SiGGy

That sucks; that's a nice grill I posted. And it's on sale right now!

I have a cheapy Charbroil SS grill I use that's 3-4 years old. Still looks perfect and it cooks good and I'm pretty picky about my grilling. Really if you get a decent cheap grill and *MAN YOUR POST* you can grill good. Most grilling problems come in when people just leave the meat and go do something else.


I don't have any personal experience with Brinkmann but it seems to be good quality.

fdl

Will Costo let you return a used grill 1 year later?

Scrib

I have heard that getting parts for the grill at Costco is a royal bitch.

fdl

Hey dom, I went to the depot tonight and they've got the new webers. They increased the BTU's to 42000 (from 36000) on the genesis line.

fdl

The thing that still confuses me is the cooking grate. Obviously stainless steel is best for rusting, but then there is cast iron which is suppose to be the best for heat , and there is also porcelain coated cast iron - which is kind of like the best of both worlds.

dom

So after having looked at Broil-Mate/King, Centro's and every other sub $500 BBQ sold at Big Box stores I decided that I just would not be happy with a sub $500 gas BBQ.

I ended up picking this up instead for my Weber.



When I BBQ my charcoal Weber into the ground I'll end up picking up a high end Weber, Naploean or Vermont Castings. Its well worth the money IMO. But I can't justify spending $800 to $1000 bucks when I already have another BBQ.

fdl, I highly recommend you visit the BBQ warehouse if you haven't already. Awesome selection and the prices are good too. I picked up the Rotisserie for $149. Its $110 US on ebay.

JLatimer

Could you replace the hose assembly with a locally purchased one. Perhaps the threading that mates the hose to the valve assembly is standard - just thread on a new hose and bingo... I can see the tanks being different, but likely not the valve assembly connection.

Whiskers

Dunno...I bought a cheapo Weber charoal deal....Burnt my first burgers...

GreenMonster

Those cheapo Weber charcoal grilles are the "secret recipe" for grilling chicken...

Chicken just don't come out right unless it's done on charoal IMHO... But, I'm a sucker for that cancer causing crispy chicken skin goodness

Mickey, and old freind from high school taught me about chicken and charcoal long ago... It kills me to cook chicken on my propane weber, but I'm to lazy to hassle with charcoal, and I don't even own a charcoal grille anymore

dom

Cheapo? My charcoal Weber cost $399.

But charcoal is charcoal I guess...

GreenMonster

Yeah, I was kinda stuck on that too... I decided I wanted a Weber, and wanted to buy from a local place... and they offered the SS grates... The box stores (sears, home depot, lowes) have different weber grates so they can claim they are "exclusive". My local guy setup my grille and delivered it to my door. For the same price. The box stores won't do that...

I found out what all three grates cost as replacements, and I seem to remember that the SS ones were the most. So I went with the SS grates (which I was leaning towards anyways) and figured if I didn't like 'em, I could buy the cast iron ones later...

I don't grill as often as I should so I'm happy with the SS grates. I'd hate to have to re-season the cast iron ones, but for heat retention, the iron ones are probably the best...

I went with the SS grates since I figured they would be the least work to deal with.

GreenMonster

I'm thinking about the cheap mushroom webers... I'm guessing that's what whiskers has. I keep forgetting that you and Dom have "big" ones...



I've got found memories of cooking on one of those $30 grilles... I'm making myself hungry jus thinking about it

dom

Me and dom?

Wheather it be a cheapo weber or a mine, it all tastes the same.

I got mine as an egagement gift, I probably wouldn't have paid $399 for a charcoal BBQ.

Its going to be 0 celcius here on Saturday but I'm really hoping to use my new rotiseree I don't think I can wait.

GreenMonster

Yeah, Dom modded his IIRC...

dom

?? What other dom?

dom the nav guy?

GreenMonster

that avatar is fucking me up royally... I swear I'm talking to FDL... I even quoted your post, and still thought I was talking to FDL :shakehead

Fucking Jonesi...

dom

I figured.

Damn that Jonesi.. I have to change it back but I'm too lazy.

GINge!

Dom, I picked up my dad a centro NG grill last summer at a CT in Clarkson. Price was a factor for sure. So was he fact he didn't cook that often on it; perhaps 3/month.

He's told me that the flavour is not as good as his old NG grill. The old one had a smaller cooking area, and those lava(?) rocks on a grate directly above the burner. The new Centro was bigger, and diverted the drippings to avoid flare ups, ie no rocks. I cooked a few times on the centro and found it would not get up to my 600F+ searing temp. It would go to maybe 450F, not a biggie, I just had to cook for longer.

He really does miss the smoky taste of the other grill, so I am going to hunt around for some flavour bars or equivalent.

I have an HG hook up here in Edmonton, but I am sticking with propane as it really does seem to burn hotter.

Gpump

I've got an 18 inch round Weber - about $60 and it does everything right. I used to have a low end propane grill and I've found that it is much harder to burn/screw up meat on the charcoal. That, and I love the smoked flavor - I am one of those who thought there was no difference in taste until I tried the charcoal - old grill went to the recycling center.

