I have always been a wood fire BBQ kind of guy - I like meat cooked over a *real* flame, and even charcoal has always seemed to me like cheating (though I've been using a charcoal Weber kettle for 20 years).I never even considered a gas grill for myself for these reasons.
For my senior Mom & Dad, however, the task of lighting charcoal, etc was too much hassle, so this past weekend I went out shopping for a gas grill for them. After going back and forth between three different home centers and Costco, I settled on this unit as by far the best "bang for the buck" in terms of build quality, performance characteristics, and ease of use for under $500.I seriously considered going up to the Weber Genesis, but for 50% more, I just couldn't quite justify it. My requirement was good quality for under $500.
After about a one-hour erector set project putting it all together (not difficult, just time consuming), I fired it up and let it burn off for about 20 minutes. I was immediately impressed with how hot the cooking surfaces became (and how quickly). The nifty temp sensors at the grate level registered 700+ degrees!
After burn-off, I tried it out with what I have found to be one of the trickiest things to grill over open flame (gas or wood/charcoal): raw marinated chicken parts. To be done right, the chicken has to be crispy on the outside - not burned, and moist and completely cooked on the inside.With unevenly shaped and sized chicken parts, this can be devilishly tricky.
But with this grill, I found I was able to keep the left most burner at full throttle, and the two right burners at low settings and get creative.This allowed me to beautifully sear the skin using the left side of the grill, then finish cooking on the right side (with the BBQ closed).The results were amazing.
One of my favorite things about this grill turned out to be that it is really easy to add wood chips for smoke flavor.Because there is a perforated metal "screen" (the infrared reflector) under the food, it catches the wood chips and holds them at a perfect smoking temperature where they will smolder but not flare up.
Speaking of flare-ups, this grill did NOT exhibit flare-ups at all.Even with fatty pieces of chicken that had been marinated in an olive oil mixture, there was almost no burning or smoking, even on the "searing" side of the hot grill.
When turned down low, I also found the evenness of the heating surface to be impressively consistent, and the large stainless "grill" surface not only made great marks on the food, but also did not stick as badly as most coated steel or iron grill surfaces do.
On the con side, I can imagine that the perforated screen is going to require some periodic maintenance to keep it clean.The good news is that it comes out in three easy-to-handle sections shaped like little trays, each holding a section of grill.You pull the "tray" up and out, then lift the grill surface out of the tray making both very easy to clean.
One final note - I also prepared a boneless leg of lamb on the grill using a "generic" rotisserie (Grill-Pro brand).it *barely* fit between the closed lid and the grill surface, but again, the infrared cooking system worked beautifully. I warmed it up at full throttle for about 5-10 minutes before mounting the marinated lamb roast, then allowed it to sear beautifully for about 15 minutes. Then I turned the burners all down to their lowest settings, threw on a thumb-sized stick of oak from one of our trees, and dropped the lid.
An hour and a half later, we enjoyed one of the best lamb roasts I have ever had!
Highly recommended, especially if you can get it for the price I paid (which was about $[...] less than Amazon's currently listed price)
Pros:
*Great heat output for searing
*Even distribution of heat for predictable results
*Good low-temp performance
*Easy to use wood chips for flavor
*Good build quality in the hood and firebox
Cons:
*Bottom 1/2 of construction is a bit flimsy, but better than many at this price point
*Requires pre-heating for about 10 minutes for best results
*Periodic clean-up probably required for optimum performance
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Char Broil Magnum 500 Quantum Infrared Three-Burner Gas Grill, with SideburnerProduct Description: The Char Broil Quantum M500 IR is so named because it features Char Broil's patented and award winning Quantum Infared cooking system.The Quantum Infared cooking system completely elimates flare up and its design allows for perhaps the greatest grilling versatility seen in years.Each burner has its own temperature gauge located above the control knob and working at grate level for a true reading of the heat about to sear you steak or whatever you may be grilling.The Quantum Infared design also allows you to add wood chips directly on to the cooking grates for added flavor and no flare up.This 3 burner grill is highly efficient due to the unique patented infared grates and thus needs just 3 burners and 31,000 BTUs to get the job done.Like the standard M500 4 burner grill from Char Broil, the Quantum Infared has 500 sq. in. of primary cooking area, 280 sq. in. of secondary cooking area, new "Surefire" electronic ignition, and a combination of stainless steel and painted steel appliance style cart construction.The Quantum M500 IR is also a Dual Fuel designed grill for easy conversion to Natural Gas with the purchase of the conversion kit on Amazon.com.As with all grills, we recommend keeping the firebox clean to help avoid flare up as well as using a grill cover to protect your invesent.
Buy cheap Char Broil Magnum 500 Quantum Infrared Three-Burner Gas Grill, with Sideburner now
I ordered this to replace a charcoal grate (the smaller one that the coals go on top of) which was accidentally thrown out with the coals.It fits perfectly so I can continue to use my beloved Smokey Joe.
