Beginner's Guide to Buying a BBQ Grill

Buying your first BBQ grill can be a tough proposition. You'll get a lot of advice from people, but what works for them may not meet your needs or fit your budget. In this video I go over the four main types of grills (GAS, PELLET, CHARCOAL, OFFSET SMOKER) and the pros and cons of each to help you narrow down your search.

Looking for a specific type of grill? Skip ahead with these timestamps:
Intro 0:00
Gas Grills 0:30
Pellet Grills 3:39
Charcoal Grills 7:35
Offset Smoker 11:35
Final Thoughts 12:13

[mrallan]

While I know you can't fit everything in this video... a few things to consider for a beginner. 1) you mention it on charcoal, but clean up is prob the biggest thing a new griller will face. Gas is almost zero... kamado style is a pain in the butt to clean; 2) chosing the right size for the number of people you cook for. Best to buy something a little larger than you typically might use. If you have guests, some foods don't cook as quickly so ppl might get served later; and 3) cost per cook... depending what you cook, fuel costs could vary a lot by grill or bbq type. Fuel types can get expensive per cook.

[dcDOC]

Brand new to the grilling community. This video is a great start, thx!

[helmutkrusemann]

Your content is money! Best bbq channel and obviously the most underrated. Keep the content going please. I appreciate you

[soulrac]

I'm glad i watched this because I was about to buy a piece of junk but I look forward in learning from you on how to become a good charcoal user.

[JGO.]

You rock man! I am barely getting into it and will be watching all your videos 🎉

[irvinsilva]

Just going to start getting into grilling. Love the channel and videos! I’m learning a ton. Keep them coming!

[moonboy]

I just bought a Weber charcoal grill yesterday ☺️ I can’t wait to learn how to grill like a master.
One thing I wished I bought immediately was a good charcoal starter.

[nateharlow]

Hey there Mr Grilltop, really great video! I think you really hit the nail on the head. I have 3 grills, and I use all 3 of the differently depending on what I want to do. I have a Traeger that I got for Christmas a few years ago, and I usually get plenty of smoke flavor probably because of the pellets I use (Knottywood - by far the best I’ve ever used. Lumberjack is a close second). It generally is lighter smoke flavor but it’s there, and in my case it’s better because my wife is pregnant and not able to handle really heavy smoke flavor, she’s is more likely to eat it. I have a Weber Kettle which I got for free. A friend of mine upgraded to one of the premium models, and he gave me the old one. It’s wonderful and I use it all the time, after buying some aftermarket parts of course, like charcoal baskets 😊. (Btw, your suggestion that you replied to me in the comments of your other video to use wood chips after my initial smoke runs out was absolute gold, it worked perfectly and I’ve been doing it ever since! Thank you so much for that!) My third is a chargriller portable which I take camping, on vacation, to my parents house, etc. It’s one of those converted offset fireboxes with iron grates in them that you can buy at Home Depot. Works great, and plenty of smoke. I cook different foods on both the Traeger and the Weber. While both are really great, it seems like each has a specialty. Fish, Steak, and chicken breasts the Weber does better, probably because it retains moisture better. Burgers, chicken fingers, and whole chickens (like beer can chicken) the Traeger seems to work better. Not really sure why that is. Chicken thighs and drumsticks they both do equally as well. Either way they’re both great. Anyways that’s my setup, I wish I had an offset but you’re right, they’re way too expensive. For my budget, this works perfectly. I’ve been learning a lot from you, thanks again for your videos!

[emc]

Great content, straight to the point.

[smartmoneymillionaire]

Bro this video was excellent. So helpful. Great style. Keep it up 8)

[ebstephenses]

Thank you for your knowledge! Love the video! Very informative! 😂

[TurtleLungfishGirl]

Excellent summary! Super helpful, thank you

[carolinetleane]

Thank you very much for this video. Much helpful 👌🏼💯

[anonanon]

exactly what i was looking for. thanks!!!

[mhsuhsz]

Nice video! I have the weber kettle for 5 years now, learned the hard way, a lot of failure, but love it!

[gbj]

Thanks. Nice simple guide. Def going for a simple charcoal grill. Something to do meat and sometimes pizza : )

[NightItalix]

Very helpful video for beginner!!! Thx!!!

[BrokeGuyBBQ]

Went from propane grills only for home and camping to pretty much all charcoal over the last 3 years. My line up right now is all weber products. Weber go anywhere charcoal for camping and tailgating. 18" weber smokey mountain bullet smoker with the pit barrel hanging system. And 3 22 kettles, 1 old school daisy wheel just because, 1 premium kettle same as your copper one, and a 2nd hand performer deluxe with the plastic table that was free on the side of the road that needed some love but is back to 100% condition. I do have a weber q120 for when the wife wants to grill or when I'm feeling lazy and a weber go anywhere gas for camping during burn bans. The 22 kettle style be it weber or sns, in my opinion has to be the best Swiss army knife do everything charcoal grill in my opinion especially with the accessories that are available for it. Pizza systems, flat tops, slow n sear basket, charcoal vortex, weber charcoal baskets, etc. They last forever. You can get them 2nd hand all day long for really cheap. You can direct and indirect cook, smoke, sear, anything really with some basic fire management. Only grill that can hold a candle to a 22" kettle for price, performance, and footprint is a 26" kettle.

[tothetop-omaid]

I’m a beginner and this is fantastic, thank you

[grizzleypeak]

Really can't beat the good ol' Webber kettle. Just replaced my 35 year old one with the new Performer grill.
I looked at everything and wanted to upgrade somehow, but realized I should keep it simple and go with what I already know.
Nothing like Kingsford in a Webber for consistency and flexibility.
I've never been into gas.... I don't want nasty propane on my food.
Hank Hill don't know what he's doing, haha!