I love to grill and to BBQ. As a matter of fact I just picked up a 4 lb brisket and I am smoking it tomorrow. I own 3 different grills, actually I have owned 4 one I tossed away recently. Read on.
I have a 20 year old Weber Gas grill, yes 20 years old, I was told by a friend 20 years ago, buy a Weber and it will be the last gas grill you ever buy. He was right. I replaced the internals, i.e. the burners and heat deflectors about 5 years ago, switching to stainless from basic metal. Now it should last me another 20 years easy. My only problem with it is the base is rusting out, I am plotting to build an outdoor kitchen and just mount it in the counter top.
I have a Weber Kettle too, not as robust as the gas grill and prone to rusting out. It is about 14 years old and pretty much done, I purchased a SS grate for it years ago, if I get another kettle I can swap that over.
The Kettle is a good way to learn how to BBQ although it burns hot and is not as easy to control, it makes great burgers, hot dogs and steaks much better taste than a gas grill. I attempted slow cooking (BBQ) ribs on it, and it works but is not ideal, you need to keep a water box in there to keep things from getting too dry.
I had a Charbroil Smoker box, it was how I learned how to really BBQ, I have smoked countless ribs, numerous turkeys for Thanksgiving and chickens on it. It taught me how to plan ahead, how to babysit your food and how to really pour yourself into the process. It was a labor of love to cook on that thing and took a lot of time.
I also have a large Big Green Egg (BGE) and I love it, the first time I cooked on it, I was in love.
I really debated dropping a grand on a grill. I put if off and kept trying to use my smoker box while it rusted into the ground. My wife finally said, just buy the BGE, you love to BBQ get the right tool. She knows from BBQ competitions shows on Food network the BGE is a real deal.
So I did, and the first time I made ribs, I was blown away, I loaded up my charcoal chimney with BGE brand coals (these coals DO make a world of difference, I have tried other brands and went back to them) I use a turkey deep fryer burner to get the coals started, never ligher fluid and do not like all the ash newspaper creates.
I loaded my BGE with a chimney of coals, threw some apple wood in too for smoke and flavor, loaded the ribs and choked it down to 230°.
I was blown away how easy it was to dial in a temp and have it hold rock steady for HOURS on end. After 4 hours of 230° the ribs were ready to come off, there was still enough coal burning to run for another 2-3 hours.
That is how efficient these BGE's are. I am sold, we cook everything on it from fast cooking steaks, crank up to 375 and cook for 10 minutes, to home made Pizza, crank up to 475 and cook for 7-10 minutes. It all comes out amazing.
Now, the bad part, as mentioned it takes planning and it takes a bit of work to get things going. You have to clean out ashes from the last event, you have to load up coal in a chimney and get it started then add it to the BGE, this all takes time. You will get dirty, my hands are typically a mess and need a good washing once I get it all started up and going ready for meat.
A gas Grill is akin to being a microwave on you back porch. Go out, fire up, throw meat on and wait until it is done.
IMHO, pay for something quality once and be done or buy cheap stuff over and over again. I purchased my Weber 20 years ago for about $500-$600. I could have purchased a cheap $200 Charbroil and kept buying new units every X amount of years.
Same goes for the BGE, it is expensive as hell, but guaranteed for life. I have a nice cover for it and expect it to outlive me.
Edit - How I get my coals going.
