BBQ Grills

[SleepyatDVC]

Shopping for our FIRST BBQ and am totally clueless.

It will have to be propane gas and we want something durable and will last. Big enough for larger family gatherings of 10-20 people. It would be nice to have a gas stove top thingy since it is all electric in our house and I miss cooking with gas.

Any suggestions on what to look for and what brands to check out or stay away from?

Budget is under $1000 but would really prefer around the $500 range or less.

 

[Luvchefmic]

We also have electric in the house and I hate it ! Can never judge and things cook horribly....anyway we have a CharBroil brand love it, got it a few years ago so don't remember the price

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I am a huge grilling enthusiast, and you can't do any better than a Weber. A good Weber grill will easily last 20 years (and beyond) if you take care of it, and if something does rust out (burner tubes, etc), you can get parts relatively inexpensively for years to come. Their customer service is great, and it is absolute the best quality grill on the market IMO.

Many other grill manufacturers will discontinue parts for a grill after a couple of years, so in 5-7 years when you try to replace the burners or grates, the will cost you more than the original price of the grill. Not so with Weber.

For the price range you are looking at, I would recommend the E-320 or E-310. It runs about $600-$650, but will last you a long time if maintained. Great heat control, it is definitely the Cadillac of backyard grilling IMO. Only difference is that the E-320 has a side burner if that is something you will use.

http://weber.com/grills/?glid=2&mid=6

You can move up to the Summit Series, which are in the $800-$1000 range, but they are usually overkill for most backyard barbecue cooks. And If you want to be a little more cost conscience the Spirit S-320 is a little closer to your $500 price point. Still a quality grill, just has slightly thinner metal in the lid, and a little less cooking space, but still a great outdoor cooker. In our area, Ace Hardware and Home Depot sell the most complete line of Weber products.

The Weber gasser I have is about 11 years old, and still cooks like the day it was new. I clean it each spring with a steel wool pad, and it shines right up. I wouldn't trade it for any new grill on the market today.

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[digitaldevice]

I second Weber. My CharBroil is 2 years old, paid about 800.00 for it and it has been nothing but problems. On it's 5th set of burners. I will be replacing it soon with a Weber.

 

[The Princess]

The next grill I get will be a weber!!!

 

[snowgooseltd]

I'll agree with the Weber lauding...we have the small, tabletop that we use for the two of us during the winter, in Florida. During the summer, we have the red, Coleman grill...I think it's a tail-gating model because it folds for portability. We use it, at our campground, then fold it and store it, for the winter, in the camper. It has a side burner and interchangeable griddle. It's an awesome grill for less money than a comparable Weber.

 

[Muushka]

Weber

For those of us who are Weber lovers and trying to conserve $$, try the Weber Q.

We use about $10 a year for propane on the new cutie as opposed to $60 a year on our big boy Weber.

Granted it is much smaller, but we are just 2 and wondering what were we thinking when we bought our big Weber.

 

[maggiew]

That Weber Summit looks really nice!

Maggie

 

[princessmom29]

Another vote for Weber. We have had our weber silver for 4 years and love it. WE replaced the burners this yer, but that is the only part we habve replaced. It cooks really evenly, and maintains temperature well. We cook whole pork tenderloins on it routinely with great results.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Thank you ALL for your responses!

DH and I were doing some on-line research late last night and were leaning toward the Weber Genesis E-320.

You have helped solidified that choice!!

Carl, it was like you were in our heads!!

I think we will order it from the Home Depot this week after poking around on-line a bit. It $699 with free shipping. DH was thinking of the Copper color.

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

Thank you ALL for your responses!

DH and I were doing some on-line research late last night and were leaning toward the Weber Genesis E-320.

You have helped solidified that choice!!

Carl, it was like you were in our heads!!

I think we will order it from the Home Depot this week after poking around on-line a bit. It $699 with free shipping. DH was thinking of the Copper color.

