Folks:
Who knows about really big backyard grills? I want an outdoor grill in which I could roast a turkey, cook burger, dogs, and veggies for 30 people (don’t have to all eat at once), and maybe sear steak on the fancy infrared burners that I didn’t know existed until a few weeks ago when a friend showed me his TEC grill.
Consumer Reports likes the “Napoleon Prestige” but I’ve never seen one. My default choice would be some sort of big Weber.
Does it actually work to roast a turkey in an outdoor grill using the rotisserie feature? That is my dream for Thanksgiving this year! (And use the oven in the house for baking side dishes.)
Some people are grateful for what they already have and dream of world peace; I dream of buying something new and then assaulting a dead bird in the backyard…
http://www.bbqguys.com/item_name_Alfresco-LX2-56-Inch-Grill-On-Cart-With-Sear-Zone-And-Rotisserie_path_7119-11095-7521_item_2132145.html
You’ll get way way better results deep-frying that turkey. And it’ll take you no more than an hour to do it.
I have an infrared grill in my kitchen and I think it’s overrated.
Philip: I know that you often want to purchase the “biggest” and the “best.” But
there are other options here.
We used following method for grilling immense sides of lamb during a party we once made. The results were phenomenal. You can probably pay someone to build it for you
at a fraction of the cost of a commercial grill.
1) Obtain an oil drum. The grill will be laid out with the drum positioned horizontally.
2) Cut a rectangular hole in the drum.
3) Attach hinges to the material from the hole to make a door.
4) Attach the door to the oil drum.
5) Install a grill grate inside the drum. You can do this by mounting brackets on the two lids of the grill.
I just noticed variants of this on instructables.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-Your-Own-BBQ-Barrel/
Buck the trend — have you thought about an argentine-style hardwood grill? They’re characterized by a sloping, height-adjustable cooking grate, often with a big wheel on the side to move it up and down. They’re usually semi-custom, so come in a wide variety of sizes and can include a rotisserie. A little more work to fire it up than a typical Weber.
I happen to be involved with a high end appliance dealership. Here are the two items I lust after. I’m not saying they’re the best, I just find them the most appealing. Kalamazoo Grills and http://www.evoamerica.com/.
I find the price of the Kalamazoo products to be over the top, but the manufacturing is beautiful. The Evo is something I have on my list of future purchases. I’ve participated in several demonstrations of the Evo in the store and find the appliance very nice to work with.
I do like Brian’s suggestion too. So in my backyard of the future, I’ll probably have a Hasty Bake and the Evo.
We don’t have Hasty Bake in the store, but have cooked on one owned by a friend. And I do not represent any of the three companies mentioned.
A model featured on the cover of the New Yorker a few years ago may be sufficient. Check local zoning rules about height restrictions first, though.
I’m assuming you want a gas grill. In my 40 years of grilling, the best grill I’ve owned has been a Weber. They last forever and the parts are always available.
Get the one of the bigger Summit series. Forget the infrared burners and the rotisserie, real grillers don’t use them. A smoker box is a nice accessory to have.
As for the turkey, use the “beer” can method for grilling, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD–KbX7v0g but replace the beer with spices and water. yum.
Get the Weber.
Never mind that the cost for a sheet metal box with a gas burner at the bottom is so expensive. I guess shipping and packaging is probably the biggest expense for these things; I can’t imagine engineering accounts for much nowadays, expect perhaps some work minimizing production costs.
The big advantage with Weber is that they’ve been around forever and repair parts are easily sourced. Handy for something that lives outside and has to deal with the environment and wildlife.
Here’s a link with more: http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-gas-grill-is-the-weber-spirit-e-210/
“The SweetHome” and their companion site “The WireCutter” have become my go to sites for reviews of things before I buy of late and I’ve been happy with the stuff I’ve gotten on their recommendation.
XXL Big Green Egg, you will never go back to using a metal grill
The Weber is probably the best balance between quality and value. They are much better than the junk Charbroil type Chinese made grills and much cheaper than the “high end” grills where diminishing returns kick in.
This site offers good advice:
http://bbq.about.com/cs/grills/bb/aabyb042503.htm
The Kalamazoo is indeed a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and an example of what a product looks like when the engineers are not required to make a lot of cost saving compromises and are free to specify “the best”. But I question the sanity of anyone who does not have literally money to burn spending $17,000 on a metal box with a few burners in it that they will use a couple of times per week for part of the year. This is enough to buy a brand new car (if not the kind of car that someone who would spend $17,000 on a grill would buy). There’s just not $17,000 worth of “stuff” in there. 304 Stainless (the kind that you want) is about $1.25/lb. A big Kalamazoo weighs around 600 lbs. So lets say $1,000 for raw materials (there are a few valves and such in there). Figure a 600% markup for labor, manufacturing, retail markup etc. – that gets you up to say $6,000 and for $6,000 you can buy a really nice grill. That leaves another $13,000 unaccounted for.
It’s not a bad idea to value these things on a per pound basis (cheap grills weigh less) but I wouldn’t pay more that $10/lb. for a grill, maximum, and that’s on the high side. You can buy a 304 grill for as little as $5/lb.
The only explanation that makes sense is that a super high end grill like this is a Veblen good, where the high price tag is not a bug but a feature.
