside.

If I don't end up upgrading my video card, or buy any more kit for my knife set, I may end up investing in one.

It's a pretty good deal on a nice looking kettle and I wouldn't hesitate if your content with your current 3 gallon capacity, BUT before you pull the trigger, I would consider spending your money on a Bayou Classic propane burner ($48 with free shipping) and a 10+ gallon kettle (ball valves and internal thermos are a luxury that can be added later) so that you can take it outside and step it up to 5 gallons. A simple 10.5 gallon SS polarware kettle runs $80 and can easily be upgraded.


I BIAB'd on a similar setup (10.5gal SS kettle, no balve valve or thermo and a Bayou Classic) for a long time before eventually upgrading my kettle and moving on to batch sparging.

bayou Classic SP10

I've had this one for 6 years and it works great. Not the big burner in terms of flame output, but I had 9 gallons going at a rolling boil in no time last weekend. Had to turn it down, actually. So the less expensive ones work just fine.

Edit: words

Aluminum will not work with induction cooktops unless it says it does (some clad alu pans have steel plate in base.)

EDIT, If you are worried about cooktop I use a propane burner for frying/boils that is 50k btu and can say it would work perfect. keep an eye out they can be cheap in off season.

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1517755150&sr=1-1&keywords=propane+boil

The man mode option is to get the burners they use for turkey deep friers and cook on that, but I'm a wimp when it comes to stuff like that. I think up to 185,000 oughta do the trick.

Or you could spend a tad more and get a sturdier burner with a better wind guard: Bayou SP10

If you're doing all grain boils, your stove likely isn't going to be getting the amount of water you need boiling. At least not in a reasonable amount of time. I'd recommend using something like this to boil/heat the wort. Will get it done much, much faster.

Second, I'm assuming you haven't been doing your 1 gallon brews in an 8 gallon pot. I suggest you upgrade that.

Lastly, you'll obviously need a place to ferment. Find yourself a 6 gallon carboy or bucket or whatever you prefer to ferment in.

? propane tank should be like $20-30 and will last you more than one boil, and you can find this guy for $50 on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

If you have a 7.5 gallon pot i'd save your money and spend it on making a cooler mash tun and a SP10 Propane burner. Total cost would probably be ~$120-130, about the cost for a good 8+ gallon SS pot.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/
http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377234232&sr=8-1&keywords=SP10

Doing All grain wont make better beer, but it will give you a lot more options on recipes and you will learn a lot more about the ingredients that are going in rather than just following a recipe to pour in 5# of DME powder into boiling water.

Like the other guy said, those jet burners are really fucking loud. Kind of like a jet. This is the burner I used for years before sizing up. It will do you well.

Any burner that can go at least 70,000 BTU will do a great job. That's about five times what most indoor natural gas or electric ranges typically generate on their regular (non-wok) burner. If they even have a wok burner. The Bayou Classic is a workhorse, a friend of mine has one that I've used a few times, and will easily do the job.

I have this one which is 200,000 BTU and is, well, let's just say intense. I usually run it at about 1/3 throttle max. It will burn the hairs off your arms if you're not careful. But wow, it really works. Apparently Amazon doesn't have it currently in stock, but you can find other's like it for around $100. Note the size of the burner. It's a large diameter. That means unless you have at least a 12" pan some of that flame is going to go right up the sides. Keep that in mind. The Bayou Classic has a smallish burner in comparison that has a more concentrated heat source that still spreads out plenty. What the 200,000 BTU burner excels at is large pots of water or oil. It can bring five gallons of water to a boil quickly, which if you are making beer or crawdad boils is great.

Works well. I brew beer and have used this with a wok.

I also use this for beer and would not recommend it as a wok.

You could get a separate gas burner that runs off a PB cylinder... Like this for example:

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

If you're growing your own food, and maybe also keep poultry, then you really can't go without one of these anyway.

2x 120v seems like a massive pain. I think I'm going to just run one with a controller and deal with the extra time it takes

Also just looked at turkey fryers and found this

I would only need to triclamp the still ontop of the keg in that case, correct? I wouldn't need to modify the keg at all.

I'd recommend something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/

Even if you did big batches, it would still work. They boil 13 gal of wort just fine for me.

I am pretty happy with this guy. https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=pd_sbs_86_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51eK3C4bUsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR288%2C320_&psc=1&refRID=6BSA3RVYQ4ZJ1XRY32P4

But if I planned to upgrade to 10+ gallon batches it would probably be with the burner /u/Deranged40 posted

Are you looking for something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463415988&sr=8-2&keywords=propane+burner ?

