Backyard grilling or barbecue is not just a quintessential part of the summer but also an integral part of the American experience. One of the most significant aspects of creating a perfect backyard barbecue is choosing the right grill. But before buying a grill, you probably want to remember that you aren’t buying a grill just for the sake of it.
Instead, you’re investing your money on a culinary appliance that could make having dinner with friends and family a fond memory to cherish for decades. Again, you’d want to remember that if you buy the wrong grill then you may end up turning a meat- loving family member or friend into a vegan. Worst still, botch the grill purchase and you could blow up your backyard or even find yourself on fire!
Buying the right grill for you is certainly not a simple endeavor. Many types of grills that are available in the market include charcoal, gas, electric, and pellet grills. There are also other special features such as fuel options, ease of use, durability, and impact on the flavor of your food to consider when buying a grill. That being said, it’s important to note that the best or the right grill for you is one that fits your needs, your budget, and of course, your lifestyle.
When looking for the right grill, the first step is to fairly take into consideration what you want to get out of the grill. Do you prioritize the flavor of your food? Or are you looking for a grill that can prepare a grilled meal effortlessly but with no or very little input? Do you have enough space for a given type of grill or are their local decrees that might limit the kind of grill you can use?
These are some of the many questions that you need to ask yourself when choosing the right grill for you. But even after answering these questions, you may still be unsure as to which grill is right for you. Worry not, we’ve got you covered. We’ve done our grilling and did all the research so that you don’t have to.
Whether you’re looking for the right grill for cooking hotdogs for two, preparing a feast for your next family reunion or planning a party this coming weekend, this article has everything you need as far as choosing the right grill for your barbecue escapades is concerned.
What’s Your Grilling Style?
As we’ve noted earlier, the right grill should be something that suits your needs and your lifestyle. For instance, a charcoal grill might not be the right choice for you if you live in an area where charcoal is banned. Again, a pellet grill may not be the right choice if you live in an area where firewood is scarce or unavailable. So before deciding on the right grill for you, it’s imperative to consider the following additional things:
Do you have the right space to support the type of grill you choose? You shouldn’t go for a heavy grill if your space cannot support it. For instance, a kamado may be a fantastic grill but maybe a long shot in terms of weight, especially if you have limited space.
Speaking of space, is your deck or patio perfectly wired with an extension cord? Keep in mind that options such as an electric grill and gas grill may not be an ideal choice if you don’t have the right plug-in content.
How many are you planning on feeding? If you are feeding a large group, a gas grill may be the right answer given that it offers lots of cooking space and side burners that can keep everything ready to serve.
Do you have less time for a long grilling afternoon? If you’re always on the move and always in a hurry, a slow-heating and stabilizing grill (charcoal grills) may not be the right answer.
Are you always on the move and looking for a grill that you can carry with you? If you’re looking for a grill that you can carry to an afternoon barbecue at the beach or in the park, then a heavy gas grill would make things much worse.
Are you a barbecue aficionado who believes that the right burger should have a smoky flavor and grill marks? While a gas grill or an electric grill may be clean and easy to use, it may not be your ideal choice. Instead, a charcoal grill may be the best way to go.
As you can see, there are a lot of things that go into choosing the right grill for you. So let’s dive straight into your top grill options.
Charcoal Grills
A true classic, charcoal grills are ideal if you’re on a tight budget and do not want to spend a lot of money on a grill. Well, that’s because they’re an affordable option. Barbecue purists will tell you that a charcoal grill is the only way to grill if you’re looking for the perfect flavor. The smoky flavor that a charcoal grill gives your meat, or any other meal for that matter, is certainly hard to beat!
While charcoal grills may be slower to heat up when compared to other types of grills such as gas and electric grills, they’re easy to use, portable and can get a lot hotter.
Before Buying a Charcoal Grill
There are a lot of charcoal grills out there (more on that later) and they often operate with a few basic similarities. So before buying any type of charcoal grill, you may want to look at these features.
Airflow – All charcoal grills hugely depend on airflow to regulate heat. Your charcoal grill will burn hotter if the grill allows sufficient airflow. It’s, however, essential to note that you can limit the airflow for slow cooking. It’s, therefore, important to choose a charcoal grill with enough vents, solid dampers, and tight-fitting lids.
Grill Size and Shape – Generally, normal charcoal or briquettes all burn at the same temperature. For this reason, the size and shape of your charcoal grill play a crucial role in dictating how that heat is distributed within the grill. While wider models can cook more food at once, they do not suit cookouts that need high or concentrated heat. Differently, kamado-style and kettle grills have deeper and narrower coal beds. They’re ideal for searing or for slow-cooking, especially if you close the dampers.
