Please give me your recommendations on a new propane grill...

[KrisUpInSmoke]

I humbly request your opinions on a new propane grill. My 10+ year old, 2 burner Charbroil bit the dust. It was a good grill....(... hot and cold, but we made it work...)

I know, for sure, I want a bigger grill. Maybe, 4 to 6 burners.

New grills have new features that I haven't used before. I'd like your opinions on whether those things are useful or necessary. I've made it this far without them, but I can see how they'd be nice to have. Including,

• Smoker box for wood chips? (I could add a box. Built in would be so nice though.)
• A "sear burner" for steaks? (Steak was good before.)
• A separate burner for pots? (I got by without this. No outdoor kitchen means it's easier to get things ready inside at the stove anyway.)
• Infrared heat? (Not sure what this does. Keeps things warmer and more moist?)
• A rotisserie? (This would be nice. Don't know how often I'd use it. Could add it to some grills.)

My grill had stainless steel grates. Most grills seem to have porcelain coated, cast iron... thick, black grates. Are these better or worse? On the stove top, they seem sticky and hard to clean. I feel like I want to stick with stainless steel, but I might not have a choice with the options that are out there.

I have also been looking for a grill that is U.S. made, with U.S. sourced materials (Huntington, maybe). Maybe this isn't the best option. Some don't have many features. Everybody seems to really like Weber and many of their products aren't made in the U.S. (Weber has a nice, but expensive, one with all of those features I asked about.) I've had to look online. I think I'm going to have to make a chart or something. It is really difficult to get all the details or even get a shot of the grill with an open lid. Looking on Amazon is even worse than other places. There are brands I've never heard of on Amazon...it's there but it might not be worth selling - sort of stuff. :confused:

Your opinions and thoughts could really help and clear things up for me, and add important things I haven't thought of.

Thank you for giving me your opinion.

 

[kruizer]

I would suggest you look at the Weber line.

 

[troutman]

I'd also endorse Weber, the Summit line if you can afford it. Also, an excellent model line that hits almost all of your wish list points is by Napoleon. Again, you're talking $1500+ dollar gassers, but they are the real deal.

 

[radio]

Infrared for sure. Smoker box can be replaced by an A-maze-n (AMNPS) tube or tray that slow burns pellets for added smoke. A good side burner comes in handy once in a while. If you not get a rotisserie with the grill, they can be bought as a kit and added later. A grill I bought at Costco several years ago had a separate infrared burner above the grates at the back and was fantastic for chickens!
Many of the newer "Infrared" grills simply have a couple of steel pans directly over the burners that radiate the heat to the food. Cleanup is easier and the burners last a lot longer because no grease drips on the shields or burners. Mine is about 5 years old and there are holes appearing in the bottom of the pans

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

I'd also endorse Weber, the Summit line if you can afford it. Also, an excellent model line that hits almost all of your wish list points is by Napoleon. Again, you're talking $1500+ dollar gassers, but they are the real deal.

I looked at Napoleon. In fact, I found a big article on them. http://lovethatbarbecue.com/thinking-of-buying-a-napoleon-grill-here-is-the-skinny/ Some are made in North America and many are not. I was hoping, maybe, there was a U.S. made grill with all of the same features or that maybe some of the features were unnecessary fads.
I'm looking at Weber and Huntington (out of Indiana), Holland, Broil King... but, it's difficult to make comparisons (and it's a big purchase). Seems like retailers don't feature American made grills as much as others, so it's more difficult. I had to go search them out. That's in addition to trying to figure out what I'm looking for.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Infrared for sure. Smoker box can be replaced by an A-maze-n (AMNPS) tube or tray that slow burns pellets for added smoke. A good side burner comes in handy once in a while. If you not get a rotisserie with the grill, they can be bought as a kit and added later. A grill I bought at Costco several years ago had a separate infrared burner above the grates at the back and was fantastic for chickens!
Many of the newer "Infrared" grills simply have a couple of steel pans directly over the burners that radiate the heat to the food. Cleanup is easier and the burners last a lot longer because no grease drips on the shields or burners. Mine is about 5 years old and there are holes appearing in the bottom of the pans

Thank you. That helps. Some of the grills I looked at don't seem to have a divot to put a rotisserie at all. Many of them don't have infrared elements. I don't think any of the U.S. made ones have it, except maybe Weber IF that particular Weber grill is even made here. So, I was trying to figure out how important it and these other things are.

 

[johnmeyer]

You might want to check out this very similar thread from two months ago:

Help Choosing a Grill