Five Best Grills
With summer grilling season approaching, you may be looking for the perfect backyard kitchen surface for your next meal, or you may just have a strong opinion of which grills are best for helping a skilled chef prepare the best meals. Whatever it is, we asked you to pick the best grills on the market and you answered. Here are the top five in your nominations.
This post was originally published in June 2013 and has been updated.
Earlier this week, we asked you which grills you think are the best – not only the trendiest or with the most hotplates, cooking surfaces or options, but also the ones that were in every way the best for the price, the best they made. offered excellent build quality and quick heat up, and were generally easy to use and easy to clean. Of course, we know there is a difference between grilling, grilling and smoking, but we use “grilling” as a versatile means of cooking in the backyard. Most of you caught on and this is what you said:
To see which of these five great grills you’ve named Lifehacker’s favorite, head over to our follow-up post, Hive Five, to see and discuss the winner!
Original teapots Weber series
The Weber One Touch series is one of the most popular and reliable backyard garden grills. One Touch is perhaps Weber’s most iconic grill. Its kettle style is almost synonymous with charcoal grill, and the One Touch is available in several sizes and price points, from 18.5 “( $ 79 at Amazon ) to 26.75″ One Touch Gold ( $ 299 at Amazon ). All One Touch models are equipped with steel cooking grates, ash collectors for easy cleaning, carrying wheels and a self-cleaning system. The more expensive One Touch Gold models also feature charcoal tanks in case you need more fuel, a removable aluminum ash catcher for even easier cleaning, a reinforced handle, tool hooks, a built-in thermometer and a stainless steel cooking grate. Those of you who have nominated the One Touch line noted that there are models for every price point or every preferred size, and they are exceptional for both direct and indirect heating depending on where you put your coals. Easy cleaning and reliable build quality are also extremely important – so much so that our friends at The Sweethome (an offshoot of The Wirecutter ) think the 22.5- inch One Touch Gold is the best charcoal grill you can buy .
Large green egg
The Big Green Egg, as the name suggests, is a large, egg-shaped green cooker that can serve as a grill, smokehouse, and oven. It is available in five different sizes, from a free-standing 24 “XLarge with side shelves and plenty of room to cook enough food to feed the crowd, to a 10” Mini egg that’s perfect for picnics and hiking. , or grill on the patio of the apartment, with three more sizes in between. Egg is a barbecue in style Kamado , namely, it is made of earthen material (in this case, ceramics) and is a coal stove, the structure of which allows to retain heat and to output it only through a small hole at the top (in something akin to the design of the kettle ). In fact, there is an entire page dedicated to how the egg works , if you want to read that. With the right accessories, the Egg is perfect for indirect cooking, roasting pizza, preparing the perfect steak, even roasting chicken and turkey. They are well loved and have become a bit iconic, but they are not cheap – the Large and XL will set you back around $ 1,000 (maybe more, especially if you buy accessories at the same time). and Mini is closer to $ 400. Those of you who have praised the Egg have commented that while they can be pricey, they will likely be the last grill you will ever buy, not only because they cook so well and offer incredible temperature control, but because that they are incredibly versatile and built. incredibly good. If you want one, you will need to find a dealer near you who sells them, or a barbecue seller who will deliver them to you.
Weber Genesis Series
The Weber Genesis line of premium gas grills is built with high build quality, great design, heats up very quickly and stays hot for a long time. Genesis models can cook with liquid propane or natural gas, depending on the model you buy and, depending on your choice, come with rods, casing and cast iron finishes (S series) in stainless steel or (E series). All models have built-in thermometers, three massive cooking zones and plenty of cooking space. The S-330 / E-330 offers a central “frying station” that reheats the heat to give you the delicious browning you want on your grill, and a side burner that can keep bubbles in the pot or side dish while working. Grilled. All models are equipped with two stainless steel work stations on either side of the hob, tool hooks, a fuel gauge (for propane models) and a massive 637 sq. Inches. You’ll pay for this kitchen surface and gas convenience – the E-310 will set you back $ 699 on Amazon, and the S-310 up to $ 849. The E-330 is closer to $ 800 and the S-330 is close to $ 1,000 . However, they are huge, upscale and solidly built – again, probably the last grill you will ever buy.
We have to point out that our friends at The Sweethome point out that if you’re looking for a bang for your petrol-powered model, you can go from Genesis to the Spirit line, in particular the Weber Spirit E-310 , which we highlighted earlier .
Char-Griller Acorn Cooker
The Char-Griller Akorn Kooker is the only Kamado-style Char-Griller. It’s not even listed on their website and is technically discontinued (as of 2015), so availability may be limited at this point. Since this is a Kamado cooker, it features a single vent at the top and an insulated all-ceramic body that is designed to keep food hot for a long time, even if you don’t use a lot of charcoal. Akorn Kooker is most often compared to the Big Green Egg as it is a Kamado grill and is available for a fraction of the price compared to size, but even Amazon reviewers will openly point out that it is not as good or quite built as well, but you are not you can understand that Akorn Kooker is not much cheaper than similar style slabs. Regardless of how you feel about the competition, Akorn Kooker has a cast iron hob, two worktops on the sides, and sturdy wheels to help you move the thing. Those of you who praised Akorn emphasized its price, attractiveness, and portability, especially if you have to have a Kamado-style grill but don’t want to spend a ton of money to get one.
Weber Q Series
The Weber Q Series is a range of compact and durable gas grills that are portable, easy to use and quick to grill. They don’t have the most powerful burners, and depending on the model you purchase, they must sit on a hard surface (as they may not have legs or wheels of their own), but they are affordable (Weber Q 100 costs $ 149 on Amazon (while the high-quality freestanding Weber Q 320 costs $ 379 on Amazon ) compared to some of the other Weber models and offers a lot of features that apartment dwellers or people who don’t cook as often on the street. I will love and appreciate. All Weber Q models are equipped with one-touch electrical ignition switches, porcelain enamelled cooker hoods and cast iron grates, and have one or two cooking zones (two in the higher-end models), while the higher-end models have built-in thermometers and side work surfaces for plates or storage during operation. Those of you who have praised the Q Series commented on its portability, ease of setup, and the ability to seamlessly cook for four or five people at a time, no matter where you set it up. If you’re looking for a grill to throw with you in the back of your car when you go camping or on vacation, Q might be for you.
Voting closed:
Traeger’s Wood Pellet Grills and Smokers received an honorable mention this week, receiving several nominations, but not enough to make it into the top five. You praised the Traeger models for using a different fuel type, eliminating the need for coal briquettes or propane refills and hoses, and for their design and build quality. If you’re comparing charcoal to gas and want an alternative, then you’re done.
Do you have anything to say about one of the applicants? Want to substantiate your personal favorite even if it wasn’t on the list? Remember, the Top 5 is based on your most popular nominations from the Call for Applicants thread earlier this week . Don’t just complain about the top 5, let us know which option you like best and justify it in the discussions below.