I have a 42″ Lynx grill, they have a 56″ as well. It’s expensive but works beautifully and you can see the quality. I have never done a Turkey on it before (good idea!) but do rotisserie chicken all the time using the inferred rotisserie and smoke box. The inferred burner for steak and burgers provides excellent sear, can’t imagine going back to a regular grill. The regular burner side is extremely even with the ceramic briquettes to disperse heat. The blue control lighting is just cool at night.
Robert, I understand that Lynx grills are indeed nicely made, but fundamentally you are talking about a metal box. Yes a very heavy nicely welded metal box with blue LEDs in it, but still a metal box. What makes this box worth 7 grand plus? When you cook a hamburger in it, it will not be cooked appreciably better than in a Weber that costs 1/4th the price. Personally (and maybe it’s just me who is a really cheap bastard), I feel as if there are really high diminishing returns on “high end” appliances (not just grills but also kitchen appliances as well). Yes, to some extent the extra money you are paying usually gets you somewhat better quality and functionality (except when it doesn’t – Consumer Reports consistently rates really cheap stoves higher in quality and reliability than Viking ranges and ask Phil what he thinks about Bosch dishwashers) but these seem to be pretty minimal in relation to the additional amount of money you have to spend. I’m interested in hearing the other side. My prejudiced brain says that the people who are buying these things are just a bunch of show offy nouveau riches but I’m interested in hearing a well justified case for their purchase.
I think my Traeger pellet smoker is best tasting grill I’ve ever owned. Much better than gas for flavor, but as easy to use (but a little more work to clean). Much easier to use than a hardwood grill / smoker. And it grills and smokes. They come in a range of sizes. I have the Lil Tex (the second smallest) and it can cook plenty of food for a small party. Make sure you get one with the temperature knob, not the simple three position knob.
I have done whole turkeys, a pair of chickens, steaks, burgers, hot dogs, fish, and pulled pork (not all at once) and it has all come out excellent. I’ll never go back to a gas grill again.
Izzie,
Like many things in life, 20% of the cost does indeed gets you 80% of the way there. As a serious amateur cook, I’ve had GE profile appliances to Thermador and now to Wolf. The top end stuff does work marginally better because the metal box is heavier and retains more heat to promote even heat distribution. The grates are super heavy and will not warp under heat. The burner unit is a big chunk of brass which hopefully will last for years to come. The unit can put out 200K BTU without breaking a sweat.
But more importantly, it’s your hobby. Same reason photographers will by a Canon 5D and car people buy an Aston Martin. You get to look at and feel the quality every day you use it and puts a smile on your face. If you can afford it, it’s buying happiness. To me it’s not so much showing off to others as showing off to myself if that makes sense.
BTW, Thermador/Bosch was terrible. Wolf/Subzero so far rocks. So you don’t always get what you pay for.
I had a Subzero fridge in my house when I moved in – it was almost new then. It ran with minimal repairs for the next 25 yrs. The problem was, I grew sick of it (the now old fashioned styling with fake wood grain on the drawer fronts, chrome shelves that were losing their plating, etc.) long before it stopped working – actually it never stopped working although the compressor ran more of the time as it grew weaker (and it was a fortune to replace). It probably had another 10 yrs of life left in it when it was hauled away to be made into Chinese automobiles (it weighed about as much as one). So there is such a thing as “too good” – there is no point paying for something that will “last a lifetime” if you don’t really plan on keeping it for a lifetime (and most Americans move every few years).
Anyway, the point is that you may grow sick of your new grill long before it breaks. There are new technological developments now and then (whatever comes after infrared and LEDs) and your grill won’t have them. Yes, your cast brass burner may last a lifetime, but (and I’m pulling numbers out of the air), if that burner added $200 to the price of the grill and a flimsy stainless burner costs $20 and lasts 5 years, you will never live long enough to get your money back. We bemoan the fact that nowadays we have “disposable” appliances but there is a reason (and not just manufacturer’s profit) why we have gone in that direction. I’m not saying you should buy the cheapest possible thing, but that somewhere (e.g. the Weber) there is a “sweet spot” where you get the most bang for your buck while achieving a decent (if not the very highest) level of performance and durability.
Regarding Wolf, my new kitchen has an induction cooktop and I am absolutely wild about it. I would never go back to gas any more than I would go back to having gas light in my house. Someday (soon), the idea that people cooked with open flames in their kitchen (fueled by explosive gas!) will seem crude and primitive. Tell me another story grandpa, about how humans used to drive their own cars and would kill each other a lot.
I purchased a Napoleon Grill last summer (the big built-in model). I chose it because it is made in Canada and wanted my money to go to quality versus a poor-quality, high margin made in China BBQ. That said, I did discover that the low end models from most manufacturers, including Weber and Napoleon, tend to be made in China. I agree that the food won’t likely taste better in a more expensive BBQ but I do think you get a better quality appliance and I know I helped support local industry.
As for the rotisserie, ignore anyone saying otherwise as it is the superior method of cooking. I was a skeptic at first but there is simply no better way to cook a rosast, chicken or turkey. In the case of poultry, all that is required is a good bird (organic) and salt and pepper.