Very cool! I really think the E-320 is the best bang for the buck grill that Weber makes. I am sure you will be very happy with the purchase for a long time, and that Copper color is great looking. I saw one on display at Ace Hardware last year and it was the best color they offer IMO.

Enjoy after it arrives and report back and let us know what time dinner is! (Or do I need an ADR for the inaugural cookout?)

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I don't know if Webers have this feature, but I just got a new Kenmore with an infrared searing burner. It gets super hot, so you can sear in juices and then move the steaks to the regular burner to cook as desired. Not being able to get a grill hot enough to sear steaks was always my biggest complaint about gas grills.

I don't know how well it will stand up, we just got it. I am loving it for now! I have seen other grills with this special burner.

 

[mjkacmom]

Just another plug for Weber. We're about to get another one, since our 13 year old one needs a lot of new parts (still lights - TBH, this poor grill has not been maintained at all, cover is usually off), so we're starting fresh instead of replacing, due to the age of the grill.

 

[Muushka]

For all of you Weber lovers, they have great customer support.

My little Q had a regulator problem. The little guy is almost 2 years old. I called with my problem (low flame, goes out) and they sent me a brand new regulator at no charge.

I fired him up last night and it worked great.

We really really missed not being able to grill for that period of time!

 

[maggiew]

You can move up to the Summit Series, which are in the $800-$1000 range, but they are usually overkill for most backyard barbecue cooks. And If you want to be a little more cost conscience the Spirit S-320 is a little closer to your $500 price point. Still a quality grill, just has slightly thinner metal in the lid, and a little less cooking space, but still a great outdoor cooker. In our area, Ace Hardware and Home Depot sell the most complete line of Weber products.

!

I priced out the Summit at Home Depot and Lowes. It was $1399!!!! And the stainless steel one was $1899!!

I hope these might go on sale because DH fell in love with the rotisserie and the smoke chip box (whatever that is called). We are having a big graduation party this year and our 12 year old grill just won't cut it.

Maggie

 

[Carl Fredricksen]

I priced out the Summit at Home Depot and Lowes. It was $1399!!!! And the stainless steel one was $1899!!

I hope these might go on sale because DH fell in love with the rotisserie and the smoke chip box (whatever that is called). We are having a big graduation party this year and our 12 year old grill just won't cut it.

Maggie

WOW, I guess I am out of touch. I haven't looked at the Summit series in a couple of years (didn't need anything that fancy).

You can get a rotisserie and smoke box for the Genesis series separately

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7572-Sp...3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1269576678&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-7541-Ga...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1269576785&sr=1-1

Is about $150 to add on, but you should be able to get out the door for about $850 plus tax on the whole rig.

 

[Disney Commando]

I have a Charbroil Commercial grill , I can't keep the steel clean, the cooking grates are hard to clean cause they are wide, I've had a number of grease fires because of the design of the drip gaurds (even though I clean it often) . I got it as a gift from my inlaws a few years ago, thought it was the best grille ever since I had the $99 one with the lava rocks, it lasted about 8 years never had a real problem with it.

Someone told me to use brake cleaner to bring the steel back up to par, I can see how it might work but I'm a little werery of it.

If any one has some tips on getting the steel & cooking grates clean and avoiding grease fires it would be much appreciated since I must be doing something wrong

 

[SleepyatDVC]

We ordered the Weber Genesis E-320 in Copper from Home Depot this past weekend. $699 and free shipping.

I hope it gets here by next weekend. I'll let you know how we like it. Thanks all for helping us make a decision!

 

[DebMcDonald]

Weber, Weber, Weber all the way.

 

[mlittig]

I may be the only dissenting voice but I was extremely unhappy with my Weber grill I was so excited to finally get a Weber and it never cooked a decent steak, there were no grill marks at all : I upgraded the grates and that did not make a difference, I contacted Weber and followed their instructions and that still did not give me a good steak For me, it was a very expensive piece of junk and I will never get another one again