Accessible Coal Bed – Cooking on a charcoal grill means that you’ll cook for a long time and you’ll need to add hardwood charcoal or briquettes. With that in mind, you should choose a charcoal grill that makes access to its coal bed a lot easier, especially when you want to add coal. We love charcoal grills with hinged grates that allow you to add more coal and even rearrange them as you cook.
Adjustable Grates – Any BBQ master will tell you that your food will sear faster if you put it closer to the heat but may burn before they cook through. You should, therefore, go for a charcoal grill with an adjustable coal bed or grates, something that you can lower or raise easily with a crank. This is essential in giving you more control of the heat and the flames.
Charcoal Grill Types and Costs
Charcoal grills give you a lot of options than other types of grills. They come in a variety of shapes, types, and material construction. There are three main types of charcoal grills that you’ll come across when shopping for a grill. They’re available in different sizes and can range from small and portable to large and built-in.
Kettle Grills
You’ll agree with us that kettle grills are a popular option not just because they’re affordable but also because they’re pretty simple. That’s not all; a kettle grill can be a great option if you’re looking for something very versatile and available in a wide variety of sizes. A kettle grill would be your ideal choice if you’re looking for a portable charcoal grill, something for an afternoon BBQ down at the beach or in the park.
Kettle grills are generally round in shape. This shape plays a critical role in helping the grill retain much heat, which makes them perfect for simpler grilling tasks and shorter cook times. On the other hand, kettle grills have smaller cooking surfaces, which can be limiting for large parties. You should, therefore, consider kettle grills if you want something perfect for smaller gatherings.
Cost of Charcoal Kettle Grills
If you find yourself in a home improvement store looking for a charcoal grill and do not want to make a big investment, you can still find a decent charcoal kettle grill for less than $200. Most of them generally cost between $60 and $80. Like any other appliance in your home, the size and additional features can play a role in the overall cost of the kettle grill.
Why Go for Charcoal Kettle Grills
A charcoal kettle grill can be a wonderful fit for your grilling needs if you’re looking for an affordable and portable grill. It’s a decent grill that can get the job done but only for smaller gatherings.
Charcoal Barrel Grills and Smokers
Bigger and more versatile than kettle grills, barrel grills can be an ideal option if you want to go beyond your basic grilling needs. You should consider going with a charcoal barrel grill if you want to smoke some of your meats and foods. The fact that barrel grills come with larger cooking surfaces makes them ideal if you want to grill for larger groups.
A barrel grill will not only allow you to make more food at once but you’ll be able to do it at a faster rate. As the name suggests, barrel grills tend to have a barrel shape (at least you now know what you’re looking at).
Cost of Charcoal Barrel Grills
In terms of costs, a barrel grill will cost more than kettle grills due to their larger sizes. Normal barrel grill models should set you back between $100 and $400, but high-end models (with whistles and bells) may go beyond $1,000.
Why Go for Charcoal Barrel Grills and Smokers
These types of grills can be an incredible choice if you’re looking for a bigger cooking space. Their versatile features are also another reason to choose them, especially if you’re looking for a charcoal grill that doubles up as a smoker.
Ceramic and Kamado Grills
Commonly referred to as kamado grills or egg-shaped grills, ceramic grills are a Japanese-inspired design that has been effectively used for centuries, especially in Japan. The design of such grills enables them to effectively hold heat while also regulating the temperatures efficiently (perhaps much better than other types of charcoal grills).
The best thing about kamado grills is their versatility. You can use a kamado grill to perfectly carry out a wide range of cooking tasks. In addition to using a kamado grill to make juicy and tasty meat, you can use it to grill other types of dishes such as slices of bread, pizza, paella, and even desserts! Another great benefit of a kamado grill is that its egg-shaped design makes it warm, which is essential in heating faster than other types of charcoal grills.
The Best Food Flavor
In terms of food flavor, Kamado grills have a reputation for producing arguably much better flavors than most grills out there! Sounds interesting? Well, the reason behind this is that kamado grills can contain the smoke and heat within the grill during your grilling sessions.
Cost of Kamado Grills
Needless to say, the extra benefits of kamado grills come with an extra cost. They normally range from $300 to $2,000 on the higher-end models. Most brands starting around $700.
Why Go for Kamado Grills
The above-discussed benefits make kamado grills an ideal option on all fronts (flavor and efficiency). If grilling is your thing and you’re looking forward to a lot of grilling sessions, kamado grills might be your godsend choice. They’re also extremely durable and can stay outside all-year-round and no type of weather will affect it.
Fuel Options for Charcoal Grills
There are two fuel options to consider for any of the above-discussed charcoal grills: charcoal briquettes and hardwood lump charcoal.
