I bought one of those 55gal drum style grills for use at parties. They look cool but all that space means lots of area to heat...besides the wide space would take more than an entire small bag of charcoal.
for ribs and chicken, you can’t beat a plain old Weber Kettle with some Cowboy Charcoal.
Myself, I like steaks and burgers better off the gas.
Here are some reviews from Amazon.com. I usually check out their reviews before I make certain purchases.
The Webser sounds like a good one.
I’m getting my parents the Weber Performer as a joint Mother’s Day/ Father’s Day/ gift. I don’t know anybody who’s owned one, but it looks like one hell of a grill.
They make gills out of charcoal now?
I actually use an extra grate for the coals. Also, get an electric starter. It’s basically a cal rod type unit that plugs into 110V outlet. That will remove the lighter fluid taste completely.
This is my favorite grill when cooking for 2-to-4 people. Food seared and cooked on cast-iron over charcoal tastes great. Sometimes I wrap a few hickory pellets in a foil pouch for extra flavor.
A little charcoal goes a long way in this grill. I use natural lump charcoal in mine with a "chimney starter" - basically a big metal can that gets the fire started quickly. It works every time without starter fluid that affects the taste of the food.
Sold at Amazon.com - Reviews available here.
The Char-Griller is much better because it’s bigger and has iron grill grates. Because it’s bigger you can offset-grill much more easily. You can also buy the optional charcoal fence, stack all your charcoal on one end by the damper and smoke ribs on the top rack on the other end.
I likes mine.
I owned a standard Weber charcoal grill for years. Loved it, but it finally rusted out and fell apart. Then I bought a stainless steel propane grill and never looked back. If you have to have a propane tank, go with pureblood propane, not a hybrid charcoal/propane.
Similar to the first one but more flexible with the firebox. It does slow smoking better and you can still set it up as a large or small direct grill.
Makes great slow cooked injected brisket, pork loin, roasts, etc.
[cue Beach Boys music]
"I wish they all could be California grillllls..."
Go with the Weber. They are indestructible and with a tiny amount of care (put car wax on the outside of the grill in the fall) they will last forever. Also Weber has several great cookbooks that take one from ‘here’s why to grill’ to ‘how to do it’ to ‘impress everyone in your apt. complex with your grilling prowess’.
I'm with hubby. Oh, I don't hate the taste of food grilled with gas. But charcoal cooked food tastes great. The thing with gas grills is that food tastes the same if you cooked it indoors using the kitchen stove.
As a good Texas redneck gal, I can say with no hesitation WEBER. I call upon Bacon Man to offer an opinion. He’s a grillin’ machine!
I recommend a chinmey starter, like some others have mentioned.
I like the convenience of gas.....
Trust me.