Grilling is somewhat new to me. When I bought my house last August, the previous owner left us an older Kenmore grill. I am using the hell out of that thing. It does the job, but it's old and needs to be replaced. With Spring upon us, it's time for a new one.

I want something with a large grilling area (at least 400 cubic inches), some workspace, and NO burners (I have a stove for that). Seems that Webers with large grilling areas come with all kinds of bells and whistles that I don't want. There are a couple of Vermont Castings grills that I want to look at.

Just wondering what everyone else has.

gas = teh suck. i prefer charcoal and charcoal accessories... :p

i have a 22.5" Weber kettle grill and i love it! i bought the wooden side tray for it (it's supposed to be a cutting board/side tray, but i stained it w/ Minwax instead).

also have a little 14" for when i'm cooking for only myself.

Charcoal is cool, but for me it's a time issue. I don't want to wait 30 minutes for charcoal to heat up.

I want a gas grill with briquettes.

I have one of these and I LOVE IT.
http://charbroil.com/i/grills/product/480_1.jpg
Cost $260 from home depot. It's got a burner but meh, it's got a cover so you don't have to use it. Best part about it is that it's actually got IRON grating on it :drool:

Cooking System:

PrecisionHeat™ 48,000 BTU cooking system

Four porcelain cast iron burners

13,000 BTU Outdoor Stove and Griddle

Cooking Surface:

480 sq. in. porcelain cast iron grate

195 sq. in. warming rack

180 sq. in. non-stick cooking griddle

855 total sq. in.

Electronic Ignition:

28,000 volt FastStart® electronic ignition

Special Features:

Temperature gauge

Weather-resistant side shelves

Stainless steel control panel

Front condiment basket

Powder coat cart with 8” wheels

Looks good, Gibson. I'm going to look at Char-Broil grills at Home Depot this weekend.

I don't want a cooking griddle though.

I have a weber 18.5 inch charcoal grill. I love the thing. Charcoal tastes much better IMHO.
Eventually, I would like a char-broil gas grill or a charcoal/gas convertable grill.
The bigger grills appear safer on wooden decks. My weber grill is down on a concrete slab. A bit annoying since I have a 4 tiered deck that I have to descend to reach it. Very fun when carrying meat back and forth.

Looks good, Gibson. I'm going to look at Char-Broil grills at Home Depot this weekend.

I don't want a cooking griddle though.The griddle is just a plate you throw over the grate. We threw ours out :p And there's a cover over the burner so you can just use it as a setting place. But either way, I highly recommend charbroil.:nice:

I have this charbroil (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=158647-82210-463251505&lpage=none) It's awesome. Best grill I've ever owned.

Things to look for ( I used to sale grilles at Lowe's)

Burners - stay away from the pancake style. Get cast iron or brass, or some sort with a flare/splash cover in it

Build - stay away from the pressed metal types. The cheaper ones have these crapy type of cast metals, that break really easy. Stainless steel is the way to go :nice:

it's nice to have one that has the cutouts for a rotissere(sp), a bun warming rack (also good to cook corn on), stainless steel racks are nice, but porecelin coated are just as good IMO.

that's about all I can remember. Weber's are good, but overpriced. You can get a good Charbroil for MUCH less. Charbroil is an AWESOME company to deal with. When I was working at Lowe's, they would send us replacement parts for free w/o question. Now, my boss has one like mine, it's about 2 years old. Everytime he's unhappy about a part, he calls them and they, w/o question, send him a new part... including the entire hood! The webers are good grilles, and I never recall any complaints, but for the money, get a good charbroil (they make most of the grilles on the market)

Don't pay for assembly. These things are easy assembly.

oh, for 100 bux more, you can get this nice SS grille (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=158649-82210-463251605&lpage=none)

just to add, I was always a charcoal guy, but man, these new high quality grilles are just as good, and way more convenient. They have special "flavor bars" and splatter shields etc that catch the "juices" and sizzle them, thus adding flavor back into the meat.

Charcoal is great if you have more then 2 people to cook for, but for me, it's just me and the wife. I can turn the gas on, hit the electric ignition, and be cooking in 1 minute. No wasted charcoal, no waiting for it to heat up. Just go.

If you get yours from lowe's, get the little cast iron smoker box like this (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=79771-451-4984806&lpage=none). It really works! Soak the chips for 30 mins, drain, set it in on top of your burners, and smoke away. It adds a lot of flavor! Also, don't forget to get a good grille cover and a brush to clean the grates with.

I'm with you on the side burner, I have no user for it, but mine has a nice SS cover for it :D

Thanks for the input, Kraw! So I take it briquettes/rocks are not in all grills? It looks like Char-Broil does not use them.

I do like the price of the Char-Broils.

Thanks for the input, Kraw! So I take it briquettes/rocks are not in all grills? It looks like Char-Broil does not use them.