For those with a gas grill, one of the upper end meat shops I used to frequent reccomended (and conveniently sold) hardwood chunks (about the size of a baseball to softball) - pecan, hickory, mesquite. I bought a half dozen pecan ones and wrapped them up in aluminum foil then laid them on the lava rocks (did I mention it was a cheapo grill? ). The wood would just smolder and it smelled really good, almost sweet when I opened up the lid. The meat tasted a little different, but nothing like the difference between gas and charcoal. But, it was better than the flame alone. Just something those of you with a gas/propane grill may want to experiement with.

fdl

A good gas grill should come close to charcoal, because it allows the juices to drip off onto flavor bars and burn/smoke back up to the meat. This gives it its smoky flavor.

I still haven't decided between propane and natural gas..arg. I like the idea of endless gas with the NG, but I also like the ability to move the BBQ around with the propane, including into the garage for some winter bbqing . I want to pull the trigger today, but I cant decide?

Any opinions?

Whiskers

Yeah...Thats pretty much what I have (with wheels, I paid 50 pounds)....

Im still getting used to charcoal instead of gas. My first attempt at burgers failed, but I did some steaks yesterday which were better. My biggest problem is not being able to control the flame. Also, Im not sure what the best process to get it started it (ie. light with fluid, wait 20 minutes, etc.)...

moeronn

Personally, I wound only go NG if you the grill is part of an island that will not move. If you think you'll want/need to move the grill, then propane seems like the right choice. If you're really concerned about running out of gas, get an extra tank (and keep it filled).

Edit: I'm not sure you want to bbq in the garage, though. Carbon monoxide might be a slight problem.

doopstr

Been a hell of a long time since I used charcoal but I believe there shouldn't be much, if any, flame when you start cooking. You light it and wait until the bricks turn grey. At that point they should just be hot with little fire.

Whiskers

I think thats my issue...I expect fire....

MR1

No...No...No Fire That turns dinner into charcoal.

Glowing coals is what you are after. Control the heat with the air vents. Keep a soda bottle of water to sprinkle on any flames that pop up. It takes time to do it correctly.

fdl

Well, I'd have the door open. I'm not stupid

Whiskers

Ok!

dom

Run a natural gas line into the garage as well.

fdl

This thought crossed my mind as well, depending on the cost of course.

soopa

I got a 18.5" Weber Silver for christmas, very nice little grill for ~$60. I used it for the first time this weekend, put it together in 5 minutes, and thanks to a Weber chimney starter had perfect coals in 15 minutes.

Can't beat that charcoal taste.

mg7726

^^

propane sux!

Yumcha

Bump.

Time for me to get a BBQ as well. Anyone here have the Weber EP-310? I can get it for around $600ish CDN and am wondering what the AZ BBQmasters' opinions were.

My budget is around $500-$650 tops. And from what I'm reading in this thread, most of the experts seem to be against a Weber? Mind you, I think the 310 retails for close to $1000.

As well, alot of the Costco links are now broken and don't go anywhere...so, hope I can get some input! Much appreciated!

Yumcha

And oh, I'm gathering that it is a to get a propane BBQ.


I guess I'll hafta get a natural gas line run to the deck. My second question: how much will that cost me?

Yumcha

And @ Lynx pricing...Holy fawk...can BBQs go that $$$$...?!?

Sarlacc

Char-Broil has their new RED line (gas/infrared) that starts around $600 that I would love to get right now, but I cant justify that cost at the moment.

I ALMOST pulled the trigger on getting a Kenmore 4 burner that was on sale for $250 today.

Stupid HoA says no grills on the decks....but I'm seeing more and more people in the building and setting them up...so I'm going to wait and see what happens. They did build some VERY nice communal bbqs with Jenn-Air...but the couple who used them were douche bags and didnt bother to clean them after so I refuse to use them.

Anyone know who Kenmore farms out to make their grills? Weber maybe?

And yeah, Lynx among others...waste of money.

Dan

No matter what fuel, get cast iron grill surface and the biggest BTU burner you can find.

Yumcha

Thanks, Dan! Keep the advice coming, everyone!

Dan

Just noticed your from up north. Thats where the BBQ I got is made.

http://www.broilkingbbq.com/index.html

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

Honestly Yum don't let the NG blind you, While it's highly convenient to not have to worry about filling propane tanks, unless you are having the cook out to end all cook outs you don't need NG. We keep a 3 tank rotation of propane at our place, we've never ever ran out. When one's done you throw it in the trunk and you still have 2 full ones kicking around, and simply fill it up next time you grab gas. And the ability to move the grill is nice too for different events/seasons. Tanks are not expensive either.

This method can depend on your space as well, if you have a tiny backyard NG could be a better choice, we have a pool and large deck so it's nice to be able to configure our cooking/dining space for different types of events. And it's always nice to be able to move the grill into the garage or under the cabana in winter.

Basically consider how you could utilize your space and the different kinds of grilling situations you are most likely to encounter and decide from there whether to go NG or Propane. Hank OUT.

+1 for broil king I have a cheaper 299 one at school and it has been awesome the last 3 years. Best bbq I have used yet.

Edit: found it on there site

Dan

Here's how to do it. I get the best results when the temp is about 800 degrees.

http://www.theperfectsteak.com/grill..._printable.pdf