Welcome to the pit Kevin. As you can see your budget opens up a whole new world. I would lean your the pellet world, there are a lot of options in your budget ( also budgets can be increased ). I have had a Camp Chef DLX for awhile and love it. Welcome to the Wikipedia of BBQ.
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Also kevin_frisch if you want richness and the best bbq that you have ever tasted then you will need a stickburner but if you are lazy and rather sleep then a stickburner is not for you. You will get 1001 responses on what kind of cooker you should get but if you want a grill/smoker the Weber 22.5" or the 26" kettle with the SnS (Slow n Sear) is all you need. Anyway, good luck on deciding.Comment
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Use our Searchable Equipment Reviews to find options in your price range: http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/Comment
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Wow.... I feel this real outpouring of love from everyone!!! Totally fantastic. I've also decided that raiding my to-be-born-on-Nov20th-son's college fund to get more grill if needed is prefectly acceptable.
With that said, here is a little more background.
Currently I mostly grill steaks (that I get from some friends who own a beef ranch north of San Francisco). Usually for just 2- 6 people. I take lots of pride in turning out the perfect piece of meat... it was only after reading this forum that I understood how clueless I was. I am dutifully reading meatheads's book right now!
When it is just two of us, doing the light-the-charcoal-and-wait routine gets old -- and somehow feels a little wasteful of all those coals.
I would like to be able to do a few things going forward:
- quickly do steak for two people with very little effort (I was envisioning a small gas grill with an infrared burner) -- but it's unclear if those exist
- Large charcoal grill that I can host a party of 6- 12 people with (based on the responses above, it seems like a weber 26" with a Slow'n"Sear attachment is the way to go. Though I will say, I had been thinking something where I could adjust the grate distance from the coals was a must, but maybe not
- some way I could smoke things (no, not entire hogs), but some pork butt, etc. Note that it would have to be a system that I could leave humming along while I am away for hours at a time (do those exist?). Otherwise, I'll never end up doing it.
To somewhat complicate matters, I have a $500 gift card for BBQ Galore which I would like to use -- but only if they have what I want.Comment
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kevin_frisch Well if your raiding his college fund, get something he and his kids can use when they grow up. These suckers are true works of art. And are supposed to last generations.
.....Congrats by the way.Last edited by Spinaker; July 23, 2016, 06:15 PM.Comment
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Kevin, I disagree with " the taste of charcoal with the control of gas ". Pellet grills do give you good temp control but the options of wood pellet flavors are large. I have read that pellet grills do not give you enough SMOKE flavor, but I have not found that to be true. My briskets and pork butts come out with good smoke rings and flavor. I have used a smoke tube to see if it made any difference and really did not see any. With that being said, my pellet grill is not used for steaks. That is where the Weber 22.5 and slow n sear come into play ( even it is just the wife and I ). Have fun in your cooker search and the best advice I can give you with all the choices you have is to learn your choice ( cooker ) inside out. I am a firm believer that the best BBQ is not the result of the cooker but the cook and knowing how to use the cooker
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Welcome aboard Kevin. I have NO advice to give you, except do everything that everybody has said & you will be safe with the decision. Enjoy the ride!Comment
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@kevin_frisch
The search categories are intentionally broad. Otherwise we would have hundreds of boxes rolling down the page. I see some members suggestions have sparked your interest. If you want to learn more about a type of cooker, for example pellet smokers, I hope you'd find our reviews useful.Comment
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From my research, Green Mountain seems like a step-up from entry level Traeger pellet smokers. I'd call it a mid-level while MAK, Yoder, Memphis & Cookshack are at the high end. I'm assuming that the differences are in the build quality. I graduated from a Traeger Tailgater Pro to a MAK 1 Star & I can attest that the build quality of the smoker itself as well as the quality of the digital controller that regulates the cooker temperature is like night & day.Originally posted by kevin_frisch View Post
I had to babysit the Traeger & constantly fiddle with the temp setting to keep it where I wanted it. I believe many other Traeger owners experienced the same. MAK on the other hand is a true "set it & forget it" cooker. I think the other high end brands are similar.
I don't have personal experience cooking on a Green Mountain so I can't say that MAK is definitely better. However, I do believe that when comparing cookers from similar categories (i.e. comparing pellet smokers to pellet smokers or gas grills to other gas grills) you generally get what you pay for. I can't think of many examples of a $500 cooker being regarded as a better overall cooker than one from the same category that cost $1500. However, I could be wrong.... just my 2 cents.Comment
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