# Good grill - gas or charcoal - under $160.00



## The Dessert Diva (Apr 2, 2007)

Any out there? I am on a big budget and I am just feening for a good grilled steak.


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## sattie (Apr 2, 2007)

I say you can't go wrong with a charcoal grill from Weber!!!  They will practically last a lifetime and nothing beats a good char-grilled flavor!!!  

Welcome to Weber.com

If you do go charcoal, I would also reccomend a chimney starter so you can light your coals without the use of lighter fluid.  You can get those at any hardware store.


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## GB (Apr 2, 2007)

I completely agree with sattie. Webber is the way to go and the price range you are in would put you with a charcoal grill.


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## The Dessert Diva (Apr 2, 2007)

I believe we used to have an old fashioned weber (black ball shaped BBQ) but it was mysteriously lost in our last DITY move...hmmm (whole nother subject matter). I used to own a great little habachi (wow...did I botch the spelling on that, or what) but my brother decided he loved it more then I and well, took it.

I saw a nice (i assume it was nice) gas grill at...do I dare say its name...WalMart..for abiut $168.00, but I am nervous about gas grilling as i have only ever used charcoal.

I will check out the Weber site and do sopme investigation. I will let you all know what we decide to do. Keep up the good work and suggestions!


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## Uncle Bob (Apr 2, 2007)

Miss Diva...

Just one more vote for the Webber. For the money you cannot go wrong!

I think I have 4 of them or is it 5... 

Enjoy


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## GB (Apr 2, 2007)

Gas grills are great. You will get better flavor with charcoal, but gas is just so much easier IMO. I would be nervous of a gas grill that inexpensive though.


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## Renee Attili (Apr 2, 2007)

Weber Prices have gone up considerably this year. So if you want something more than a Silver One Touch (22.5 grate) you might have to pay more than $160.00. Depending on what kind of climate you have the Weber might last you 10 years or 6 months. Humidity and salt water are the Webers worst enemies. Using lump Charcoal will improve your grilling too.


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## eatsOats (Apr 2, 2007)

I'd say it depends on how you do the majority of your grilling -- last minute/in a hurry, or ample preparation/flavor is king.

I own the Weber 18.5" grill and it is plenty large for what I do.


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## The Dessert Diva (Apr 2, 2007)

Hmmm...good to know about the climate thingy...I am coastal oregon resident so salt water is a given in my yard. I love to marinate and fancy up the meats and even on occasion I am known for "hey, I feel like a burger..." so I grill up one of those out of the blue too.

I may have to get the weber and down the line (summers end, for fall meals) bust out my pocketbook and get a gas one. DH is also hooting and hollering for a weber (says it brings out the kid in him).


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## Barb L. (Apr 2, 2007)

I like both, but do like the convenience of the gas grill !


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## Renee Attili (Apr 2, 2007)

Before you buy check out the Big Green Egg. It is the Bomb!!!!!! and it's all ceramic, so you don't have to worry about rust. (they offer a lifetime warranty on the ceramic.

www.biggreenegg.com


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## sattie (Apr 2, 2007)

Never owned a gas grill, so I never got use to the convenience of one... I guess that is a good thing?  LOL!!!  DD... I do hope you find the one you want.... nothing beats a grilled meal!


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## Andy M. (Apr 2, 2007)

If your price limit is $160., I'd buy a Weber charcoal grill rather than a $160 gas grill.


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## pacanis (Apr 3, 2007)

I would be lost without the convenience of my gas grill, whether I'm grilling a couple hot dogs or burgers for lunch or doing steak and potatos for dinner.  I can actually use it either way, gas or charcoal, but I ended up using the charcoal tray as a large drippings catcher underneath.  Works great for cooking all day, too, without having to add more charcoal.
You can get good portable ones for a lot less than your budget figure, or add a little more and get a very serviceable one at Home Depot or the like.  
Heck, you could buy one of each for 160 bucks, then in a few years decide which you like better and upgrade.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 3, 2007)

The problem that I have with gas grills versus the Webber Kettle is that I have seen roaring flames come from both cheap and expensive gas grills that were not only difficult to control, but downright dangerous.  Grease is a great fuel and burns very hot.  Flare ups with gas are more difficult to control because you can't smother the fire by closing the air vents.  And you know what, dry chemical fire extinguishers just make a mess of food.  Water tends to spread grease fires, making them more dagerous, and most of us don't own Co-2 extinguishers.

