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Looking for 1st Grill for my House

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    Looking for 1st Grill for my House

    Hey y'all, as the title says, I came here looking to make up my mind on what grill I want (that's a loaded question, how about all of them?) and need for my house. After spending my 20s in sadly grill-less apartments, my family has a house and yard of our own and it's time to grill!

    I've got around $500 to spend and would prefer something available at Home Depot since I've got a $200 gift card for a housewarming present specifically to buy a grill. At this point I'm deciding between a Weber Spirit II E-310, or a Weber Performer or just a MasterTouch or Premium Kettle. The Original PK almost won me over but just feels like I'd like the extra grill space a little more. I haven't cooked much on charcoal personally but would like to learn, although I'm a little concerned for the safety of my 3 year old running around outside while the grill's hot.

    A couple other things of note, I love steak, and after a few ill-fated runs with the cast iron pan on the stovetop / oven my wife has banned me from cooking steak if it's not on the grill. I run operations for a BBQ restaurant and catering company here and have access to a smoker if I'm ever craving something off menu, so the ability to smoke on the kettle is secondary to me compared to the experience and flavor of cooking with coals. Also I'd like to be able to grill fairly frequently so the convenience of gas both in setup and cleanup is what's keeping the Spirit in the conversation, especially when it comes to a personal goal to cook more fish this year, since my daily work diet is just full of brisket and ribs.

    Thanks for the advice!
    -DavisBerryman

    #2
    If you are staying with the Home Depot option then Weber Gas grill or maybe camp chef pellet grill.

    Comment


      #3
      Greetings and welcome Davis from NC.

      I just had a similar conversation with my B-n-L at Bragg. If I understand your funds right you have up to $700 total to spend? 500 + 200 gift card. If it were me and IMHO, I would go for the Spirit 310 (480 @ home depot) and add on a Weber Premium Kettle (165 @ HD) for my charcoal learning (the $65 is worth the upgrade from the standard kettle). With tax, looking around that 700 mark. In the future you can pick up a Lodge griddle for the Spirit if you want a quick 'flat-top griddle'.
      Hope this may help.

      Comment


        #4
        Welcome to The Pit. You will get a lot of opinions on this because everyone has their own preferences. It would help to know how many you might be cookin' for. A Weber kettle will feed four fairly easily, but if you will be entertaining a lot, you will be limited in what you can cook. HD can get a 26" Kettle, but you would have to order it. That will allow you to cook for more people.
        If it's just three of you, a 22" Kettle would do nicely. The Performer with the table gives you somewhere convenient to set things, and the gas igniter makes it a lot easier and a bit faster to light the charcoal.

        And charcoal cooked food just tastes better, (at least to me ). I do suggest getting a Slow N Sear for a Kettle though. It makes lots of things easier to do.

        Comment


        • troymeister
          troymeister commented
          Editing a comment
          Ditto!

        #5
        Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!
        Lookin forward to learnin along with, an from ya!

        Reckon some smarter folks'll come along, soon, git ya steered in th right direction...

        Comment


          #6
          Home depot also Carrie's Broil King, I am a big fan of the Monarch, good value at about $450. A weber kettle also makes sense, and is very affordable. Are you leaning towards charcoal or gas?

          Comment


            #7
            I bought a Weber Spirit II E-310 for my son last year, and its a good grill. I've got a Weber Genesis 2 burner bought in 2002 that is still working well. That one has been semi retired since I got a Weber Genesis II E-410 4 burner on clearance last year for $399 at Home Depot (lucky find).

            I also have a Performer Deluxe, and love the gas ignition, and love cooking with charcoal more than gas. That said, if I want to cook a quick meal, nothing beats turning on the ignition on a gas grill and having it preheated and ready to go by the time I go gather up the meat, spices, tongs, etc, and head out to the grill. The Performer is great, but you have to accept an extra 30 minutes to get the charcoal going.

            I have all my grills outfitted with Grillgrates, which do an excellent job of letting you cook either on the rail side for conventional grill marks, or the flat side for an all over sear. I use the flat side as a griddle for bacon, burgers, or a full sear on my steaks.

            Tonight, I turned the Genesis grill on at 5pm, went inside, made 8 2" balls of ground beef, gathered the salt and pepper shakers, a spatula for smashing, a spatula for scraping and flipping, and 3 slices of cheese. By the time I got back outside, the grill was ready, and I had all the burgers done 10 minutes later. With the Performer I would have been waiting another 30 minutes to get the charcoal chimney going and the grill up to temperature.

