The Gas Grill Review and Gas Grill Rating Guide - Helping you choose the Best Gas Grill

The Best Charcoal Grill

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How does one determine which is the best charcoal grill? Well, as I write this page I realize that possibly tomorrow, after its written, a better charcoal grill will hit the market. There is always something new on the horizon so I'm not going to make a selection for you. I'll let you all add your two cents to the discussion at the bottom of the page.

Instead, I'm going to highlight some of the things I look for as a simple backyard chef. I have my own likes and dislikes, but letting you see how I select the best charcoal grill for me will help you do the same for yourself.

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Best Price equals Best Value?

Let's start with the most obvious factor. Charcoal grills aren't supposed to be expensive, are they? After all, there are no burners or any gadgetry common on gas grills. You might be surprised to hear how I think on this one. The best charcoal grill to me is more than a grill.

Cheap charcoal grills are going to give you a limited range of options for cooking. I don't always correlate price with value. Value is also derived from functionality. So here are some things to consider with regard to the way I perceive value from functionality.

It has to grill at high temperatures - Can the charcoal grill you're considering get up to 700 F or higher? If it can't you'll have a hard time searing. Some people like to sear their meats before reducing the temperature to a medium level to finish it off.
It must cook a low temperatures for long periods - The foundation of BBQ is cooking slow and low. If you're charcoal grill can't maintain a temperature between 225-250 F for long periods then barbecue is not what you'll be doing. Consider whether you'll have to refuel during your cook and / or fiddle with vents regularly when making your evaluation.
It has to retain heat efficiently - Otherwise, you'll be burning through your fuel making your investment more expensive than the initial purchase
It has to be shaped for effective smoking - or modifications should be relatively easy to perform at home to achieve the desired results. This includes airflow and the ability to cooking indirectly.

Frankly, to get value the way I define it, you really can't go with a cheap charcoal grill. The best charcoal grill is going to have quality engineering as well as quality materials. To me, engineering a grill that requires less of my time (and money as in fuel) is the best kind of grill.

The Weber 731001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 22-1/2-Inch Smoker meets three (3) of the above criteria. It was not designed to be a high temperature grill, although it can handle the medium temperature ranges. Read more about the WSM here.

Still, it's not as convenient as a conventional grill. It's a highly engineered bullet style cooker and smoker that really does it's best stuff when cooking low and slow. You'll see this unit at any BBQ competition.

It's not cheap, but it's not expensive either. It's right there in the sweet spot for the average backyard chef so they can do more than just grill hamburgers and steaks. Is it the best charcoal grill? They don't even call it a grill, it's a cooker. Read the reviews

The Weber 751001 22 1/2-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Black also meets three (3) out of four. It's going to get the high temperature grilling done, it's well engineered and will retain heat, it can be used to smoke food with minor adaptations or accessories, but it would likely be a challenge when you need to smoke a pork butt for 12 hours.

There are simply better units for doing the smoking for extended cook times. The WSM comes to mind (see above). While Weber has a number of excellent grills and smokers on the market (the best brand overall in my opinion), no single charcoal grill can do it all effectively.

At least, not that I'm aware of. So do they have the best charcoal grill?

The Big Green Egg is probably the favorite among serious BBQ fanatics that have an appropriate budget. This is a ceramic cooker based on the Kamado style cookers of earlier times. It can ramp up to high searing temperatures. It can be used as an oven in the middle range for various types of cooking from baking pizzas to cookies.

With an optional accessory, it can cook indirectly at low temperatures for extended periods. It uses minimal fuel since it retains heat so well. This unit can do it all. But, for that value, you will pay a steep price. It's over $1,000.

For the average Joe that wants all four features, there is now a new entry in the market. It's called the Bubba Keg Convection Grill. This has all of the characteristics of the BGE. But it has two things the BGE doesn't.

It's half the price and all of the value
It's portable. Yes, it mounts on your trailer hitch and can go anywhere with you.

I happen to own one, and can tell you from first hand experience that I bought it not just because of the 4 features I outline above, but for these last two as well. A BGE just wasn't in my budget. And if I was going to get one, I need something I could lug up to the mountains for weekend getaways. This fit the bill.

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