grills

[pxc]

I'm buying a house in September and plan to pick up a new grill. I've been looking at one at Lowes that does both propane and charcoal, and has a smoker box attachment. But some of the reviews online said they rust quickly. Reading reviews can make you think that there are no grills out there worth buying.

Do any of you have any suggestions? I definitely want a charcoal grill big enough to feed 15ish people on the weekends. I would also like the convenience of a propane grill for weeknights when I'm just cooking some burgers or brats for the family. A 2-in-1 seems like a neat idea but if there aren't any worth buying then I'm not against having 2 separate grills. I am pretty open for suggestions.

[OldSchoolHacker]

I'm buying a house in September and plan to pick up a new grill. I've been looking at one at Lowes that does both propane and charcoal, and has a smoker box attachment. But some of the reviews online said they rust quickly. Reading reviews can make you think that there are no grills out there worth buying.

Unless you just want a propane fired charcoal grill like the Weber Performer, I'd recommend that you pick up a nice Weber gas grill and a Weber One Touch Gold for charcoal like I did. I outfitted my OTG with a thing called a "Smokenator" and I can smoke pork shoulders, chicken or sausage as well as many purpose built smokers. Most of those big box store grills don't last for anything and I've had my Webers for 8 and 15 years respectively. Before you hit the store though, check Craigslist. Sometimes there's great buys on lightly used Weber stuff there. (I don't work for Weber but I do put a great deal of value on quality built stuff backed by great customer service.) Congrats on the new house.

[vmsea]

Propane -Weber - they grill even, last long, basically quality for your money

Charcoal - I heard the BGE (big green egg) is best money can buy..
but i don't know.. never used charcol.

[max power]

I can vouch for a Weber propane grill-6 years without a hitch in both the desert and the snow.

[jamo]

We've had our Weber propane grill for over 10 years and it's still going strong. I can't vouch for charcoal though.

With propane if you need to smoke just soak some wood chips (available at some food stores in the summer and at Lowes/Home Depot all year long) in water, then roll up a few handfuls in some heavy duty tin foil. Place the foil directly under the grates and you are good to go. Replace the chips every hour or so or when the smoke stops.

[Shanks A Million]

Weber are king, but usually gas. I'd say the Vaughner Charking or Imperiale, but maybe you wouldn't get that joke. We had a Weber for about 15 years. We use a Jenn-Air grill now.

Fortunately, god created a guy named Alton Brown who can tell you all about it:

[zeg]

I personally am really happy with my 22.5-inch Weber kettle grill. It's charcoal only, but I am generally happy with that. It's large enough that you can do a decent job smoking for extended periods in it by building a small fire at one end and building a heat shield with aluminum foil. It takes a bit of effort, but I've managed to do a brisket in it for about 8 hours without scorching it (for that, you also want to put a pan of water under the meat to add additional thermal mass and temperature regulation). It might be big enough to meet your requirements. If you're doing any extended smoking, you probably also want to pick up the replacement grate that has fold-up panels at the edge so you can add fuel without lifting the grate out.

I don't have any direct experience with propane/charcoal grills, but as a general rule I'm skeptical that anything that claims to do both will do either as well as it should. I'd personally get a good propane grill and a Weber like mine, which is only a touch over $100 here. That way if you have a big party, you have even more grill space...

[jamo]

It takes a bit of effort, but I've managed to do a brisket in it for about 8 hours without scorching it (for that, you also want to put a pan of water under the meat to add additional thermal mass and temperature regulation).

I've found the best way to get brisket (and ribs and pork butt) perfectly smoky and juicy is to smoke normally (after applying a dry rub and mopping ever 30 minutes during smoking) until it is sufficiently smoky, then put a mixture of your favorite BBQ sauce and jarred salsa on the meat and put it all in some foil. Smoke that (or just grill it on low, at that point the smoke can't permeate the foil so it's pointless) for another few hours and when you take it off let it rest in the foil for 15-20 minutes. You get smoky and juicy and unmatched tenderness. Try it next time, you won't go back.

If you're doing any extended smoking, you probably also want to pick up the replacement grate that has fold-up panels at the edge so you can add fuel without lifting the grate out.

That's a must.

[pxc]

Thanks for the input folks. I'm looking at a few NIB Webers on Craig's List right now, pretty good prices too.

[G-Ray]

I bought the DUO chargriller that was talked about in the 1st post. Ive only had it for a few weeks, but t I love it. My budy has one of their only charcoal/smoker grills for a couple years now and it looks and works fine. I dont have the smoker attachment yet, but cant wait till i get it. I just like the fact that i can use gas during the week for quick grillin and if i wanna smoke someting i can do that on the weekend, and its all in the same package. Not to mention it looks badass too. I would deffinately recomend it to anyone that wants the convenience of both. Also to keep it from rusting you just wipe vegetable on the outside while its warm from cooking, thats what has kept my buddies so nice.

[pxc]

I found a new 22.5" Weber kettle grill for half price on CL. Picking up tonight. I eventually want to build a backyard kitchen but that is not in the budget right now, so this will do nicely for the short term.

[zeg]

Awesome, nice find. Enjoy!

[Shanks A Million]

I found a new 22.5" Weber kettle grill for half price on CL. Picking up tonight. I eventually want to build a backyard kitchen but that is not in the budget right now, so this will do nicely for the short term.

I built one for my mother. It was fun, we got a grill, sink, cabinets, fridge, and I installed electrical and water so you can use kitchen appliances.