I do like the price of the Char-Broils.Correct, you don't need rocks for this one. Although, like he said you can put wood or flavorings into the pans and they cook into the meat :)

no, the better grilles no longer use the lava rocks etc. The burners act as heat dispersers. That's all the rocks were for anyways, to spread the heat out and to sizzle the juices.

The older burners would have hte flames come out of the top of the burner, where as the newer ones come out the bottom and spread out

once you do get yours, make sure you start cooking your corn on the cob on the grille. I love corn, but man, it's 100000x better on the grille.

we soak 2 ears a tub of ice/water for 30 mins, then take some Tony's seasoning and mix it with butter, rub it all over the corn, wrap in tin, then grille it! You'll be amazed at how much more flavor corn has when it isn't boiled out

Cool. You guys rock.

I love corn on the cob. Mmmmm.....

Charcoal is cool, but for me it's a time issue. I don't want to wait 30 minutes for charcoal to heat up.

I want a gas grill with briquettes.
that was my complaint at first. now i use one of those chimney starters and it gets my coals ready in about 15 mins... i don't mind the 15 min wait. :)

I second the chimney starter idea. Awesome concept and I use them every time I grill.

that was my complaint at first. now i use one of those chimney starters and it gets my coals ready in about 15 mins... i don't mind the 15 min wait. :)
in 15mins, I'm cutting into my ribeye :drool:

15 min? Slow and easy wins the race.
BBQing tastes much better than traditional grilling.

yep, at about 350-400 degrees, it takes about 8 mins per side on my grille :nice: I don't BBQ mine. I do marinate though

I bought a Sunbeam gas grill a few years ago at Wal-Mart. I like it. I most likely spent about $150-$200 on it (because I'm a tight ass) and it works great for the family, and still has room to cook for friends when they come over. It has two wood shelves (one on each side). I hate that side burner crap.

I also have a Brinkman smoker charcoal grill for when I want to do it right. I soak mesquite or hickory chips in water for about 20 minutes then add them to the charcoal a little at a time to flavor the steaks. :nice:

I hate that side burner crap.
Agreed. It's a waste of space. Give me more space to place things on.
I also have a Brinkman smoker charcoal grill for when I want to do it right. I soak mesquite or hickory chips in water for about 20 minutes then add them to the charcoal a little at a time to flavor the steaks. :nice:
I do smoking in our Weber with chips and a pan of apply juice on the side.

This thread makes me hungry.

This thread makes me hungry.
"This thread is romantic." - Jojo


:D

a weber genesis silver for the big stuff/things that take a long time to cook/multiple courses

weber kettle + chimney starter for burgers, steaks, fish

I do tend to us the kettle more often on the weekends

my husband handed me the tongs a few years ago :)



I'm currently debating whether adding a rotisserie (for ~$75) is worth the expense, does anyone have an opinion?

I was told that using a rotisserie takes a few hours and if you don't have a full tank and a spare, you maybe be SOL

well we made an impulse purchase :) and tried it out with a full tank

a roast took a few hours, but the lid was closed and I had only the front and back burners on low/med for the entire time

I'm surprised that it didnt' suck up all teh gas, not by a long shot considering the hunk of meat and the time it was on - the roast came out lovely - very flavorful and moist

I have a whole chicken to do tmro and will report back ;)

I did not buy a grill this past weekend. I went looking, but did not buy. It seems that whatever brand I do with, I need to buy a higher-end model because I grill year round and the grill needs to be able to handle New England winters.

So yeah, bummer for me that I need to buy a nicer model than I originally had planned. :)

what's on the weber grill that you don't want? I do have a burner on mine but have only used it 3x or so - we had a fancy one (forget the name) from a grill only store that cost way more than this before and it did last a very long time - the thing about the webers (aside from owner loyalty) is that you can get parts for it everywhere

as for winter use, the kettle one (smokey joe) + charcoal + chimney works just dandy for when you just have to have a burger or grilled NY strip, I shovelled the back deck several times this winter just to do that :)

when I did buy, I got it from this place: http://www.grillstuff.com/?source=googleweber same price or less than home depot and they delivered it to my deck for free, they threw in the flavorizer bars for free and discounted the cover - quite happy with the service.

regardless - good luck with your decision

Grilling is somewhat new to me. When I bought my house last August, the previous owner left us an older Kenmore grill. I am using the hell out of that thing. It does the job, but it's old and needs to be replaced. With Spring upon us, it's time for a new one.

I want something with a large grilling area (at least 400 cubic inches), some workspace, and NO burners (I have a stove for that). Seems that Webers with large grilling areas come with all kinds of bells and whistles that I don't want. There are a couple of Vermont Castings grills that I want to look at.

Just wondering what everyone else has.


I cook on charcoal .... don't like gas, may as well just cook inside if its on gass. I use a kenmore grill, and I also have a small walmart special grill I use when I'm not cooking alot.