What is the best kind of grill?

Question

So my boyfriend and I have been living together for about a year now and his birthday is coming up. I really want to get him a grill for his birthday, but I know almost nothing about them. I want to get him a good one that will last a few years- not the cheapest one on the market, but on the other hand I don't have a ton of money to spend. I'm looking in the 400 dollar range. I have heard Weber grills are a good brand- is there any truth to that? Also should I go with charcoal, gas, or electric? I'm very confused. Thanks!

Answer 1

I still have the Weber Kettle grill we bought about 40 years ago and it still does the best job. Have also inherited my mom's Weber Kettle which is larger than mine. We can do a large party!

Answer 2

I had a Weber charcoal grill for years and am now going to get the Weber Electric grill. I have a Big Green Egg (way beyond your price range), which I use for charcoal grilling and smoking. But I want a day to day grill that is easy to use and the electric Weber seems to be it. I have a George Foreman but it is not very impressive. The nice thing about electric is you can turn it on, cook what you want and turn it off with not hassle. Charcoal is a pain for small grilling as you waste a lot of charcoal and cleaning is a pain. Propane is way popular but scares the bejesus out of me. A big bomb waiting to go off. That is just me though. 90% of backyard grillers use propane.

Answer 3

Weber is the undisputed king of grills. I'm not sure about their gas grills but their Charcoal Kettle Grills are legendary. There great for EVERYTHING! Burgers, Dogs, Ribs, Fish, you can use them as a smoker the possibilities are endless.



If your BF is serious about Grilling / BBQ then he probably prefers Charcoal as most of us do. Gas grills are fine, but the taste difference is night and day.



This is the one I have

http://www.weber.com/grills/series/performer/performer-gold



You can get them at Home Depot for around $300. I would Strongly suggest a chimney starter as well. All I can say is there is a reason why Weber has had an almost cult like following for decades.



NOTE: The comment from Thomas is inaccurate. Cooking on Charcoal (Weber at least) is FAR from a science. Get a good chimney starter and your ready in 15-20 min. The bottom vent allows air into the fire. More open = Hotter, More closed = cooler. The top vent controls how quick heat gets out. Pretty basic really. Sure it takes a little messing around at first but nothing that should discourage a charcoal newbie from getting a great grill.

Answer 4

http://www.weber.com/ In my experience Weber have been the only ones that last and if you need parts after a few years of use they are available through their website. They can get expensive, but you have left yourself a decent budget. Your biggest decision right now is what size of grill is necessary, do you mostly cook for yourselves or do you do a lot of entertaining. If it's only for yourselves you want to get a smaller one because it's a waste of gas or charcoal to heat up a large grill for only two people. We have 3, two gas and 1 that is charcoal, a larger gas grill with one side burner, and one of each smaller grills. Normally it's just us two so the large grill doesn't get used much. The two smaller ones are the Weber Go Anywhere Grills. My better half doesn't like to wait for the charcoal to be ready and cooking on them is really an art. You have to know when the coals are ready, put your food on too early and it will taste like charcoal but if you wait too long they will exhaust their heat and your food will not be done. This being said gas is a lot more user friendly and you can always use smoking chips if you want a smoky flavor. You can control the temperature easier and it is a more constant heat than charcoal. Myself I prefer charcoal, but you have to compromise sometimes when your in a relationship and have learned how to work with the gas grills so I can get my class 5 carcinogens.



All this being said, the larger grill was also a birthday gift from my Wife and one that we rarely use. I would have liked it much better if she would have taken me with her to pick it out on my birthday, bought a smaller one and saved a lot of money, taken me out to dinner on the way home, and after we got it home. Gone into the bathroom and came out wrapped only in a bow to finish my Happy Birthday, not saying this last part didn't happen anyway.

Answer 5

What's your boyfriend's preference--gas, charcoal or electric?



Personally, I prefer charcoal for the flavor. Yeah, you have to wait for the charcoal to light, but I don't think that's a problem. And if you go with charcoal, get a "chimney starter." It enables you to light the charcoal without using lighter fluid, which can affect the taste of the food. Those are only about $10-$15.



You can probably find a Weber kettle grill for under $200. I have a Weber kettle and it works just fine.



Finding a gas grill on a $400 budget might not be easy, unless maybe you could find one used.



If you're going to go electric, you might as well get a George Foreman. I think I got mine for about $40.

Answer 6

they make some that are both charcoal and gas, you might look into that. Best bet would probably be to go to a store that carries several brands and speak with the salesman there...they can tell you which brands sell the best and which have lots of problems/returns. Amazon might be another good place to do some research.