Its double-walled insulated steel, so far as I can gather. For the price, and from the reviews, it looks like a good product. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for it. Seems to reach temps of just over 750F. As much as I love BBQing and grilling, there’s just no way I’m going to spend the money for a Big Green Egg. But around $300 for an Akorn? Yeah, I can deal with that.
I have the CharBroil Red infrared grill and I love it. The 3 burner grill with side burner is around $400. Infrared cooks a lot more evenly than the open flame and you’ll never have any flare ups.
I have never used the side burner. I prefer to cook things on the stove top in the house so as to not use more propane than necessary for grilling.
I have this grill, and we absolutely love it. It heats up quickly to a very high temperature (>700), but it’s also pretty easy to control for cooking things more slowly. I most recently cooked meatloaf on it, when I didn’t want to heat up the house with the oven. I just folded some heavy duty foil over several times and poked some holes in it to act as a baking pan, and formed the meatloaf on that. The thermometer on the outside seems pretty accurate and allows you to adjust the burners to get the temperature you want; for meatloaf I had the center one off and the two outside ones on medium-low.
It has a side burner, but I don’t know that I’ve ever used it in the two years I’ve had the grill. I only got it because the grill I wanted came with it. I suppose it would be nice for heating up some beans or something.
It’s obviously not going to be exactly as great as the BGE, but I’ll be impressed if its anywhere close. He assures me that it is.
I’ve had my Egg for over a decade and have no plans to replace it. I’m just doing my best to convince a friend or two to give the Akorn a try.
Shake his hand for me - I’m actually considering buying another and storing it - you know, just in case.
I wish they made a smaller version; I’d like a small cooker to go with my large BGE. The small BGE is still pretty pricy.
I will give him your feedback the next time I see him. He’s a friend of a friend, but I run into him a good bit.
I’ve thought about picking one up for our family’s mountain house. I’m not up there enough to justify another BGE, but the idea of putting an Akorn up there is more than a little intriguing.
I agree the charcoal side is a little on the small side, but I have done 9 bone-in chicken breasts on pseudo-indirect heat (charcoal on one side, chicken on the other) so you can definitely squeeze in some meat (that’s what she said!). I’ve also got the side firebox that makes for great smoking or true indirect cooking.
My parents bought a Broilmaster grill, Warm Morning, over 30 years ago and gave it to me when I bought my first house 9 years ago. I converted it to natural gas right away and couldn’t be happier. Except for replacing the burner, is been bullet proof and I expect it to last many more years. The cast grates are awesome- heavy and they hold the heat for a good while.
I had a Weber grill for years (I still have it). Those things are indestructible.
I recently bought a char broil infrared grill and I’m pretty happy with it. It has a metal plate between the burners and the grill so it takes a bit longer to get the grate heated up but the heat is very even and consistent once it gets going. The metal plate will also hold wood chips so that I can get some hickory flavor into my ribs or rotisserie.
Thanks for all the advice. The sheer number of choices in grills is overwhelming. With this thread I was able to focus on a few and pick from that.
Last weekend I bought a Weber EP-330.
It seems similar to the Weber S-330 suggested by silenus, but comes in different colors instead of stainless steel.
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My dad was a master at charcoal grill cooking. He taught my brother and then me, so I’m very good at it. The truth, though, is that gas grilling is cleaner and more convenient. It’s also much easier to get consistent results. Also, if you know what your doing, the assertion that gas grilling “just isn’t as good” as charcoal grilling simply isn’t true.
I agree. It’s a classic for a reason.
Now, I’m assuming the OP got their grill (hey, if you’re still dithering after nine years, we’re just in time here!)… but for anyone else, I’ve got my own personal perspective:
I learned that I’m cheap, and I’m impatient.
I did the math, and we probably grill out fifty times a year. If I were to spend $500 on a grill, I’ve just added ten bucks to the cost of every dinner. Couldn’t justify that, though I do love those high-end grills.
I got a well-reviewed Char-Broil at Farm ‘n’ Fleet. Less than $200. Has a few hot spots… which actually helps, once you map them out (“This piece of salmon is thicker or needs more browning, I’ll put it over that little heat gun in the back left corner…”). I’ve had it for 2 years now, still love it.