I have never had an uncontrolled fire in the Webber kettle as I can control the amount of air going into the thing through its vents.  And the flavor is definetly better, as is the versatility.  I can use more cooking techniques with the charcoal grill than are possible with gas.

And the vaunted convenience of gas is lost to me.  The time it takes the charcoal to get hot is used to prepare the food for grilling.  It's no more difficult to clean than its gas counterpart, and the ashes are actually beneficial to my garden.  My only complaint is that the Webber Kettle isn't big enough to really cook a lot of food on.  But then, neither are most gas grills.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## pacanis (Apr 3, 2007)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> And the vaunted convenience of gas is lost to me. The time it takes the charcoal to get hot is used to prepare the food for grilling.


 
An afternoon barbeque, yes, but there's no way I would grill a couple burgers or hot dogs for lunch with a charcoal grill.  The convenience is in how much more quickly you can start grilling and when you're done, you just turn it off and it's cool in 20 minutes.  Seems like a much safer option on the porch. (I don't have flare ups that can't be solved by moving the food over and the _occassional_ flare up adds flavor, IMO).  
Example; I turn my grill on as I walk in the house, turn the fryer on, chop some onions, cut up some potatos, put a couple dogs on the grill, drop the potatos in the oil and I'm eating in 15 minutes.  I don't need to worry about humid charcoal, washing black off my hands, emptying the ash pan...

It's been a while since I've seen charcoal used, so maybe there's something different going on with the newer grills, but can you snuff out the charcoal and use it again the next time you grill?  Or does it have to burn itself out?

Don't get me wrong, I love charcoal grills too, in their place, but I don't understand how they can hold a candle to a gas grill for convenience if you just want a quick grilled meal and don't want to plan a picnic around it.
To each his own


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## Renee Attili (Apr 3, 2007)

pacanis said:
			
		

> An afternoon barbeque, yes, but there's no way I would grill a couple burgers or hot dogs for lunch with a charcoal grill. The convenience is in how much more quickly you can start grilling and when you're done, you just turn it off and it's cool in 20 minutes. Seems like a much safer option on the porch. (I don't have flare ups that can't be solved by moving the food over and the _occassional_ flare up adds flavor, IMO).
> Example; I turn my grill on as I walk in the house, turn the fryer on, chop some onions, cut up some potatos, put a couple dogs on the grill, drop the potatos in the oil and I'm eating in 15 minutes. I don't need to worry about humid charcoal, washing black off my hands, emptying the ash pan...
> 
> It's been a while since I've seen charcoal used, so maybe there's something different going on with the newer grills, but can you snuff out the charcoal and use it again the next time you grill? Or does it have to burn itself out?
> ...


 When I use my Egg, I utilize the lump charcoal and I am able to simply snuff out the fire and any coal that is not used can be re-burned on my next cook.
I fire up the grill whether I am cooking for a gathering or just wanting to grill a dozen shrimp. I am set up, and ready to cook in under 15 minutes. Plus the flavors that are produced (even on a quick cook) is superior to any gas grill.


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## pacanis (Apr 3, 2007)

That's pretty cool. I've never seen anyone reuse charcoal, but then everyone I know uses regular charcoal (briquets are they?). I'll have to look into the lump kind.  Who knows, maybe I'll convert. I'm not beyond trying something new out to see if I like it.  Just like those new starters seem a lot better than than the old squirt with fluid and stand back.....


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## Andy M. (Apr 3, 2007)

Goodweed of the North said:
			
		

> ...And the vaunted convenience of gas is lost to me...


 
It's not about time, it's about ease. 

A gas grill should be preheated as should a charcoal grill.  It's just a lot easier to light a gas grill.   Turn on the gas, press a button, walk away; as opposed to the setting up, filling and lighting a chimney.  

I don't mean to suggest that is a particularly difficult or time consuming task, just that it's not as easy as lighting a gas grill.  Then there is the storage, handling and disposal of the charcoal.  Not an issue with gas.  Again, not a huge deal, just a bit easier and a bit less messy with gas.


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## Renee Attili (Apr 3, 2007)

I don't know about ease of starting with a gas grill. 
I've never had to worry about my lump charcoal blowing up in my face if it didn't light right away. (gas stove did that once to me. Who new women had that much facial hair?)
I only have to worry about mess with lump if I drop my BBQ sauce in my Egg.


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## GB (Apr 3, 2007)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> A gas grill should be preheated as should a charcoal grill.