Charcoal Briquettes – As one of the most recognized and iconic fuel sources for backyard barbecues, charcoal briquettes are engineered to be a suitable and consistent fuel source. Briquettes are easy to start by using a chimney starter (costs not more than $30). You should ensure that appropriate charcoal briquettes are available in your area if you’re looking to buy a charcoal grill.
What to Avoid – You should, however, avoid charcoal briquettes that are pre-soaked in chemicals. You should also avoid using lighter fluids to light your briquettes as this may leave unpleasant chemical flavor on your food.
Hardwood Lump Charcoal – This is a much better fuel option if you’re going for a charcoal grill. That’s because there’s no possibility that they would contain any form of chemical that may affect your desired flavor.
Best Fuel for the best Flavor – Hardwood lump charcoal is very popular because it’s arguably the best fuel source when it comes to your food’s flavor. It’s our personal best. As with any type of fuel that you choose to use, make sure that it’s readily available in your area before investing on a charcoal grill.
If you like to learn more about charcoal I have a great article that goes into depth about all the charcoal from around the world you can find it here What’s The Best Charcoal For Grilling.
Gas and Propane Grills
Gas grills are one of the most common types of grills you’ll find in the market these days. According to the Hearth Patio and Barbecue Association (HPBA), a majority of 72% of U.S. households who have grills use gas grills. The best thing about gas grills are the versatility and convenience that they give you.
Unlike charcoal grills, gas grills can heat up and be cooking in less than 10 minutes! All you have to do is push a button, let it heat up and grill your way to a sumptuous meal. It’s also perfect if you grill frequently and want some additional features such as multiple burners, side cook-tops, rotisserie kits, and even Wi-Fi to help you keep track of your food on your smartphone.
How to Find a Perfect Gas Grill for You
There are a lot of things that go into picking the right gas grill for you. While there are a lot of things that you’ve probably never heard of such as BTUs (British thermal unit), side burners, rotisserie burners, infrared burners among many other things, let’s look at the most crucial things to look at when looking for a perfect gas grill.
Gas Grill Price Range
When it comes to gas grills, you certainly get what you pay for. Generally, gas grills range from $150 to $300 but don’t be surprised if you come across models that cost over $10,000. Given that there are hundreds of gas grills in the market, having an idea of your budget may help you narrow down your search.
Fuel Options (Propane or Natural Gas)
Are you looking for a grill that uses natural gas or propane? Keep in mind that using a gas grill requires you to have a gas line at the location of your grill. Again, many grills can be bought in either configuration but you can’t run a natural gas on a propane grill or vice versa.
Natural Gas – This is an excellent fuel source if you’re going for a gas grill since it is affordable and even much better if it’s plumbed into your residence. Depending on how often you grill, you may not even notice changes in your utility bill. While natural gas can be readily available all day any day, don’t forget that you may sacrifice the authentic flavor of your food.
Propane – Almost 98% of gas grills in the U.S. use propane as a fuel source, that’s according to HPBA. Liquid propane tanks are affordable and can be purchased at various locations including hardware and grocery stores. Although propane burns hot and clean, your food won’t be as flavorful as when grilled on a charcoal grill.
The Right BTU
BTU is the ability of the gas grill burners to produce heat. You should keep in mind that it won’t be possible to perfectly grill a steak on a gas grill if its power is on the lower side of 100 BTU/ per square inches. The standard BTU that a perfect gas grill should give is 122.
Ideal Size for the Grill Cooking Area
Without going into many mathematical details, the minimal cooking area for a family gas grill should be 400 square inches (or about 68 cm by 38 cm). Again, the ideal cooking area may depend on the number of burners that a gas grill has. With that in mind, a gas grill with 2 burners can be ideal if you’re looking to feed less than 4 people. 3 burners can be ideal for 8 to 12 people.
It’s, however, important that the burners are designed to be far enough from the grates and not too close to the meat. You do not want the flame to burn your steak if it bursts out of the burner. Again, being at a perfect distance from the grate is essential in uniformly dispersing the fire on the grate.
The Best Gas Grill Burners
Burners are undoubtedly the heart of gas grills. You do not want to go for burners that do not work properly as this will frustratingly leave you with an entire grill worth absolutely nothing! There are different types of burners in the market.
Stainless Steel Burners – These are perhaps the best burners in the market. They’re made as perforated tubes and can work efficiently for years.
Infrared Burners – You can also choose gas grills with infrared burners instead of the standard burners. Infrared burners generally work by pointing the fire of a normal gas burner towards a porcelain tile with lots of tiny holes in it. This then changes the heat into ultraviolet energy, which is the same as the energy from the sun you feel on cold days. Surprisingly, the heat from infrared burners is more consistent and much higher than heat from a standard burner.
