Calling all outdoor grilling fanatics!

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Lexee15

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Ok, I’m a girl:p , I need advice/suggestions/comments on buying a grill…please:D . I would prefer a gas grill, I don’t want to have to haul charcoal bags and lighter fluid around or start fires for that matter:p .

What are the most important things to look for when purchasing a grill? Are brands and price important? How big should it be, etc.? Just a few questions to help make a wise purchase, your help is greatly appreciated:thumbsup: !!!
 
Well, I can’t stand gas grills, but I’ve always liked the “Chargrill” brand. Inexpensive and good quality. Most likely have to do some assembly though.

Weber of course is an old stand by brand, but their gas grill seem really high priced.

Size doesn’t matter! 😃 Sorry, couldn’t help it! Size matters when you consider how many people you will be cooking for on a regular basis. Or, if you have a few times a year where you will be cooking for quite a few people (parites, etc…). Only problem with buying a large grill in anticipation of large parties, but normally cooking for only a few, is that larger grills don’t tend to cook as evenly when you’re only using, say, half of it.

I know you said that you want gas, but just so I can sleep, I have to ask you to consider something else. Wood. I cook exclusively with wood. It’s a “charcoal” grill, but I either cut or simply buy my own wood. it’s also one of those half drum looking grills. But you can use any shaped grill. I like the half drum because it’s big around enough to fit a turkey! That’s right, BBQ for Thanksgiving too! You can buy oak wood at most stores and flavored wood chips at most hardware stores (or BBQ store if you’re lucky enough to have one). Taste is totally unbelievable compared to charcoal and especially gas. Do a search on the web for grilling with wood and you’ll find a lot of advice to make it cheap and easy, and tons of great recipes. You know what I grill the most? BBQ chicken and pineapple pizza!! On applewood and mesquite chips!! The smell alone brings neighbors to the door!

Good luck finding your grill.
 
I am the girl grilling guru 😃

Buy a Weber! Their stuff is pricier, but for a good reason! Their stuff is top notch! You definitely get what you pay for. I’ve NEVER been disappointed with anything I’ve gotten from Weber, from grills to grilling accessories.
 
My advice is to make certain that you don’t mind the taste of gas grilled food versus charcoal or wood grilled before you buy anything! As an adult, I cannot stand the taste of things cooked over gas, so no opinion on a specific model.

If you are planning to tailgate with your grill, IMO it is just as easy to take a smaller bag of charcoal as to haul the tank for the other type of portable grill.

There are some nifty gauges that you can add so that the fuel amount is visible from the front of your gas grill. My theory is that I can always tell when the charcoal bag needs replacing.

I would suggest reading reviews of various grill models even if you think that you would like a certain brand. Reviewers often mention little oddities about their model of a product that might make you choose a different one. Happy grilling no matter what you pick!
 
This is all good advice, and I’ll add mine. You need to do a taste test, so get yourself invited to your family and friends’ homes for cook-outs. By the time you get to each one of them, it will be the end of the season and you may get whatever grill you decide on for half price! 😃
 
Lexee15 said:
Ok, I’m a girl:p , I need advice/suggestions/comments on buying a grill…please:D . I would prefer a gas grill, I don’t want to have to haul charcoal bags and lighter fluid around or start fires for that matter:p .

What are the most important things to look for when purchasing a grill? Are brands and price important? How big should it be, etc.? Just a few questions to help make a wise purchase, your help is greatly appreciated:thumbsup: !!!
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Yes! Here I am, front and center!

After four years and many piles of ribs, our old prope rig perished, and we just got a new one, an off-brand at Loew’s that was under two hunnert. (BBQ Grillware)

You can grill or Q with them.

I prefer the ease of propane, and you can always add a smoking pouch for that real-Q flavor.
 
Make sure you get one with 3 burners. I have a nice grill, but it only has 2 burners and it’s just not quite enough when it comes to searing.
 
gam3rchic said:
I am the girl grilling guru 😃

Buy a Weber! Their stuff is pricier, but for a good reason! Their stuff is top notch! You definitely get what you pay for. I’ve NEVER been disappointed with anything I’ve gotten from Weber, from grills to grilling accessories.
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I agree about Weber. Several years ago we got rid of a $800 gas grill and bought a Weber with propane starter and then charcoal. We love it. You get the best of both worlds and you can’t beat Weber for durability.
 
Grilling snob here.

Adding chips or a pouch to a gas grill will make your meat taste smoked - it will never duplicate that real grilled flavor.

If you love that flavor, buy a real gril and get an electric charcoal starter.

A gas grill is useful, it is essentially a big gas range outside. Have not had one for years and years.
 
Can’t see the point of a gas grill outside, I have one inside, it’s called an oven, and it has four burners of gas on top. 😛

We do charcoal, but now I HAVE to go google wood, thanks guys…
 
**Definitely NOT an expert but I have one comment. We have a gas grill as do my parents. Ours cooks food beautfully and theirs doesn’t. The only thing we can figure is that the actual grill is just too close to the heat…ours is much higher above the heat.

As for the people who cook with charcoal/wood as opposed to gas you have seriously got me considering a switch!