            I vote for the Spirit 3 burner for sheer convenience. You can always add a kettle later. If you don't have the money for a set of Grillgrates, which is highly recommended (keeps inside of grill cleaner, eliminates flareups and hot spots, great for searing), you can always use a cast iron skillet or cast iron griddle on top of the stock grates for those times you want a great sear. I used to blacken steaks on the stove, filling the house with smoke. I keep that kind of activity outside on the grill these days!
            Last edited by jfmorris; April 30, 2020, 08:39 PM.

            Comment


              #8
              Take a look at Dave’s (he’s a member- David Parrish ) SnS Kettle. It was just talked about last week. Get the kettle & the accessories. You’ll be in under 5 bills &!you can use the certificate for other goodies.
              Last edited by FireMan; April 30, 2020, 08:49 PM.

              Comment


                #9
                I would agree with the recommendation to buy the Weber Spirit E-310. This will be a good foundation grill for you to get going. However, I would also buy a Weber Smoky Joe for $35 that you can use to experiment with charcoal grilling of steaks, burgers etc. If you are ok with the effort and like charcoal cooking, you could then invest in a larger grill and still have a portable grill for tailgating/camping with the Smoky Joe.

                Comment


                • Mr. Bones
                  Mr. Bones commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Can also usually find Smokey Joes fer ~$10-~$15 on CL, ime. I have seven of em, as proof lol.

                • N227GB
                  N227GB commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Can't go wrong with a Smokey Joe! Or a Big Joe if cooking for more than two people.

                #10
                Welcome from Colorado ... and you can’t go wrong with a Weber.

                Comment


                • Mr. Bones
                  Mr. Bones commented
                  Editing a comment
                  True Dat, Brother!

                  ...and you can’t go wrong with a Weber.

                • Steve R.
                  Steve R. commented
                  Editing a comment
                  That settles it! Time to pull the trigger on that SmokeFire contraption I have been hearing about.
                  Last edited by Steve R.; May 1, 2020, 11:16 AM.

                #11
                I have the Spirit II 3 burner in stainless and it is a good all-around grill. I did buy grillgrates for it. I have other cookers but still appreciate the convenience of a gas grill for fast heat-up and quick meals.

                Comment


                  #12
                  Welcome from the California Delta. You're getting some great advice.

                  Comment


                    #13
                    My recommendation is the 26” Weber kettle. It comes standard with a stainless grate and has the space to cook a whole 20 lb brisket, spatchcocked turkeys etc. versatile enough to sear, grill or smoke low and slow.

                    I’d also consider this if I didn’t need the cooking space. It has some nice features that I’ve actually added to several kettles and would have saved me time and frustration (it was just released)
                    The Most Versatile Kettle on the Market! The Slow 'N Sear® Kettle Grill gives you all the performance you’d expect from a kettle style charcoal grill and is customized to work with our Slow ‘N Sear® accessory for unrivaled searing power, low ‘n slow smoking, and true two-zone cooking capability.


                    I am a huge fan of pk and would consider that if you prefer the square design and 4- point vents. The pk360 can cook anything pretty much any way so long as it fits. It doesn’t quite accommodate a 18 lb packer brisket or a whole spatchcocked turkey without splitting them. The original pk is about as optimized for steak cooking as something that simple could possibly be, but on the small side.

                    Comment


                    • Polarbear777
                      Polarbear777 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Oh and someone mentioned above you can order the 26” Weber kettle with free "ship to store" from HD etc.

                    #14
                    Greetings from South Africa

                    Comment


                      #15
                      Welcome!

                      Lots of good advice here. Make a Pros and Cons list. I started with gas and now rarely use my gasser.

                      Whatever you get be sure it can be a two zone cooker. This changed everything for my grilling https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...ature-indirect


                      How often will you use your grill - Everyday? Weekends only? Fuel consumption can be an issue for everyday use. Just something to consider.

                      What types of food will you cook - You work for a BBQ Company (lucky!) so you don't need a smoker. You mentioned steaks but what about whole chicken, burgers, rotisserie?


                      What is your schedule like - Do you have all day to cook or only a half an hour after a long commute to get dinner settled? Gas is quicker but charcoal tastes better.

                      For charcoal look at the Weber performer with side table. Add the slow n sear and you have an amazing cooker that can do almost anything. I would also suggest a Vortex for high heat indirect cooking (wings, thighs). The slow and sear makes it super easy to setup two zone cooking. Perfect for reverse searing steaks, roasting whole chickens, or pretty much anything else.

                      The gas grill is best for the convenience of it. You need to make a list of you pros and cons and get what meets your needs. The gasser with the Smokey Joe is also a good idea.

                      The gasser and a used performer for $75 - $100 then add accessories like grill grates, slow and sear, cast iron would just about cover everything.

                      One last thing. For steaks you could also get a Sous Vide machine, a simple cook and then sear them on your grill.


                      Just my thoughts.
                      Last edited by Old Glory; May 1, 2020, 04:31 AM.

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