I have two different methods of brewing outdoors (and an exceedingly understanding wife to put up with all of this equipment).

1 Propane burner and a 10 gallon aluminum pot for outdoor brewing, and since I do BIAB I also have this steamer basket to hold the grain bag off of the bottom and also while draining.

2 For indoor brewing I use an induction burner and a steel 10 gallon pot. I also use that same steamer basket with this pot. It's a little slower than brewing outdoors, but it is really, really nice to be able to do it in the winter.

If I would recommend anything to you, get that steel 10 gallon pot even if you are doing outdoor brewing it's not that much more expensive and it is nice to be able to use it on an induction burner if you want. I would also highly recommend starting with BIAB before moving to traditional three vessel brewing, it's a bit simpler and you can re-use just about everything but the steamer basket.

I wouldn't go about installing a utility sink (with a significant associated cost) until you're sure this is a hobby you're going to want to continue with. It's easy to get in to homebrewing with relatively minimal cost and scale up from there.

Basically what I would do if I were you would be to keep all of the equipment in a few large plastic totes, then just move everything upstairs to the kitchen for brewdays. It can be stored in the basement in the totes in between brewdays.

If you want to brew in your basement, the only real safe way to do it is by going full-electric. There are a few ways to do that, but it will be significant cost in both time and money. I wouldn't look too much in to that until you've brewed a few batches and moved to all-grain brewing and are sure this is something you're going to want to do for a while. For boiling your full volume of wort for all-grain brewing, you can use a propane burner like this to boil your wort outside for significantly less cost.

If you're doing extract on a gas stove, you should be fine.

Otherwise going brew in a bag, or on an electric you may run in to trouble.

The bayou burners are only ~$50 http://amzn.com/B000291GBQ

In that size range, pretty much any burner will be overkill. On Amazon the SP10 price bounces around a bit. If you're patient you can get it for <$35 shipped.

Are you looking for a 15 gal kettle, or a kettle for 15 gal batches? If you can legally acquire a 1/2 bbl Sanke keg, they make great kettles because of the dished bottom. If you need a 25 gal kettle (for 15 gal batches) I'd try to find a stainless stock pot and either drill it for a weldless bulkhead fitting, or get a welder to put in a port.

If you have a little more cash to spend, it might be worth your time just to get a ready-made kettle from any of the major homebrew suppliers. Some will let you buy the bare kettle and drill it out before shipping.

I may try some home brewing after I do more research. I also might fry a turkey in the future, but it's damn messy. Plus I prefer them slow smoked. Here's my burner. Happy cooking.

Aluminum kettles are cheaper than SS and once oxidized work just as well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68

This is the burner i've been using for over 10 years. Very sturdy, puts out a bunch of heat, and not real expensive.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000291GBQ

The prior recommendation on a wort chiller is good, but I've never seen one for $40.

Bayou Classic

This thing drastically speeds up your boiling. At full blast it should be around 15 minutes to boil 5 gal.

I'm using this burner.

I got a used 7 cu ft magic chef MCCF7W for $50 through someone I know. It seems most chest freezers on Craig's list go for ~$100. The rest of my temp control set up cost a bit over $100, not including my mistakes and bad purchases.

Can't beat the price and quality of this Bayou Classic. I would shoot for a kettle which is 2 gallons more than your boil volume. At heat break, even with Fermcap-S, you might have to tend your kettle to prevent it from boiling over. 2 gallons of space will give you wiggle room for a foamy boil.

I brew 3 gallon batches, and I have a 30qt pot. It works just fine for me.

The pot I bought was from a kitchen store at a local outlet mall and this is the burner I bought. Depending on the size of the batch you brew, the set up you posted could be perfect.

I researched the crap out of burners before I bought mine. I ended up with a Bayou Classic SP10. Out of all the reviews that one seemed to stand out the most. Just another option to throw out there. It's about the same price as the other ones and you can pick it up Here.

I just bought this burner recently: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368037968&sr=8-2&keywords=bayou+classic

Works great for brewing.

Most should, nearly every turkey fryer kit that includes a burner and pot I've seen are easily 10-12 gallons. I use an 8 gallon pot with my Bayou Classic SQ14 and it can easily hold a 15 or even 20 gallon kettle.

This is mine

This one is nearly identical but round and has a wind deflector built into it.

Both of those will easily support 10 gallon steel pots.

