2nd: The chimney itself is made from 2 three-pound coffee cans stacked vertically, using slits cut by a Dremel tool. The sides are cut in X-shaped cuts (Dremel again) to allow for airflow.

3rd: When the food is cooked, I shut off the vents to the grill (lower and upper), then put a roasting pan cover over the grill to quickly extinguish the fire. This results in any unused charcoal available for the next cookout.

4th: During the grilling, I add soaked apple or cherry wood chips to the fire to add a lot of flavor to the food.

Great idea and it works. We use them all the time for tailgating (and at home). Sure beats that stuff soaked in lighter fluid!

I vacation every year to a remote island in Maine and be rest assured it comes with us.

We have even grilled a small Turkey on it!

– melissa :)

The biggest problem I have with gas is that I tend to burn food on it alot easier. I mean, the flame is RIGHT there. With charcoal (if you are using the vents and the lid right) unless you forget about your food its alot harder to just burn it outright.

Hope you enjoy your new grill though, I love to BBQ in the summer for sure.

Gas benefits include: Ease of use; Rapid starting and cooldown; and Environmentaly friendlier too. Gas emits less hydrocarbons and particulates than the other fuels. If you want some smoky flavors, you could purchase bags of pelletized woods, from mesquite to apple, pear and hickory. You put these in an aluminum foil envelope and place them in your gas grill and as they heat up, they emit smoke from holes you’ve punched in the foil envelope. It’s not too bad, but not like cooking with actual wood chips or charcoal for flavor. Another downside of gas grills is that, for some reason, cooking with gas really corrodes the burners and other elements in the grill causing costly replacement in a year or two of the burners and related elements. This may not be as much of a problem with higher quality (& cost) grills.

B.B.Q. purists and elitists – or “gourmets” if you prefer – will claim that NOTHING beats the quality of meat grilled over seasoned charcoals and woods, and they’re 100% correct. But you have to babysit the grill all the time and you have a real limited window of cooking time as the coals reach their optimum temperature. Kind of cuts down on your enjoyment of friends and family too.

I recently bought a little Weber Smoky Joe which is charcoal because my el cheapo gas grill of 7years finally gave up the goat and is not worth restoring again (I did it once 3 years ago) and I don’t have the resources to purchase a better replacement at this time. But although it produces tasty food, it underscores for me the convenience of cooking with the gas grill and the taste trade off is not that big of a sacrifice to me.

When the time comes I’ll look into the Weber Q.

Thanks!

hey, when i was living in Missouri it was grilling season all year long. even when it was snowing, forget about shoveling the drive, i made a path on my back deck to my grill … priorities.

gas, charcoal, electric – whatever. seared/smoked meats, fish, vegetables, fruit, breads, pizza, cinnamon rolls, and more all are very tasty on a grill.

what’s the strangest thing anyone has ever “intentionally” grilled up?

Justin: Thanks for pointing out that Avenue did the Weber web site. Props to them!

Rich: Burn Newsvine printouts at your own risk. We use a lot of green and green ink can make you sterile and/or impotent when inhaled.

Brian: Yep, you can just remove that little metal ring and the regular canisters work just fine. That’s what I did as well.

-sorry.

Did I mention that a bit of newspaper and a cylindrical charcoal starter (best $20 ever spent) totally eliminate the need for propane or lighter fluid?

I have also been known to substitute a 1/2 block of that ALL NATURAL wax fire starter when in a hurry.

And again – ‘grilling season’ come on we are talking meat and fire here – Seattle can not be that cold.

Enjoy part 2 !

Weber is a great choice.

You can tuck a smoker box in there with some wood chips for some added flavor.

ENJOY!

I don’t think I’ll ever switch from the classic charcoal BBQ.. it just tastes so much better. The fuel coal does sound gross though.

If you are ever craving a good old fashioned charcoal meal, head over to my place in Kirkland and I’ll cook ya one up.