In essence, infrared burners give the steak a “heat shock,” which caramelizes the meat and gives it a crunchy taste. You should, however, be keen so that it doesn’t leave you with dry and dark meat.
Cast Iron Burners – These are solid burners that can provide you with the needed power for your BBQ escapades. The most noticeable downside is that they can rust very quickly.
Tin Burners – You should avoid tin burners since they’re ineffective and can rust in months.
Gas Grills Materials and Durability
It’s vital to go for gas grills that are made of materials that are durable and can withstand harsh weather elements. Most gas grill bodies are made from stainless steel, aluminum, and cast iron.
Cast aluminum – This is ideal because they can resist rust, structural fatigue, and discoloration. They can also hold and evenly distribute heat and are lightweight.
Stainless Steel – These types of gas grills are durable and offer optimal performance.
No matter the material you choose, you should take care of the gas grill to extend its lifespan. Consider cleaning it and covering it when not in use.
Pellet Grills
When it comes to pellet grills, you’ll first have to forget the common misconception that pellet grills are only meant for hardcore pit masters. These types of grills have been around for 30 years but have increasingly become popular in the last 5 years. Well, that’s because they offer a clean, simple, and consistent way of preparing several foods in a manner consistent with wood flavor.
How Pellet Grills Work
If you live in an area where wood furnaces are common, you perhaps might have come across wood pellets. These are wood shavings and sawdust compressed together. Pellets are usually delivered into the burn pot by an electric auger system at a speed dictated by the grill’s thermostat.
Reasons to Choose a Pellet Grill
In addition to making your backyard barbecues successful, there are many reasons for choosing a pellet grill.
Easy to Use – Pellet grills are very easy to use. All you need to do is buy the pellet woods and pour them into the grill’s pellet hopper. They are then fed into the fire pot by the auger. Things are much simpler in the sense that the fire pot uses fans and an igniter to create fire.
Clean and Convenient – If you’re looking for a grill that provides the cleanliness of a propane gas grill but with the flavor of wood, a pellet grill is the way to go. It comes with a digital control pad and controller to deliver the pellets. You’ll only have to dial your desired cooking temperature and wait for your sumptuous meal to get ready.
Again, a pellet grill can be a great choice if you’re looking for something that can let you make some deliciously grilled brisket and eat them too. You won’t miss the best action of the basketball or baseball game. This is very possible because pellet grills produce convection-like or indirect heat that requires less attention than other types of grills.
Versatility – The fact that you can control temperatures makes a pellet grill so versatile. In essence, you can cook everything from slow smoking a steak to making hamburgers and searing veggies.
After it’s all said and done, a pellet grill is the simplest way to enjoy the best of wood-smoked food if you don’t have the time or the effort needed to tend to a charcoal grill.
Electric Grills
Although electric grills lack some gourmet features of charcoal and gas grills, they can be ideal for your culinary needs. If you’re looking for a grill that is simple to use and still offers convenient cooking, consider an electric grill. These types of grills can be ideal if you live in condos or apartments where charcoal or gas grilling is not allowed or if you do not have a big outdoor space. Electric grills are a perfect fit if you have a tiny balcony but still want to enjoy a sumptuously grilled brisket.
Reasons to Choose Electric Grills
You should go for an electric grill if you do not want to worry about running out of gas, propane or charcoal. If you’re the kind of a griller who doesn’t want to worry about the mess caused by charcoal or wood ashes, then an electric grill should be the perfect way to go. The fact that you do not need any other type of fuel other than an electrical outlet makes it convenient. In other words, you don’t have to worry about buying fuel or any ongoing cost.
Electric grills should also be on top of your list if safety is your main concern. These types of grills are arguably the safest since they do not have open flames like other types of grills. Instead, electric grills are designed with grates that heat up automatically when the grill is plugged in and turned on.
Like gas grills, electric grills have controls that allow you to easily set the heat level you want. This not only makes them versatile but also flexible when cooking different types of foods. You can also choose to go with an electric grill if you’re more concerned with environmental-friendly ways of cooking. Unlike charcoal and gas grills, electric grills do not emit carbon monoxide or other toxic fumes that may be harmful to you or the environment.
To this end, an electric grill can be a great option if you want something that can work best in limited space say a balcony or where other types of grills are not allowed. However, using an electric grill will seriously dent the authentic flavor that most grillers crave for.
Conclusion
The act of grilling is, of course, a thrilling art. Grilling can add more fun to any gathering or party. Differently, this fun can go down the drain if you do not choose the right grill for your grilling escapades. So instead of letting your grilling party turn into a nightmare, use the above-discussed tricks and buy a grill that perfectly fits your lifestyle on all fronts.
You certainly do not want to spend your money on a grill that you’ll end up hating since it doesn’t suit you.
As always, happy grilling!
