good budget friendly wood/charcoal grills?

[Ty520]

I am interested in getting a good, budget friendly wood charcoal burning grill and was hoping you all could offer some suggestions.

my family used to have an old dilapidated classic webber kettle grill in baby s#!t green. a have an aversion to them, but i think it is purely due to anti sentimentality because it was just an eye sore - they do seem to be some of the most recommended budget friendly grills i see in reviews. do they do well with wood?

 

[JLeonard]

Hate to say it.....But the kettle is the best versatile bang for the buck. And a ton of accessories for it.

Jim

 

[Ty520]

Hate to say it.....But the kettle is the best versatile bang for the buck. And a ton of accessories for it.

Jim

accessories definitely is a plus. Any that you recommend?

i also have to admit that they look better than what i remember as a kid in the 80s...i can still picture the baby poop green paint, the rotten wood handle...the cracked plastic wheels...the spider webs...the rust

<gag>

 

[JLeonard]

If you get one.....Get a vortex or one of the generics of it. It turns the kettle into a wing machine. I also have the charcoal baskets. Amazon search kettle accessories....It'll keep ya entertained for quite a while spending money. It really depends on what you want to do with your kettle.

Jim

 

[BigW.]

I also enjoy the rotisserie. The Kettle is a great tool.

 

[SmokingUPnorth]

Another +1 for the Weber kettle. Can do anything with it. I have the 22” and 26”. They are the reason I got rid of a Traeger; MES30 and a WSM

 

[DougE]

You can't beat the Weber kettle as far as accessories and versatility. I need to buy another to replace the one I had long ago.

can still picture the baby poop green paint

Hell, back in the day, that color was all the rage in kitchen appliances. I have flashbacks every time I go to town because someone doing a recent remodel put that same color vinyl siding on the whole house.

 

[mike243]

As much as I love my Weber's the grates are to close together to use very much wood, I would get something you can adjust the height on it you want to burn much wood.

 

[JIMSMOKES]

If you get one.....Get a vortex or one of the generics of it. It turns the kettle into a wing machine. I also have the charcoal baskets. Amazon search kettle accessories....It'll keep ya entertained for quite a while spending money. It really depends on what you want to do with your kettle.

Jim

Got mine from the big A. Chose the cheapest version and added accessories.
If my wife ask I saved money doing it that way. LoL

 

[JLeonard]

Got mine from the big A. Chose the cheapest version and added accessories.
If my wife ask I saved money doing it that way. LoL

Kinda like her getting the shoes on sell and needing the purse and etc to go with. I like the logic.

Jim

 

[JeffShoaf]

I'm a big fan of the kettle but if you're looking to cook with wood, it's hard to beat a Santa Maria or Argentinean grill. The kettle is fine with just wood if you're grilling without the lid but it's hard to regulate the temperature without choking the fire and getting dirty smoke with the kid on.

Of coarse, there are several Santa Maria attachments for the kettle... I'd certainly have one for my kettle if I didn't have a big Santa Maria/Argentinian grill. Using that thing with wood it's my favorite way to cook now.

 

[jcam222]

I got an almost new Weber kettle from my neighbor last summer for $100. I have grown to absolutely love it for quick easy grilling. I actually plan on selling it to upside and add accessories.

 

[Ty520]

I'm a big fan of the kettle but if you're looking to cook with wood, it's hard to beat a Santa Maria or Argentinean grill. The kettle is fine with just wood if you're grilling without the lid but it's hard to regulate the temperature without choking the fire and getting dirty smoke with the kid on.

Of coarse, there are several Santa Maria attachments for the kettle... I'd certainly have one for my kettle if I didn't have a big Santa Maria/Argentinian grill. Using that thing with wood it's my favorite way to cook now.

But can you get a decent budget friendly Argentinian grill...? My assumption is probably not

 

[KW_Smoke]

I was on the same hunt you are and there are a lot of choices. If it has to be new, watch your local stores for clearance pricing.

I bought a used Weber Kettle for $10 from FB Marketplace (used) and an Expert Grill Kamado from Walmart (new) marked down from $259.99 to $83. I bought two, sold one for a profit, and kept the other.

The Kamado will hold 250 degrees for 28 hours straight with a load of lump charcoal and cherry wood chunks, and almost zero fiddling with the vents. A kettle is a bit more work, but you can look up snake or minion methods to draw out cook times if you are smoking pork shoulder or beef brisket.

If you can be flexible, watch for whatever drops into your price range. If you cannot wait, I would go for a kettle. Heck, pick up a few kettles for dirt cheap and you can dedicate them to a purpose - smoking, grilling, rotisserie, pizza, if you really wanted.

It comes down to initial investment and time you have for cooks. Good luck in your search!!

 

[Ty520]

I was on the same hunt you are and there are a lot of choices. If it has to be new, watch your local stores for clearance pricing.

I bought a used Weber Kettle for $10 from FB Marketplace (used) and an Expert Grill Kamado from Walmart (new) marked down from $259.99 to $83. I bought two, sold one for a profit, and kept the other.

The Kamado will hold 250 degrees for 28 hours straight with a load of lump charcoal and cherry wood chunks, and almost zero fiddling with the vents. A kettle is a bit more work, but you can look up snake or minion methods to draw out cook times if you are smoking pork shoulder or beef brisket.

If you can be flexible, watch for whatever drops into your price range. If you cannot wait, I would go for a kettle. Heck, pick up a few kettles for dirt cheap and you can dedicate them to a purpose - smoking, grilling, rotisserie, pizza, if you really wanted.

It comes down to initial investment and time you have for cooks. Good luck in your search!!

I already have a smoker still it doesn't need to fulfill that roll. Grilled pizza sounds amazing.

 

[philpom]

IMO almost no budget friendly pure grill is going to work well with pure wood. Get a $99 22" Weber kettle Silver and use lump instead. You can find generic kettle the same size for half that and they take all of the accessories but will rust out eventually.

 

[jcam222]

I already have a smoker still it doesn't need to fulfill that roll. Grilled pizza sounds amazing.

Exactly why I plan on keeping a kettle and selling my kamado. I smoke in my Lang which also has a grill and I have a 270 charcoal cabinet smoker. I don't need it for smoking and the Weber is awesome for grilling.

 

[Ty520]

Exactly why I plan on keeping a kettle and selling my kamado. I smoke in my Lang which also has a grill and I have a 270 charcoal cabinet smoker. I don't need it for smoking and the Weber is awesome for grilling.

Speaking of accessories and Argentine grills, they apparently even make an Argentine grill adapter for Webbers... Costs more than the Webber itself

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M9975SO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01M9975SO&linkCode=as2&tag=authenticfo0a-20&linkId=4bc7aa4b06826d90b6b448caf92f1a14

 

[civilsmoker]

There are other places for a add on to a kettle. Look at gabby grills. If I remember right SmokinAl had one. Truth be told you could get a kettle set up for Santa Maria, vortex, and slow & sear all for about 400-500 and you would be able to do just about anything. The pizza add on’s are a thing to…. The Weber has the market for this because it works…..

If you haven’t used wood you need to be able to adjust the height to maintain a reasonable temp at the grate level. I do wood in my vertical cabinet of my copper pot but it takes WORK. You can get a budget Santa Maria grills for around 500-600 as well (look at jd fabrications, their tail gater). Sunterra makes a nice cart based Santa Maria but it’s going to be near 2k. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Argentine style grill, it is the best coal or wood cooker I have ever used, but is was a home build…….

 

[Newglide]

You can't go wrong with a kettle like everyone is saying.
I do burn small splits in mine.