If you want 100 bottles per batch, that means 10 gallon batches, so you'll want at least a 15 gallon brew pot. You'll need a burner as well. And if you're planning on doing all grain I think the best option for a mash tun is another 15 gallon kettle with a false bottom. For 10 gallon batches I also suggest a pump, moving that volume of liquid from vessel to vessel without a pump really sucks. If you have a pump you also might as well get a plate chiller if you don't already have a nice chiller.

I agree with Machinehead933 that you should also get a fridge or freezer with temperature controller for fermentation. Good fermentation temperatures are essential. A grain mill is also a good suggestion if you don't have a LHBS with a good grain mill.

Here is a list of my suggestions:

• 15 Megapot with ball valve for your brew pot = $236.99
  
• 15 Megapot with ball valve, thermometer, and false bottom for your mash tun = $377.98
  
• Bayou burner = $48.98
  
• March Pump = $159.99
  
• Plate Chiller = $84.95
  
• Temperature controller for fridge or freezer = $79.99
  
• Fridge or freezer, I personally prefer a large chest freezer. You can either buy a new one or find one on craigslist.
  
  You'll also need some 1/2" NPT fittings, hose clamps, and high temp tubing for connecting the pump, brew pot/mash tun, and the chiller.
  
  You should have a few hundred dollars left over after all that. If you still want to spend it on brewing I suggest a kegging system. If you brew regularly, bottling 10 gallon batches will be pretty tedious. Plus with kegs you can more easily control your carbonation level and you have the cool factor.
  
  

There's also this one: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/. If you don't need the pot, this might be a better option. It's cheaper, and gets up to 55,000 BTUs. If I was just wanting to wok things up, that's what I'd get.

Also, you can use those with your cast iron as well. Have you ever had fajitas? It's sort of like Mexican stir fry. The outdoor burner is excellent at getting those nice, crispy edges on the peppers and onion.

And if you wanted to deep fry, those outdoor burners are very nice. They don't stink up the house at all.

All I've seen sous vide is turkey breast.

I built my own controller and use it with an old analog slow cooker: http://i.imgur.com/jtUH15j.jpg. Steak is indeed very good with it. And it makes amazing eggs, too!

I love the smell, my wife does not.

As far as a burner goes, Here is what I use. I love it and just bought my second one so I can have two going at a time.

Absolutely anything high heat I use a propane Turkey cooker burner outside, it's just about as close as you can get to a wok burner.

Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor Gas Cooker, Propane https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_E2zvyb1VVQSW4

If you have any outdoor space available, you can pick up one of these bad boys to avoid the smoke inside your apartment: https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=Single+burner+propane+stove&qid=1573662794&sr=8-6

Burners as well! I had the middle bass pro burner already, but the two others were $50ea shipped. I had to cut them out of their frame w/ a grinder.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1376575119&sr=8-2&keywords=bayou+classic

You can't travel with something like this? (Can't speak to this brand, it was what came up first) https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

That burner looks fine, although 58k BTUs is not exactly a ton of power. For a similar price you could get a Bayou SP10 which is a common burner for homebrewing. Whatever you get, I would highly recommend you get one with a wind screen around the burner.

Propane usage depends on a number of things: ambient temp, boil time, whether you are doing all-grain or extract, etc. But figure about 1-2 lbs per hour. So a standard 20 lbs BBQ tank could get around 5 extract brew days once you include heating the water, boil times, etc.

While the one linked by /u/throw667 is lovely, this is 50, and you can probably figure out the table part on your own. There are a dozen other similar ones

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

If you want it to have it's own legs, I don't think I've seen any over 60k BTU. Probably still enough (certainly way, way more than any home kitchen), but not quite as hot.

https://www.amazon.com/High-Pressure-Burner-Propane-Stove/dp/B07JNK5CHG/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=wok+burner&qid=1567609250&s=gateway&sr=8-7

I am going to put that on top of a metal table to elevate it and I’ll have my entire set up!

If you don’t want to find a table or don’t have a metal table/ have a lower budget check this one out

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=wok+burner&qid=1567609321&s=gateway&sr=8-8

I'm curious about the differences between the Bayou Single Patio that you recommend, and the Bayou Classic SP10 here:

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=pd_sbs_86_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=51eK3C4bUsL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL320_SR288%2C320_&refRID=FC0GE5QZGFSYMDZVRT8A

Never made a keggle, but am pretty handy so take my answers with a grain of salt.

1. I'd take a look at the specs of other prebuilt kettles with valves. This should give you a good idea of where to put your valve. They do vary due to bent/rotatable racking arms and preference. Might have to head into a brick and mortar store to take some measurements.
   
