Grill recommendations

I'm going to be getting myself a new grill here pretty soon, but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to what I want/need.

I think I prefer gas, for convenience

But everyone says charcoal tastes better

And what about these pellets grills? Albeit everyone I've seen is WAY out of my price range

I'm looking for something sub $200

It will mostly handle chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. With the occasional steak, shrimp, and veggies

Hey Sly, welcome to the Mess Hall. Thanks for posting your thread.

Weber grills may be just the ticket for you.

Can't go wrong with a Weber kettle with natural lump charcoal. Get the one with the grate that can be opened at the sides for maximum flexibility. The grill, starter chimney and cover should leave you with enough left over for some nice steaks.

Is the premium worth the extra money? 22" original is $99 22" premium is $149

SlyMoose said:

Is the premium worth the extra money? 22" original is $99 22" premium is $149

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That 50% "premium" is a little stiff. Looking at what comes extra on the pricier one, only the hinged grate is of any real use. If you are doing the fast cooking stuff you mention, even that is superfluous. A basic kettle would be just as functional. If you decide that you want a hinged grate down the road for longer cooks, it is only $19, a tool hook listed on the Premium runs $3.99 .. I've used a Weber in the past, and have an 18" to back-up the Green Egg.

I like my Weber gas

turtle said:

I like my Weber gas

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I bought that exact same grill about 22 or 23 years ago. I used it up until 2 years ago when we built a new grill into the new outdoor kitchen setup that we built. I only replaced it because it wasn't visually pleasing. It still performs great. What did I choose for the new grill, another Weber of course. How could I not. The first one lasted me 20 years during that time the only thing that got replaced during this time were the triangular shaped flavor bars. The ignition switch finally went went bad at year 22 but that's an easy inexpensive fix. The grill is now at my best friends house as he got upgraded when I bought my new one. So the grill is still going strong after 23 years and there's no reason it couldn't keep going strong for 20 more years.

They aren't cheap upfront but in the long run they definitely save you money. I was enjoying a very high quality grill that ran me about $600 and is still going strong after 23 years, while my friends kept replacing their $200 grills every two years as they literally fell apart.

+1
At that price point you cant beat a Webber Kettle. Charcoal is really not that inconvenient, tastes better and is more enjoyable to use. I switched about 2 years ago and have not looked back. I ended up getting an Acorn (egg shaped insulated charcoal grill) which is fantastic but I think they might set you back closer to $300 now. Still it's about 1/4 the price of the Green Egg and from what I understand works just as well.

macnutty said:

Can't go wrong with a Weber kettle with natural lump charcoal. Get the one with the grate that can be opened at the sides for maximum flexibility. The grill, starter chimney and cover should leave you with enough left over for some nice steaks.

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Go to www.amazingribs.com meathead has reviews and he is the Man when it comes to this stuff!

For charcoal a Weber kettle is the best inexpensive grill made.

However for gas -- let me tell you a little story. I bought my house 20 years ago. And bought an inexpensive gas grill. Four or five years later it was toast, so I bought another one. Repeat every 4 or 5 years to equal 5 cheap grills. (The last one only lasted a year -- I hated it and sold it on Criagslist.)
Finally last year I bought a Weber Genesis. Yes, it was $700. But it has a 10/20 year warranty (burner parts/shell). If I had bought the Weber originally 20 years ago, I would have not only saved money, but it would STILL be under warranty.

Lesson: Cheap grills are no savings.

langod said:

For charcoal a Weber kettle is the best inexpensive grill made.

However for gas -- let me tell you a little story. I bought my house 20 years ago. And bought an inexpensive gas grill. Four or five years later it was toast, so I bought another one. Repeat every 4 or 5 years to equal 5 cheap grills. (The last one only lasted a year -- I hated it and sold it on Criagslist.)
Finally last year I bought a Weber Genesis. Yes, it was $700. But it has a 10/20 year warranty (burner parts/shell). If I had bought the Weber originally 20 years ago, I would have not only saved money, but it would STILL be under warranty.

Lesson: Cheap grills are no savings.

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+1

Love my Weber kettles. I've used gas too, and they're convenient, but only marginally moreso

I am of the firm belief that you simply cannot do better than a Weber. I have run the gamut of grills since the 1970s-Char-Broil, Akorn, Holland, and a few others which I can't remember the name....
Weber has simply been the best of the entire lot. I got my first Weber back in the 80s and cooked it to death; nothing lasts forever. But as it held up to outdoor exposure 24/7 365 days a year for quite a while, I sold it when we moved. After toying with some of the products listed earlier, I came back to my senses and bought another Weber. Same deal...sat outside every day all day-sometimes covered, sometimes not.
Ran that for about 6-7 years. Was still working just fine, but didn't feel like moving it when we relocated. So....
Here we are once more with a PAIR of Webers. In a perfect world it is a great idea to have a gas AND charcoal grill. We cook outdoors 3-4-5 times a week. Sometimes it's nice to be able to quickly fire it up for a couple dogs and burgers. Other times, for more detailed tasks (ribs, pork butt, sometimes steaks, etc.) the charcoal rig is the way to go. Considering Weber's excellent warranty and customer service, there really isn't another option...

langod said:

For charcoal a Weber kettle is the best inexpensive grill made.