Oh, and a question: what exactly is the difference between grilling and BBQ? I use the terms interchangably:o
**
 
As I understand it, Bar-B-Q is terminology for “slow cooking”. This is frequently done at a very low temperature. You grill steaks and hamburgers, hot dogs and brats. You Bar-B-Q ribs and roasts.
 
mary_bobo said:
As I understand it, Bar-B-Q is terminology for “slow cooking”. This is frequently done at a very low temperature. You grill steaks and hamburgers, hot dogs and brats. You Bar-B-Q ribs and roasts.
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Yes Mary, BBQ refers to cooking food slow, kinda like smoking it, whereas grilling is fast.

If you don’t mind taking a little extra time with charcoal, it is FAR SUPERIOR than anything you could get off the gas grill. Period. Adding a few wood chips doesn’t duplicate the actual charcoal flavor that charcoal briquettes do. Don’t get me wrong, I like gas grills too, they are quick and convenient. I wouldn’t go so far as saying it’s like an oven b/c it’s actually more like the broiler, if you wanna get technical :p;):D.

At any rate, the BEST way to start charcoal is a chimney starter: amazon.com/Weber-87886-Chimney-Starter/dp/B00004U9VV

I have this one from Weber and I LOVE IT!!! I’ve gotten cheap chimney starters from wal-mart, and to be blunt, they totally suck. :eek:

Chimney starters are easy and fool-proof as long as you follow the directions. Stick some newspaper in bottom, charcoal on top, light the paper and in 15-20 minutes you have a container full of light, ready-to-grill charcoal!

And I’ve never priced it out, but I bet charcoal might be cheaper. With gas being priced as it is, I wonder if using charcoal (buying it when it’s on sale of course ;)) is cheaper. Hmmmm, should be something I should do for my blog 😃
 
Ok, I’ll give away a little secret here.

Those chiminey starters are cool, but then you have to dump the charcoal out and if you’re not careful, you could have sparks flying.

Plus, they obviously don’t work for us wood burners! The best way I found was using an old survival trick. Take cotton balls and get them goopy with vasoline. Place these (maybe three or four) evenly throughout your wood/coal pile. Light them and come back later. That’s it. They will burn for 5 to 15 minutes depending on how much vasoline is on them. They’ll be totally gone by the time the fire’s ready. No smell or taste from them. Much better than dousing with lighter fluid (an abomination for wood burners!).

I make a bunch of these and put them in plastic film canasters. They’ll keep that way for about a year. I make a lot because I take them hunting with me and they’re about the easiest way to start a fire with cold wet wood. Even better for dried wood on the BBQ.

The biggest mistake people make with wood/coal is putting their food on too early. With grilling it’s not as big a deal as most people want a little flame, but with BBQ’ing good meat, wait until the fire is flameless and super hot. Then hit each side of the meat for about 45 seconds to seal in flavour. After that, the least amount of turning the better.
 
BBQ refers to meat cooked with a dry rub or wet sauce. It is a specific thing.

All grilling - even slow - is NOT BBQ.
 
This would be my list. Yes, I am almost one of those folks that swear by their Weber Grill. Their people on the 800 number are great, customer service is second to none and you being from Chicago, wouldn’t it be a sacrilege, to buy anything else?haha:eek:

Get the 22" grill.
weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2007/charcoal/oneTouchGold22.aspx

Get a cover to protect it.
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1279

Fill the chimney only half full only takes 15min for charcoal:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1181

Get the long handle brush to clean the grill:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1283

Get charcoal rails to help cook either direct or indirect heat:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1102

Weber Tee Shirts are optional. Oh, the Weber Cooking Schools are a great way to meet lots of guys.
 
GratefulDad said:
This would be my list. Yes, I am almost one of those folks that swear by their Weber Grill. Their people on the 800 number are great, customer service is second to none and you being from Chicago, wouldn’t it be a sacrilege, to buy anything else?haha

Get the 22" grill.
weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2007/charcoal/oneTouchGold22.aspx

Get a cover to protect it.
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1279

Fill the chimney only half full only takes 15min for charcoal:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1181

Get the long handle brush to clean the grill:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1283

Get charcoal rails to help cook either direct or indirect heat:
store.weber.com/items/?pid=1102

Weber Tee Shirts are optional. Oh, the Weber Cooking Schools are a great way to meet lots of guys.
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:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown: You are my kind of grilling guy! ;):D:p
pira114 said:
Ok, I’ll give away a little secret here.

Those chiminey starters are cool, but then you have to dump the charcoal out and if you’re not careful, you could have sparks flying.

Plus, they obviously don’t work for us wood burners!
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Use a large pair of oven mitts when dumping out the charcoal, keeps you’re arms safe! I’ve never had a problem with sparks. 👍

Also, I’ve heard that those that grill with wood can use the chimney starters, but since I’m not one of those, maybe I’ve heard wrong? 🤷
 
gam3rchic said:
I beg to differ… :)😉

youtube.com/watch?v=zqrawwvCMls

Besides, I would HOPE that if you smoke something for 4 hours that it would have a rub and sauce on it anyways, but that’s just me 🤷
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Smoked turkey or chicken is fantastic where it smokes low and slow (for hours and hours) and the only seasoning is the wood smoke and the things that are in the water (fruit, spices… mmmmm).

BTW, no broadband so you tube does not work.

I do have buddy who stands 7 feet tall and has won the World BBQ championship, so, I take his word for it 😃
 
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