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OT: Grills

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temery

temery

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I need a new grill and my first decision is ... gas or charcoal? I'll never cook for more than two people, and will use it for steaks more than hamburgers.
 
Gas is just so much more convenient - we use ours year round and I cannot imagine wanting to start a charcoal fire in January.
 
Gotta agree on coming down in favor of the convenience of gas. I'm all for increasing the level of charred, tasty carcinogens in any food, but the instant ability to use gas easily doubles or triples the number of times you'll use it.

Get the smallest Weber that fits your needs. No side burners. Get a cover if storing outdoors. You can easily replace the parts and have a good working grill for 15+ years, even with heavy use and minimum care and maintenance. If it will never be used to cook for more than two, consider the Baby-Q if portability is of value to you. We have one that we bring to the beach, camping, etc., and it really comes in handy. Runs on small, wine-bottle shaped propane cylinder that you would use for a welding torch (I think?).
 
Fishy said:
Gas is just so much more convenient - we use ours year round and I cannot imagine wanting to start a charcoal fire in January.
Expand ...

Funny, you never struck me as a pansy. :)

Seriously, with a chimney starter, even january fires are no big deal. I'm a charcoal fan, and the flavor difference is substantial enough to make any gas convenience not worth it.
 
pepband99 said:
Funny, you never struck me as a pansy. :)

Seriously, with a chimney starter, even january fires are no big deal. I'm a charcoal fan, and the flavor difference is substantial enough to make any gas convenience not worth it.
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Almost any decent charcoal grill comes with a propane burner to light the charcoal. No need for fluid or chimney starters. The dual fuel above has a burner for lighting the charcoal side.
 
.-.
Do not buy it at loews or home depot. Like their tools, they use subpar parts. This started in the past two years..
 
husky99 said:
Do not buy it at loews or home depot. Like their tools, they use subpar parts. This started in the past two years..
Expand ...


Yep. I got a stainless Char-broil and it was rusting within weeks. They really sell a lot of garbage there. Supposedly, they sell a lower grade version of all kinds of things. They have faucets, toilets etc that look just like the stuff available from a plumber but are poor quality versions.

Weber is the way to go. You will never regret it.
 
My good friend is a contractor and says never never buy power tools from home depot. They undercut using plastic interior moving parts.
 
temery said:
I need a new grill and my first decision is ... gas or charcoal? I'll never cook for more than two people, and will use it for steaks more than hamburgers.
Expand ...
Gas, the food tastes beeter and isn't laced with as many benzopyrene carcinogens.
 
Get gas and pan fry the steaks. Forget the grill if doing
it for two. They taste better anyway.
 
husky99 said:
Do not buy it at loews or home depot. Like their tools, they use subpar parts. This started in the past two years..
Expand ...

I heard the same thing from a few people and I recently bought a Weber at the local hardware store for the same price as Lowes and they threw in free delivery for me.
 
.-.
I think charcoal gives a better flavor. We just bought a grill recently and went with that and... well, it works for us. ;)
 
Tom, sounds like you're looking for a quick burger type grill. Get a low grade Weber gas grill. The Weber's use a convection style cooking and read the manual. Don't flash fry it on HIGH. I have an old Weber Genesis and can cook a burger blindfolded on it. 2 minutes on high, high, high....then 7-8 minutes on medium, off, medium using the three burners to create a circular heat flow.

I would recommend buying a cheap charcoal grill or barrel smoker though. 60.00 bucks? Get
A chimney starter. Read up a little on the net. Learning ribs or chicken or pork shoulders on a smoker or charcoal grill will change your life. And it's not more work....just managing the timing. I made ribs last weekend that were a religious experience.
 
Mail-order bride.

Preferably from Russia so she won't complain when you boot her out into the snow to make a charcoal fire.
 
.-.
Fishy said:
Mail-order bride.

Preferably from Russia so she won't complain when you boot her out into the snow to make a charcoal fire.
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Ukraine is where it's at.
 
husky99 said:
Do not buy it at loews or home depot. Like their tools, they use subpar parts. This started in the past two years..
Expand ...

This started long before that. You just can't make a decent grill for the price that HD wants to sell it at, given the price of the raw materials right now. They damn near put CFM out of business 8-9 years ago because they wouldn't accept price increases on Vermont Castings grills when the price of steel skyrocketed.
 
8893 said:
Gotta agree on coming down in favor of the convenience of gas. I'm all for increasing the level of charred, tasty carcinogens in any food, but the instant ability to use gas easily doubles or triples the number of times you'll use it.

Get the smallest Weber that fits your needs. No side burners. Get a cover if storing outdoors. You can easily replace the parts and have a good working grill for 15+ years, even with heavy use and minimum care and maintenance. If it will never be used to cook for more than two, consider the Baby-Q if portability is of value to you. We have one that we bring to the beach, camping, etc., and it really comes in handy. Runs on small, wine-bottle shaped propane cylinder that you would use for a welding torch (I think?).
Expand ...

+1. My Weber Genesis Silver has been rock solid for 9 years. Best thing is the replaceable parts. Every single component can be had online or at Lowes/HD. Just replaced the ignitor yesterday. $11.
 
I've got a Weber charcoal.. I'm a fan. It's easy enough to use a chimney... but even if you don't want to they make propane starters for charcoal now. :)
 
I bought a Webber charcoal grill at a tag sale last Friday - $5. It was damn close to new, but the owner was moving.

Bottom line - I just had my first steak (directions below) and it was much better than what I grilled on my old gas grill.

http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/homeent/features/676/

2" aged steak
Mushroom and pealed garlic wrapped in foil, and grilled first.
Roasted potatoes, (pre cooked a bit)

Any suggestion for grilling would be greatly appreciated.




Deepster said:
Tom, sounds like you're looking for a quick burger type grill. Get a low grade Weber gas grill. The Weber's use a convection style cooking and read the manual. Don't flash fry it on HIGH. I have an old Weber Genesis and can cook a burger blindfolded on it. 2 minutes on high, high, high....then 7-8 minutes on medium, off, medium using the three burners to create a circular heat flow.

I would recommend buying a cheap charcoal grill or barrel smoker though. 60.00 bucks? Get
A chimney starter. Read up a little on the net. Learning ribs or chicken or pork shoulders on a smoker or charcoal grill will change your life. And it's not more work....just managing the timing. I made ribs last weekend that were a religious experience.
Expand ...
 
.-.
Weber kettle .... Charcoal ..... Best all around grill ever. I use it straight up for burgers and steaks, and then have a indirect insert called a " smokenator" (60 bucks) to do " low and slow" ribs (st Louis cut spare ribs, baby backs are meh) brisket and chicken....

I've competed in BBQ competitions with that setup and done better than some people with 10000 dollar rigs....


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temery said:
I bought a Webber charcoal grill at a tag sale last Friday - $5. It was damn close to new, but the owner was moving.

Bottom line - I just had my first steak (directions below) and it was much better than what I grilled on my old gas grill.

http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/homeent/features/676/

2" aged steak
Mushroom and pealed garlic wrapped in foil, and grilled first.
Roasted potatoes, (pre cooked a bit)

Any suggestion for grilling would be greatly appreciated.
Expand ...
Tom....
Go to amazingribs.com
The guys descriptive methods for using a weber are pretty much the last word on killer BBQ. And easier than you thought.
One thing most BBQ cooks skimp on or don't use at all is a digital thermometer. One for grill temperature one for meat. I have one that I stick a probe in the grill and a probe in the meat and it bluetoiths the temp to my iPhone.... Best 70 bucks I ever spent !!!! But you can get great pen thermometers (digital) for 30 bucks! th


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