Not up for discussion: It’s going to be a gas grill - hooked up to our natural gas line.
I stumbled across this article. It has some suggestions.
I don’t know how many BTUs I need, how important sear plates, wave rod cooking grids, or infrared side burners are…or what they really are or do. A rotisserie would be nice but only if it works well - a long time ago I bought a rather cheap propane gas grill that had a rotisserie but it couldn’t handle anything of substantial weight and stopped working after a few months.
I don’t have a $$$ number in mind. In general, I’m willing to pay for quality and things that are important to me. I just don’t know what’s important to me. I’m not really a “foodie”. I pretty much grill hamburgers, chicken wings, and bratwurst…maybe some corn on the cob…I’ve done salmon on a cedar plank before but found it underwhelming
I don’t need it to be too large. I’m an empty nester now. It’s just my wife & I (stupid predicate nominative). We don’t host parties. I have no friends. We’d only use it for the two of us & include the kids whenever they should come home.
I also don’t know where to buy such a thing. The article above refers to bbqguys and amazon. I don’t own a pickup truck anymore, so if it comes pre-assembled I won’t be able to get it home.
As an actuary, you’ll eventually come around to a “$$$ per year” type of estimate. You can get small grills at Home Depot (at least the one I went to this weekend). $100-$200. CharBroil. Not sure if they are natural-gas-compatible. But, how long will it last? If you have to get new one every year, that’s not very efficient (especially if you have to build it yourself).
You probably only need at most 2 burners.
Quick note: We’ve been doing a lot of red meat indoors, slow-roasting at 225 until the middle is rare, then pan-frying (steaks) or broiling (standing roast) the outsides.
Get a cover, or keep it in your garage when wet outside.
So, Weber. Spirit E-210. $350. Out of stock at Lowe’s. Gonna be hard to find one in your area at this time of year. Grill spaces are filled up with fucking Christmas (thanks, Melania!) decorations.
Should last several years. 10, even.
Also, buy the thermometers: iGrill bluetooth.
I switched from a cheapo grill that was due to be retired to a Weber Genesis with a sear station. The Weber is a much better grill - much more even heat distribution, and a thicker hood that helps hold the heat in the winter.
That’s what we have. Had it for many many years (10? maybe more). I’ve replaced the metal plates over the burner once and nothing else other than cleaning it every year.
OP, for those of us that aren’t big grillers the reason you want to go with a weber or similiar is simply because they don’t rust out after 3-4 years.
I think I did better with my prior grill than 3-4 years, but it was in pretty bad shape by the time I got rid of it - the burners, grates, and almost everything inside of it needed to be replaced. The exterior shell was stainless, so that seemed to still be OK.
I do need to get the metal plates over the burners replaced. I am on year 5 of my weber. I tend to use one side of the grill more than the other (the side with the sear station), so the plates on that side are done. I swapped the other side over and can probably get another season out of it.
We have a Weber Spirit in the northeast, we grill multiple times a week all year round. I have had the same grill for about 10 years, replaced a few parts over that time and keep it covered year round. We had a grill with side burners in the past and that seemed cool, but try to boil corn on the cob, took almost 30 minutes to get the water boiling. I also use a Yoshii grill mat (copper infused) and don’t have to scrape down the grill racks after each use.
That’s a really nice grill. I’m also on the Weber train, I bought the cheapest Weber gas grill about 12 years ago, I’ve replaced the gas valve and the flavorizer bars, I think that’s it. Usually don’t cover it, it blew over a few times in strong wind.
I do recommend the sear burners, that’s my only complaint with my cheap grill, it tops out around 500° or 550°. The heat distribution is solid, as noted above the cheap grills are a mess to cook on.
You might check with Ace Hardware if you have one, sometimes they will offer free delivery and assembly on Weber.
Honestly, I think either is fine. Mine is black, other than a few scratches from when it fell over, it’s in great shape after 12 years. Stainless looks great when new and it’s durable, but it will blacken as you use it (mostly the interior, of course). If you like black and it’s cheaper, and durability is the concern, I think the black will hold up very well for a long, long time.
I lied earlier when I said I have a Genesis, it is the three burner Spirit rather than a 3 burner Genesis. It is black, and the paint has held up well and still looks good after 5 years.
I considered the Genesis at the time, but could not justify the additional $300+ for the larger size as I rarely grill that much at once. My prior grill was a 4-burner, so it felt like a bit of a downgrade on the size, but given the Weber is just so much more consistent in heat distribution, I have at least the same effective cooking area as my old grill since the front area of that one was basically useless.
A new one every year?!? I’ve bought $200 gas grills and had them last for 5-10 years.
Weber has two portable grills, and I use the bigger one as my main grill. I am usually only grilling for 2-4 people and didn’t need anything overkill.
It turns out that the safety valve would get annoying and sometimes limit my temp to 200 degrees. I found a workaround for that on the internet. So the design of my Weber grill did let me down initially.
BBQs are like pickup trucks - most guys are looking for an excuse to spend waaay more than necessary to impress the Joneses.
I think there is some over-buying in the grill market. But having used a handful of cheap grills, I’m in the camp that if you use it very often, buy quality and cry once.
That grill seems way too big, given these inputs in the OP.
If you want something that big by Weber, I suggest waiting until your local Costco has something similar for around $899, INCLUDING cover and the bluetooth thermometers. Next February or March. You could buy it online have it delivered, but it costs more. Either way, you’re putting it together yourself.
Oh well.