ADVICE: Need a new grill - Weber vs. Char-Griller

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I have had many charcoal grills. Broke down earlier this year and bought a 22.5 weber otg kettle and cant ever imagine grilling on any thing but my kettle now. For smokes I love my wsm.
I've owned two 22.5 Weber OTS Kettle grills over the past 25 years. I had to replace the first one because of what I thought was peeling paint inside the lid and kettle but subsequent reading--AFTER I gave the old one away and bought a new one--said it was just carbon buildup.

Anyway, I've had my current one for about three years and won't grill with anything else. I've done some smoking by adding soaked wood chips to the charcoal but typically it's straight grilling. The newer ones don't come with the hinged cooking grate sections like my original one did so I bought the hinged grate on sale last summer. I then found a recipe that called for two-tier grilling and I was set.

I love the Weber kettle grill; we've been backyard buddies for a long time. For smoking I've got a Masterbuilt 30" electric smokehouse. Both of these were tremendous values for someone like me who's content to remain just a family
th_4th_of_July.gif
backyard griller and BBQer
 
Can't beat a weber. I got a new one last fall. My old one was 14 years old.

Yep! I used to think that all the praise given to the Weber kettles was just hype. T'aint so! I got one off CL a couple years ago and use it every time I cook outside. It's versatility may not be endless but I doubt that I will ever find all its uses.

I was a gas grill user for a few years but was never happy with any of them - from low end to high end Dukanes. Having to light charcoal - think petroleum lighter fluid - put me off, too. That was until I finally bought a good Weber charcoal starter chimney. I used wadded newspapers for a while but got tired of the paper ashes and soot. Then I came across a soda can alcohol stove on the Internet and made a few of them. Now I set the alcohol stove on the Weber grate with an ounce of alcohol which I light with a propane lighter. I then place the chimney of briquettes over the alcohol stove and I have a red hot set of coals in minutes. No petroleum lighter to remember to buy and no newspaper ash. Oh, and BTW, I buy gallons of alcohol for $5. You can use either isopropyl or denatured alcohol, whichever you find that is most available and cheapest.
 
Get the Weber.  I own a Weber charcoal, Weber Genesis gas grill and a WSM.  Why?  One word: Quality.  Weber are the best built grills.  They hold in the heat like no others and they won't rust out like most grills.  Happy grilling with whatever you choose.
 
I have a char-griller with the firebox and love.  I have done all types of meat.  The best I have done is the Killer Kanadian bacon on it.  I see alot of votes for Weber here I have never used one so I can not compare,  but I have used lots of other smokers from electric, gas and Charcoal and the Char-Griller is the best I have ever used.  
 
@luv2qandgrill: What part of Texas are you in? I'm up north in Frisco & get them at Matador Meat & Wine in Plano. I think they're Certified Angus.
 
We live about 40 miles northwest of Houston between Tomball and Magnolia.  I found it at the HEB Central Market in Houston as well as Austin but the price was outrageous.  Our local HEB doesn't carry it because it is not very popular in Texas as brisket is.  Costco sells it for almost $6 a pound so we don't buy it too often, only when we want to reminisce about better weather.
 
Dang, you can walk into any grocery store and pick up tri-tips but here in Texas I can only find them in Costco.  Love Texas but one more reason to miss Southern Cal.  Hope those tri-tips come out great!

I find them at our local HEB. Ask at the butcher counter. They seem to sell out pretty fast but the butcher can tell you when they expect the next truck.

I buy them for about the same as flank steak per pound.

HTH
 
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Heck yeah, I ended up getting the Weber 22.5" Gold. It's beautiful. Hopefully gonna do my first tri-tip or steaks on it tonight or this weekend.

Can't wait. I'll try to do QView or "GrillView" if possible. :)
good choice. I have the performer and absolutely love it in every way possible. well, except for the digital timer that comes with it. dang thing has no off button. who designs electronics that you can't turn off???
 
I always thought Weber was over priced until I used one... my Weber summit platinum D6 is 7 years old, used yearly and uncovered... only thing I had to do is replace the burners and flavor bars.  Everything else is virtually brand new.
 
BIGGER is better :)
http://s435.photobucket.com/user/gomez56/media/Smokinpics2013LakeShawnee033.jpg.html

This is a 22.5" lid inside the Ranch Kettle:
http://s435.photobucket.com/user/gomez56/media/20131015_220417.jpg.html

I know, the OP bought his a long time ago but I just couldn't help but brag a little
I've looked at those. Is it reasonable to fire it up and just cook something small, like 2 or 3 steaks or chicken breasts? My CG is done, and I'm going to replace it, but the one thing that I love about it, is the ability to throw a spatchcocked chicken on it and cook it indirect. I do the same thing with corn on the cob.  I just don't see the 22in Weber being big enough to do that.

