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Best side burner for gas grill?

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    Best side burner for gas grill?

    Anybody have any suggestions for a gas grill with the best, strongest, side burner? I love charcoal but I’d like to add a gas grill - and if I’m going to spend the money on one, I’d like something I can really use. I do a ton of water bath and pressure canning and it would be cool (pun intended) if I could do it outside, rather than heating up my tiny kitchen. Hence the powerful side burner. Any ideas? Thanks!

    #2
    What's your price range? Any other must haves?

    Comment


    • sandrkimberling
      sandrkimberling commented
      Editing a comment
      $750 ish. I really love charcoal for smoking and grilling (and after much research, I am getting an SnS Komado!) but would like the occasional ease of gas. The gasser won’t be my worse horse for grilling but I could use the heck out of a powerful side burner. So I don’t have any other "must have" features

    • Max Good
      Max Good commented
      Editing a comment
      Now reading your exchanges below, particularly with jfmorris, I tend to agree that it seems like you're looking for a gas burner with more power than freestanding gas grills in your price range provide. Maybe something Like Camp Chef's Explorer: https://amazingribs.com/grill-tailga...-ex60lw-review
      Explorer has 30,000 BTU burners and you can buy accessories to grill, griddle and bake pizzas. If all you want is one powerful burner, consider the many Turkey Fryers available.

    #3
    The Weber grills go up to 12k BTU's others max out at about 10k.. These are the $700 -1000 range or up to $3000 for the high end ones with 304 SS and side burners up to 18k BTU's. I think a 12k Weber would work well. I never use full power on my 15k burner on our stove. The other option is to go with a built in option in a counter. These run 3 -700 bucks...

    Comment


      #4
      I hate to say it, but most outdoor gas grills are not going to offer a side burner much bigger than 12,000 BTU's or so - comparable to the larger burner on your kitchen stove.

      If you REALLY want to boil water outside, you are going to need a standalone stove or burner. Camp Chef makes some nice outdoor 2 and 3 burner portable stoves that also offer lots of options like griddles, pizza ovens and other goodies. Most of their burners are 30,000 BTU's.

      I have this 60,000 BTU burner for brewing beer, and outdoor boiling:

      https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic...s%2C255&sr=8-1

      I also picked up this dual burner cart used for $50 local a few weeks ago, and it REALLY can cook with a 105,000 BTU jet burner and a 60,000 BTU standard burner:

      https://www.amazon.com/King-Kooker-9...1374975&sr=8-1

      Something like this looks nicer, with three 30,000 BTU burners:

      https://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/cam...dCatid=3574002

      With 105,000 BTU's, I did a shrimp boil in a 7 gallon pot for Memorial Day. I started with 3.5 gallons of water, which reached a boil in 10-15 minutes, then I added 5 pounds of new potatoes, 3 onions, 12 ears of corn, 3 pounds of sliced smoked sausage and 7 pounds of shrimp. Additions were every 5 to 10 minutes, and meal was ready in about 45 minutes total. I was very happy NOT to be doing that in the kitchen but outdoors, due to the heat generated. It would take an hour probably to just get the initial water to a rolling boil on a 12,000 BTU burner.
      Last edited by jfmorris; June 5, 2020, 10:47 AM.

      Comment


      • sandrkimberling
        sandrkimberling commented
        Editing a comment
        Thank you! I think I might go that route. I justified purchasing a komado to my hubby by saying I’d get a small gasser too, for him to use. Pretty sure I’ll never hear the end of it if I get that, my Kamado and a cheap gasser but he will literally get to eat the rewards.

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        sandrkimberling you can get a one burner outdoor cooker pretty cheaply - often a low cost way to do it is find a turkey fryer kit at your local Walmart for $50ish - that also gets you a 7 gallon or so aluminum pot that can be used for boiling stuff outdoors. The main draw back is that most of the outdoor burners meant for large pots like turkey fryers are also low to the ground. Camp chef and a few others make taller single burner outdoor stoves.
        Last edited by jfmorris; June 5, 2020, 12:17 PM.

      • Dan Deter
        Dan Deter commented
        Editing a comment
        Another upvote for this one. If the side burner is all you really want the gasser for, look at a stand alone ones like the Camp Chef models (which also have a lot of nifty add ons to increase their usefulness).

      #5
      I've been looking at the Blaze side burners.

      Comment


      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Nice if she is going for a built in side burner.
        Last edited by jfmorris; June 5, 2020, 12:12 PM.

      • Attjack
        Attjack commented
        Editing a comment
        And it sounds like he isn't but I thought I would throw it out there.

      #6
      Originally posted by sandrkimberling View Post
      Anybody have any suggestions for a gas grill with the best, strongest, side burner? I love charcoal but I’d like to add a gas grill - and if I’m going to spend the money on one, I’d like something I can really use. I do a ton of water bath and pressure canning and it would be cool (pun intended) if I could do it outside, rather than heating up my tiny kitchen. Hence the powerful side burner. Any ideas? Thanks!
      How big are your pressure cookers that you use? Wondering if they would benefit from at least a 30K BTU burner...

      Comment


      • sandrkimberling
        sandrkimberling commented
        Editing a comment
        20 quart. It’s a beast of a pressure canner.

      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        sandrkimberling then that is all the more reason you need a larger burner than your indoor stove has. At least 30,000 BTU's I am thinking. I like 60,000 for 5 gallon and larger boils.

      #7
      The Napoleon has an outstanding IR side burner & is a quality rig. I have the Rogue, which is a 3 burner along with the side burner, which I use even sometimes alone. It is a bit higher than the $ range you listed. But one fine cooker.

      Comment


      • jfmorris
        jfmorris commented
        Editing a comment
        Only problem with that is that an IR side burner is really just for searing/grilling, and she is looking for something to put her pots on for pressure canning and water baths. So she needs a more traditional burner. I see a couple of Napoleon models with a cooktop type side burner of 17,000 BTU's though, which is more than the 12,000 BTU Weber side burner.
        Last edited by jfmorris; June 5, 2020, 01:17 PM.

      #8
      sandrkimberling Not knowing your budget, but assuming you are on a budget like I would be...

      My LAST and best advice is that a good quality gas grill with a side burner will cost more than a more basic model quality gas grill with a separate 1, 2 or 3 burner outdoor stove or patio burner. For example - with Weber, moving up to a model with a side burner adds $150 or more to the price tag. Spend $50-100 on a dedicated cooker, and if it has folding legs like some of the Camp Chef models, you can fold it up and store when not in use.

      Looking at Lowe's or Home Depot, a Weber Spirit II E-310 3 burner grill lists for $479, and a Weber Genesis II E-310 3 burner grill lists for $749. To get a side burner, looks like you have to go up to the Genesis II E-330 (minimum) for $899 list. I bought my son the Spirit II E-310 when he got married last year, and he is happy with it. My father has an older Weber Spirit with a side burner, but they no longer make that model. So I would get that 3 burner Spirit, and spend some of the savings on a dedicated stove, and you still come out ahead.

      I.e. get a more basic model without side burner and other things, but buy a quality grill such as Weber with a 10 year bumper to bumper warranty, if you can afford to. I've got Weber gas grills that are pushing 20 years old and going strong.
      Last edited by jfmorris; June 5, 2020, 05:21 PM.

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