This is absolutely true, but I find my gas grill preheats very quickly. If I want it as hot as it will get then (during the warm months) it takes less than 15 minutes whereas getting charcoal lit took about 25-30 minutes. If I do not need it blazing hot then 5-10 minutes is sufficient. Those are quick enough times that if I am cooking a burger or dogs or sausages or even steaks then I can come home from work and fire the thing up and cook in no time. If I had to wait to the charcoal then I might have second thoughts as time is of the essence after work.


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## Barb L. (Apr 3, 2007)

To me they each have their place, but I need both - no one is taking my gas grill, not at this age !   lol - Love it !


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## Andy M. (Apr 3, 2007)

I wish I had the space and opportunity to have a gas grill an charcoal grill and a smoker.  Sadly, I don't.


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## eatsOats (Apr 3, 2007)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> I wish I had the space and opportunity to have a gas grill an charcoal grill and a smoker. Sadly, I don't.


That's what I own and I wouldn't have it any other way.  The gas grill is one of those small ones that use the small camping propane bottles.  It works out very well because the only time I use gas is when I need to grill a small amount of food, such as a couple steaks.  It's small size allows it to preheat quickly, and it's cheaper to use than charcoal for small jobs.  Nothing beats the taste of charcoal, however.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Apr 3, 2007)

I strongly feel the $199 up at Walmart are good values in gas grills. 
I prefer gas. Just easy and thats just good IMO.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 3, 2007)

This debate could go on forever. I watched a show where the same food was cooked on a good gas grill and on a charcoal grill. Some people actually prefered the flavor imparted by the gas grill. Others said charcoal all the way. There were some that liked both equally. Suprizingly, when blind taste tests were done, several of those who swore by charcoal actually picked the gas cooked food. The same was true of the "I prefer a Gas Grill" camp.  Both were very suprized.

I think that many people, and I'm not acusing anyone here, make decisions based on what somebody told them, rather than from personal experience. I know that I thought my Mom, and my Dad both made the best spaghetti sauce on the planet, until I moved away and was able to experience something completely different.

As with all cooking that I do, I did some experimenting. The results of those experiments suprized me. I found that if I dry-pan-fried a steak, and then hit it with a propane torch flame (temerature is much hotter than with either gas or charcoal), I could not duplicate that grilled flavor I so love. So the idea that "the high temperature of charcoal" flavors the meat is just wrong. What I did find was that smoke deposition on the meat created the grilled flavor. The main smoke flavor of grilled foods is fat dripping onto something very hot, and burning. Of course, if wood is added, that changes the flavor dramatically as there are other flavors in wood smoke that deposit on the meat surface.

I also found that I could use a table-top gas grill and achieve the exact same flavor as I got with my Webber Kettle, by regulating the flame and allowing the fat to drip freely on the smoking element (folded steel over the flame).

As for convenience, I still prefer my charcoal grill as it allows me greater variety. And it's super easy to clean the cooking grate. I have the Weber charcoal holders and use briquettes or natural wood, as lump charcoal is difficult to find around here. And yes, I do use lighter fluid. In fact, I use a lot of lighter fluid. It burns off completely in about ten minutes, and my grill is blazing hot. If I want a cooler temperature, I simple adjust the vents to partially starve the fire, and move the holders away from each other. Not only is this fast, but the hot fire turns any substances on the grate to ash, which I simply brush off before placing the food on it. It's like a self-cleaning oven every time I light the thing.

I like both, but prefer charcoal, mainly because I know how to cook with it. But I own a home, with a yard, and a garage. I have lots of woods around and so don't have to worry about space so much. I completely understand the preferences for gas grills, especially if one lives in an apartment, or condo, where yardspace is either severly limited, or non-existant.

And yes, with charcoal, when I'm done cooking, I simply place the tight fitting cover on the Webber Kettle and close the vents. It takes about twenty minutes to completely cook, less in the rain or winter. The fire starves so quickly that there is for all practical purposes, the same amount of charcoal left as when I shut the vents. I usually get at least three meals from one load of charcoal briquettes, usually four.

I say that there is room enough for both types of grills, and both work equally well, if you learn to use them properly.

Ease of use, speed, versatility, niether gas nor charcoal is really better, just different. Learn to use whichever you prefer, and enjoy great food.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## pacanis (Apr 4, 2007)

Andy M. said:
			
		

> I wish I had the space and opportunity to have a gas grill an charcoal grill and a smoker. Sadly, I don't.


 
I look into those smoker grills every year, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  Now that I know there is reuseable charcoal I may look into them a little harder.  I usually start checking them out when the Food Network starts airing those rib/chicken/brisket cook offs


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