Here’s where the impatient part comes in. In the middle of dinner prep, I’ll often say “Hey, I can throw that on the grill!” (that comes up a lot with veggies: I charred some peppers and zukes and onions last night… Oh, and the scallops my wife was going to sauté went on, too. Yum!)
So I love being able to fire up a grill immediately. If I were still waiting for charcoal to ash over, the family’d be eating after dark…
My first zombie! Hello zombie.
The grill is fine. Interesting to know it’s been nine years that we have had it. It’s in good shape so I’m happy with the gas grill purchase. In retrospect I should have gone through the extra rigamarole and done a natural gas hookup. Propane is fine though, except when it runs out.
I’ll join in with the Weber supporters. I bought one to replace an old Westbend I’d had for a good 20 years. The Weber is on it’s 5th year. The auto igniter quit but apart from that all is good and more importantly, no rust! I just cleaned it and it appears the burners are as good as new. Expensive up front but cheaper barbeques are just that - cheap! I was going to replace the igniter but am now in the habit of using a lighter.
Napoleon is good too. I opted for the Weber because at the time Napoleon offered cast iron grills, which require some effort to keep them nice. I believe they now too offer steel.
As someone else pointed out; gas isn’t really ‘better’, it’s just so easy & convenient.
I think my Weber Spirit-whatever (can’t remember, don’t feel like going out there to look at the moment) came with the vinyl cover.
Mine lives on the terrace of my NYC apartment. In the summer, and into the fall, we hardly ever turn the stove in the kitchen on. We grill everything. Chicken, meat, fish, vegetables, everything.
The grill came with what’s basically a cast-iron skillet that you can set into the grill - makes it even more useful.
The gas is just so super-convenient. I know real grilling aficionados will insist on charcoal, and not just any charcoal, either, but a gas grill is so easy.
Next time around I’d get a bigger unit, with more grilling space and a side burner or two.
Still achievable for under $1,000.
Exactly the same for me. The igniter went pretty soon after we got it. Which really is not a big deal. What is a big deal is that there are no signs of rust yet, despite the grill having lived outdoors through six New York winters. Not to mention summer rain.
Agreed! I’m in the same area. I have a cover for it but haven’t used it for the past 2 or 3 years. Can’t beat stainless steel! A cheaper unit would have been history by now because even if kept covered the moisture will seep in and destroy cheap grills & burners. Then you’re on the hamster wheel of replacing the burners every couple years. Pay now or pay later.
A good grill probably lasts a decade or so… so you’re looking at more like $1 to every meal, if you stick with grilling about once a week.
And FWIW, $500 for a grill isn’t even close to “high end”… that’s barely out of the “value” segment for gas grills.
That really depends a lot on what you grill, and how particular you are about it. Gas grills make perfectly great food, but they generally don’t get as hot, and don’t have the same flavor that a charcoal grill does. But there’s a lot less prep and fooling around- you just go out, turn the gas valve on, and light it up. Charcoal requires you to ignite the charcoal somehow, and then replenish it if you’re cooking for a longer period.
I happen to have both styles- a small Weber Smokey Joe (charcoal) that I’ve had since 1998, and a Napoleon Rogue 425(natural gas) that I’ve had for about 3 years now. My gut feeling is that I probably grill 2/3 of the food on the Napoleon because of the sheer ease of doing so, and 1/3 on the little Weber because for those foods, the charcoal heat and flavor really is dramatically superior, and is worth the trouble of dealing with charcoal.
My personal feeling is that the normal side burners are mostly a waste, unless you’re cooking EVERYTHING outside. Like you’re having a cookout of some kind, and you have hamburgers, corn on the cob, grilled zucchini, etc… and you’re using the side burner to cook something that’s not grilled, just for the sheer ease of not having to go inside. I find however, that our dinners are usually the other way around- 2/3 of the meal is prepared indoors, and the grilled part is the exception.
That said, I do have a side burner, but it’s one of those infrared searing burners that’s expressly made to sear meat using gas. Works a treat too, although there’s something of a learning curve to it.
If where it’s manufactured makes you any difference, the Napoleon grills are made in Canada, instead of China… Napoleon is Weber’s main competitor in terms of quality, features and price-point.