How to choose a grill in the age of too many choices

Buying a grill used to be easy. You really only had two choices, gas or charcoal. Most people owned a Weber, whether it was the kettle charcoal grill or the Genesis gas grill, Weber was the grill brand most people knew.

A lot has changed since then and our choices have become overwhelming. The gas and charcoal grills still exist, but now we also have pellet grills, flat-top grills (although I’m not sure they count), Kamodo style grills, over-fire broilers, offset smokers, Argentinian grills and I’m sure many more I have never heard of. Prices for these grills range for a couple of hundred dollars all the way up to several thousand dollars, and in some extreme cases, tens of thousands of dollars.

So how do you know which grill is right for you? There are a few questions you’ll have to answer before buying a grill.

How often are you grilling? What are you grilling? What kind of fuel source do you want? How much money do you want to spend? How much space do you have? All of these will play into what style of grill or grills best suit you.

GAS GRILLS

Gas grills run on natural gas or propane and are probably the easiest to use. Designed for direct heat cooking, they are ideal for most grilling needs – burgers and brats to fish and steaks.

Depending on how much you use it you can run your grill on a tank or two of propane for an entire summer, which makes them very cost effective. They are easy to maintain and clean, and a good gas grill that is well maintained will last 10 or more years.

There are a few issues with gas grills. The most obvious is flavor – you won’t get a good smoke flavor that you can get from charcoal or wood.

They do sell little smoke boxes that you can put in your gas grill to add that wood smoke flavor, but they don’t really work as well as you would hope. Gas grills are also not ideal for low, slow grilling that would be needed for a good brisket or a pork butt.

CHARCOAL GRILLS

Charcoal has been the workhorse of grills for a long time.

Most everyone I know has owned a Weber kettle grill at some point. They are inexpensive to buy and charcoal is an inexpensive fuel source. Charcoal does take some getting used to. Finding the best way to light the coals and cleaning the grill take a bit of know how. Learning how to adjust air intake and maintain heat takes a little time, but is not overly complicated.

Certain types of charcoal grills, like the Kamado style grills that use ceramic and metal to make a very well insulated grill, allow for very precise temperature control. These types of grills take a bit more time to perfect, but everyone I know who has taken the time to learn how to use them loves the results they get.

These grills can be controlled so well they work for grilling, smoking, and even baking. One of the best pecan pies I ever had was baked on a Big Green Egg.

PELLET GRILLS

Pellet grills, like the ones made by Traeger and Recteq, have been very popular over the last 10 years. They burn wood pellets as fuel and are very simple to use.

Many of the newer pellet grills are blue tooth enabled and temperatures can be controlled by your phone. These grills really excel at long, slow cooking methods. They are ideal for smoking briskets or fish and add incredible flavor to everything you cook.

The only real issue with pellet grills is that most of them don’t get hot enough to sear meats. Most of them have a maximum temperature range of up to 500 degrees and are indirect sources of heat. This doesn’t mean you can’t cook a steak on them, but if what you really like about a steak is a good sear then you may need to finish your steak on a gas grill or cast iron pan.

Pellet grills do require more maintenance then other grills. The ash must be vacuumed out regularly. They have computers to maintain temps. This is where most problems occur.

If left outside in the elements, mice, squirrels and weather can damage the circuit boards and wiring. A good cover for your pellet grill is a must.

SPECIALTY GRILLS

These are grills that serve very specific purposes. The Otto Wilde Over-fired Broiler is a great example. It is capable of temps up to 1,500 degrees and is great for searing meat. Fish and meat that only need very quick high heat are great on this grill.

Flat-topped grills like the Blackstone are another specialty grill designed for searing of meats. It also is useful for cooking large amounts of food at the same time. It can sear burgers and hot dogs or make large batches of pancakes, but it isn’t ideal for steaks, chops or any kind of smoking.

Regardless of what kind of grill you choose there are some simple things that will help you keep your grill running for a long time. A good cover will help protect it from the elements and keep it running longer. Regularly cleaning out ashes and food drippings will keep pests out of your grills.

Finding a good way to clean grill grates is very important. I will never use a wire brush on my grill grates. One of the best ways I have found to clean grill grates is to rip off about 18 inches of aluminum foil and ball it up. Then rub the grates with the foil ball. The aluminum foil will form to the grates and does a great job of cleaning them.

Sometimes one grill isn’t enough to cover all your needs. For my money, a gas grill and a pellet smoker would cover most of my needs. Whatever you choose, take the time to enjoy it. There really isn’t much better than burgers on the grill on a summer night.