Edit: HOLY CRAP! Those cost $1300!  I've got running cars that didn't cost that much. I guess I'm not considering buying one.
 
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I've looked at those. Is it reasonable to fire it up and just cook something small, like 2 or 3 steaks or chicken breasts? My CG is done, and I'm going to replace it, but the one thing that I love about it, is the ability to throw a spatchcocked chicken on it and cook it indirect. I do the same thing with corn on the cob.  I just don't see the 22in Weber being big enough to do that.
I am going to just say you probably could. Weber has these great little half moon shaped charcoal baskets or I suppose you could make your own out of expanded metal. I have a 22.5 inch performer which came with them. It is really miserly on charcoal and I can even get close to 500 degrees when the weather is 10 degrees out. The design is very efficient. I would suppose It would just take longer to heat up being so freakin huge. I can fit 2 spatchcocked chickens on mine and always do my corn on the cob in the husk over direct. They also have a hover grill you can get that adds a second level although it is probably around 18 inches due to the domed lid. The great thing about them is when you are done cooking you can shut the air down and they go out almost immediately saving charcoal and wood for next time. I just did a couple of stuffed burgers and a dozen ABT's the last night when it was 5 degrees out with 8 coals of kingsford and 2 chunks of cherry. Weber kicks butt and next summer I am going to either build a mini or buy the mini wsm for little stuff even though I can do it all with my kettle. Tonight I am going to do chicago deep dish pizza in cast iron on it.
 
I got a CG Pro with SFB this past summer, have modded it per the info on this board, and I am immensely happy with my buy. The price was great, I love that I have a choice of burning a few steaks or some Brat's for a quick dinner, and then if I want to smoke, then I can do that also (and one two or three occasions have done both at the same time. I will say I am a beginner smoker, but I've done several Briskets, Ribs, two Turkeys, some fish, chicken, some shoulders, etc, and all have turned out no worse than great, and as I;ve gotten better, I've gotten praises from the spousal unit like "that was the best ribs I've ever had". 

Not bad for a sub-$200 investment (even after adding cost of mods). I'm even thinking of investing in one of those fancy-schmancy Wifi fan controllers to simplify my long smokes, and so it's more of a "fire-and-forget" deal. Overall though, I love my CG Pro. Can't speak towards to the weber, but I'd buy the CG again in a second.

My 2 cents for what its worth. :)
 
I've got 2 CharGrillers. One I've had for ages and use as a grill. It is hanging on by a thread. The other is a Outlaw with SFB that I modified to be reverse flow. I loved it, even did a couple of pigs on it, (small ones) until the SFB rusted and fell off. I'm in process of building a reverse flow smoker from a tank right now, so I really just need a pure grill.

It is absolutely a great way to spend $200. I don't have a bad word to say about them.
 
Yep! I used to think that all the praise given to the Weber kettles was just hype. T'aint so! I got one off CL a couple years ago and use it every time I cook outside. It's versatility may not be endless but I doubt that I will ever find all its uses.

I was a gas grill user for a few years but was never happy with any of them - from low end to high end Dukanes. Having to light charcoal - think petroleum lighter fluid - put me off, too. That was until I finally bought a good Weber charcoal starter chimney. I used wadded newspapers for a while but got tired of the paper ashes and soot. Then I came across a soda can alcohol stove on the Internet and made a few of them. Now I set the alcohol stove on the Weber grate with an ounce of alcohol which I light with a propane lighter. I then place the chimney of briquettes over the alcohol stove and I have a red hot set of coals in minutes. No petroleum lighter to remember to buy and no newspaper ash. Oh, and BTW, I buy gallons of alcohol for $5. You can use either isopropyl or denatured alcohol, whichever you find that is most available and cheapest.
You know what I think is a safer but not necessarily a cheaper alternative to lighting the coals? Weber's paraffin cubes, $3.29 for a 24-pack at Lowes or on Amazon. Just place one cube under the starter chimney (which I wish I had bought YEARS ago) and that's all you need. It's great for lighting charcoal, lump charcoal, wood chunks, No alcohol or propane lighters needed. I save my propane torch for lighting my A-MAZE-N Pellet Smoker when I'm using my Masterbuilt 20" Electric Smokehouse.
 
 
good choice. I have the performer and absolutely love it in every way possible. well, except for the digital timer that comes with it. dang thing has no off button. who designs electronics that you can't turn off???
I would love to have bought the Gold for the hinged cooking grate and the closed ash catcher. My budget only allowed me the $70 the 22.5" One Touch Silver cost me on sale several years ago. This past year I bought the hinged cooking grate on sale. Still gotta deal with the open ash catcher but that's a minor inconvenience considering the money I saved by not buying the Gold.
 
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