However for gas -- let me tell you a little story. I bought my house 20 years ago. And bought an inexpensive gas grill. Four or five years later it was toast, so I bought another one. Repeat every 4 or 5 years to equal 5 cheap grills. (The last one only lasted a year -- I hated it and sold it on Criagslist.)
Finally last year I bought a Weber Genesis. Yes, it was $700. But it has a 10/20 year warranty (burner parts/shell). If I had bought the Weber originally 20 years ago, I would have not only saved money, but it would STILL be under warranty.

Lesson: Cheap grills are no savings.

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I had the exact same experience.

Acmemfg said:

View attachment 662573

I am of the firm belief that you simply cannot do better than a Weber. I have run the gamut of grills since the 1970s-Char-Broil, Akorn, Holland, and a few others which I can't remember the name....
Weber has simply been the best of the entire lot. I got my first Weber back in the 80s and cooked it to death; nothing lasts forever. But as it held up to outdoor exposure 24/7 365 days a year for quite a while, I sold it when we moved. After toying with some of the products listed earlier, I came back to my senses and bought another Weber. Same deal...sat outside every day all day-sometimes covered, sometimes not.
Ran that for about 6-7 years. Was still working just fine, but didn't feel like moving it when we relocated. So....
Here we are once more with a PAIR of Webers. In a perfect world it is a great idea to have a gas AND charcoal grill. We cook outdoors 3-4-5 times a week. Sometimes it's nice to be able to quickly fire it up for a couple dogs and burgers. Other times, for more detailed tasks (ribs, pork butt, sometimes steaks, etc.) the charcoal rig is the way to go. Considering Weber's excellent warranty and customer service, there really isn't another option...

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I have the same setup, but my Weber was a roadside find about 16 years ago. I put stainless grates and burners in it and replaced the rusted falvorizer bars with thick gauge angle iron.

All up cost for that grill has been about $50.

Not bad. When it's time for another, it will be a Weber.

The Smoky Mountain is just an incredible piece of equipment too.

Fun fact ... I've owned four, maybe even upwards of six Webers (have two currently -- hell, come to think of it, we gave one away meaning we had three at one point!) and I've never paid for any of them LOL

That said, I'll always have a Weber kettle ... so very versatile

jjking54 said:

Fun fact ... I've owned four, maybe even upwards of six Webers (have two currently -- hell, come to think of it, we gave one away meaning we had three at one point!) and I've never paid for any of them LOL

That said, I'll always have a Weber kettle ... so very versatile

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How do I get on the Christmas list you're on?
[emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1]

LOL ... I always inherited my dad's old ones, when he upgraded. And if you know webers, even if they're old, they still work like a champ. I think I had two or three of those. When I remarried last year, my wife had both a stand alone weber, as well as a weber with the side table and on the cart (don't know the name).

Have a Weber 22in kettle. Extremely pleased with it

Here's another vote for Weber. I had a Kettle that I rode until the wheels came off (almost literally). When it finally gave up the ghost, I called up Weber on the advice of my brother. I had no proof of purchase, but the very nice lady directed me were to look for a date code (on the lid, if I recall). It turns out that I was about nine years and nine months into a ten-year warranty. She asked me about all the parts, including the grate. In the end, they pretty much sent me a new grill for free, including shipping. All I had to do was take a few bolts out of the stand (that was in fine shape) and replace the bowl.

When it comes to grills, there are two types: Weber, and the sort I won't buy.

As far as charcoal v. gas, I don't quite get the convenience argument. So many say "it's so convenient." I spend about a minute longer lighting a fire than someone takes pushing an ignition button, and the fire takes about as much time to be ready as it takes a gas grill to heat up properly. If I have to wait, we're talking a few minutes. You still have to clean both, unless you'd rather they didn't last.

The only inconvenience you really have with charcoal is that you need to pay attention to timing. You just need to be ready when your fire is. You don't want to miss the fire. Of course, if something happens, you toss some more charcoal on, and it's ready to go quickly.

In the end, the amount of time I spend lighting or tending a fire is a lot less than the time and expense I see folks spend trying to figure out how to make food from a gas grill taste like food from a charcoal grill, and that's after they've spent 3-10x the bucks on the grill. If that's "convenient," then I guess I grew up differently.

Here's how to make food from a gas grill taste like it came from a charcoal grill: grill it, serve it. Be glad that propane doesn't make all those tasty carcinogens when you cook with it.

Just sayin'. 😉