GrillNaked!

We’ll start out this series with a brief discussion on choosing the right grill. We won’t endorse any brands (unless of course they pay us to do so), but we will give you an idea of what to look for.

Fuel:Before you even start deciding on models, decide what fuel you’re working with. Charcoal, Gas, Pellet. Most folks are buying gas grills these days, although there are a few purists who insists that meat tastes best when cooked over charcoal.

Gas — With gas grills, there are still several options. The most popular seems to be LP (liquid propane). Propane is ubiquitous. In my neighborhood you can trade-in used propane tanks at grocery stores, discount stores, hardware / home supply stores and even some gas stations. You’ll probably want to get two tanks up front, and fill them both, to avoid the hassle of running out of fuel while cooking for friends.

Another attractive option, if your house is powered by natural gas, is to run a permanent line from your home gas line to your grill. This should be done by a professional, but once it’s done, you’ll never run out of fuel. However, using this method makes it much more critical to ensure you turn off the gas supply to the grill after cooking. It’s one thing to run a tank dry, it’s another to get a bill from the gas company for thousands of dollars and risk blowing up your house. Keep in mind that not all grills support this option, but many of the higher-end grills do have LP to Natural conversion kits available.

A lot of gas grillers use smoker boxes, a metal box filled with wood chips that you put in the grill along with your meat to add smoky flavor.

Charcoal – Contrary to the propane industry, there are still a lot of people hooked on charcoal. Some
of the hardcore charcoal grillers use multiple grills for long slow cooking; doing their primary grilling on their main grill and heating coals on a smaller alternative grill for transfer when the coals get low on the main.

Pellets – Pellet grills are a newer contender. They’re energy-efficient and burn cleanly, and
pellets come in various flavors for flavoring your meat – hickory, mesquite, oak, etc. Some of them offer gas options as well, so that you can alternate between smoking and cooking at higher heat. Some of them even have temperature regulators. Imagine a grill that’s smarter than you!

Features and Quality

Whatever grill you buy, you want it to last. Find a display model. Move the doors and lid around. Wiggle it. You want a grill that demonstrates rock solid construction. Weak design, bad fit, or loose assembly are things to look out for. You don’t want to burn down your house because you chose a grill with badly-assembled legs and it fell over while you were smoking ribs.

You want a grill that’s easy to clean, inside and out, so pay attention to the surface construction. You want a grill with enough cooking surface to handle the amount of food you intend to cook. If you’re talking about gas or electric, you want enough burners to do the job and provide flexibility. You want a grill from a reliable company who can and will stand behind their product in terms of reliability and more importantly, SAFETY. And you probably want a grill that looks nice. You might want a grill with additional workspace surfaces on the sides, so you have a place to put things before and after cooking. A grill with cabinet doors and/or tool drawers down below allows you to store your grill tools outdoors safely. A removable grease trap keeps the grease off your nicely refinished deck., which also keeps the scavengers away. And make sure you get a
cover for your grill, to protect it from the elements.

Your grill will be a fixture in your outdoor life. Don’t skimp on it.