2. Boil off is independent of how much water you have in your kettle. So theoretically you can place 1 gallon in your keggle, boil for 15 minutes, and measure after cooling with a tight fitting lid to determine your boil off rate. Take this volume and multiply by 4 to get your hourly boil off rate. I personally used 3 gallons of water since 1 gallon looked like a tiny amount in my 15 gallon kettle.
   
3. I'm struggling to picture how your burner is set up. Got a link to a similar one? As long as the bars you are cutting/trimming aren't for support you should be fine. If the bars are weight bearing I would go with a different burner. I have using this one for 7 years and have never had a problem with it.
   
   Edit: spelling.

I'm not a fan of Mr. Beer, but there are people making great beer with it. However, what you will want to get is a starter kit from the likes of Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer, or Brewer's Best. This plus a kettle (at least 4 gallons) will set you up for extract brewing.

If you want to brew all-grain, upgrade that kettle to at least 7.5 gallons (I recommend 10 gallons) and build a mash tun.

Edit: If you go all-grain, you're likely going to need a propane burner to get all that wort boiling. IMO, the best bang for the buck is the Bayou Classic SP10.

Similar to this. A lot of apartments won't allow stuff like this on balconies, so you might want to check before buying one.

Before I bought my propane burner (just one, for BIAB 5-gallon batches), I spent a long time researching, but trying to bend my results into something I could get at Academy, because I wanted to just drive down the road and get it there. In the end, I couldn't find anything that was quite right and ended up ordering a Bayou SP10 from Amazon. I've been very happy with it.

I've used this variation too and it seems plenty sturdy http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

The base of a turkey fryer works pretty darn well, imo.

I bought something similar to the BassPro one you have linked ~6 years ago. Still use it to this day, although the burner needs to be replaced (throwing black soot). The stand is still in great condition, considering it spent the first 4 years of its life outside 24/7, even through the midwest winters. The cast iron burner in those are the same as the often recommended SP10 Bayou Burners.

It's odd, there's a bit of a price spike, but you might get a better deal shortly after Thanksgiving when there's excess stock. Could you get one locally instead of relying on online?

That burner is a standard sp10 burner it works well, and I've owned two of them they put out about 55000 btus(also (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=asc_df_B000291GBQ5255587/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B000291GBQ&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167145798705&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5980572057898763550&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005907&hvtargid=pla-273250500859)[note this is the same burner for half the price]).


the kab4 is 200000 btu. And it's only 30 bucks more. The time difference in getting to a boil is significant.

Seconded. I have the SP10 with built-in windscreeen and I get way more than 3 batches out of a tank.

Mind you I also go the refill route which can net 25% more propane per tank than exchanging at Blue Rhino.

Hey, I was just thinking the same thing.

https://redd.it/5mf9i1

Trying to use my existing stove top popcorn popper that already has a lid attachment. Just plan on drilling holes in the side of the pan & attaching a baffle/arm on the inside some how. I use a propane "bayou burner" that's like a jet engine & fucking awesome for many uses. Also, it's cheap. Just need to rig this up & get to work. Ever since the gears on my popper failed me, I've been using a wood spoon in the pan method instead. Still surprisingly good & smooth coffee; but, for some reason the bean's appearance has been a little off/inconsistent compared to my normal rotary arm when gears are functioning properly.

https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

Something like this turkey fryer will get you well over 100K btus on a budget, as well, for under $50. I've got one on the back porch and it's pretty fantastic.

thats a pretty valid reason.

in your situation, i would have spent about 100 bucks on a big ass tank of propane and an outdoor gas burner.

http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407735205&sr=8-1&keywords=gas+stove+outdoor

http://www.amazon.com/Flame-King-YSN-201-20-Pound-Cylinder/dp/B000FIVGYQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1407735266&sr=8-6&keywords=propane+tank

My parents dont have an exhaust that vents outdoors, and they cook indian food. as such, they have one of these stoves and propane tanks and cook all aromatic things on that in the garage. all non-aromatic stuff like boiling water and cooking omelette and stuff happens indoors but doesnt ahve to. for about 100 bucks you can also get a dual burner one, and you can get a bigger propane tank if you want. they work beautifully.

theres also electric indoor stovetops and indoor gas stovetops. my family in india exclusively cooks on an indoor 3-burner gas countertop stove. its all anyone really has, theres practically never a kitchen that has built in stoves. in japan they have these single burner cooking tops and some dual burner ones.

gas lasts a long ass time too and its pretty cheap.