Summer’s right around the corner…can’t you feel it? Warm rays of sun on your skin, the smell of freshly mowed grass wafting through the air, and of course, the smoky, scrumptious flavors of barbecued dishes just waiting to be devoured. While the sultry summer temperatures have not yet arrived, there’s no reason you have to wait to get your grill on. Read on to get advice from local retailers on how to outfit your patio with the perfect grilling equipment for your needs, and get gourmet (yet oh-so-simple) grilling recipes from a Susquehanna Valley chef.
Top Five Grill Types
1. Smokers
For some people, grilling means throwing a few burgers on the gas grill for a quick meal. Others take their time, “enjoying that interaction with the grill,” says Soccio. For them, smokers transform pork, brisket, larger cuts of beef or ribs into mealtime masterpieces.
The Big Green Egg remains a popular smoker and grill, in a range of sizes. If you miss your Big Green Egg when you’re camping or tailgating, the new tabletop Mini retails for $406.98. The large Big Green Egg, suitable for a family of four, sells for $869. For feeding the biggest crowds, Today’s Home and Leisure even sells the $4,079 limited-edition XXLarge Big Green Egg. “One of our employees sat inside of it,” says Nipple. “That’s how big it is.”
The Japanese-style Kamado Joe ceramic cooker can smoke, grill, and bake, retaining moisture and “giving you that locked-in flavor throughout the food,” says Gehman. With multi-level grids, the Kamado Joe cooks different items at different temperatures. The standard-sized Kamado Joe Classic KJ23NRS starts at $799.95.
2. Gas & propane grills
Gas grills remain popular for their convenience, and today they’re more versatile than ever. Say you just can’t do without your griddle, wok, or sear pan in the kitchen. Now you can choose a grate for your Weber grills with a drop-in spot for those essential implements. “It just brings a lot more flexibility to gas grills or even a charcoal grill,” says Soccio.
FireMagic has redesigned its lines, adding some features once exclusive to its top-of-the-line Echelon series to its midrange Auroras, says Nipple. For instance, the Aurora A530i, at $4,121, now offers interior lighting to make grilling easier at all hours, and 120-volt electric ignition for a spark every time.
AOG grills, such as the portable 24PC-00SP that starts at $1,799, can have a searing, infrared burner added for another $287. The burner “will lock in the flavor of your food by cooking it short, quick, and hot,” says Gehman. “A pork chop might take six to eight minutes, and it’ll be the juiciest pork chop you ever had.”
Many gas grills can accommodate charcoal or wood chip attachments, for enhanced flavors. “People are not settled for one style anymore,” says Gehman. “They like to be able to change their tastes. They want versatility in one unit. They’re trying to stay more at home and get that restaurant flavoring and style.”
3. Wood pellet grills
If you enjoy life in the slow lane, Traeger wood-pellet grills offer “a lower temperature, slow-cooked style grill,” says Soccio. “It’s not the grill for hamburgers or steaks, where you want to sear, because it doesn’t get to that surface temperature, but it is unbelievable for beer can chicken or even turkeys or hams.” A new chute simplifies pellet removal, for switching flavors with ease and going from, say, a strong mesquite to a lighter fruitwood.
The aficionado can barbecue for the whole neighborhood with a model such as the Traeger Texas Elite, model BBQ075.04, at $899.99, or choose something smaller to keep it in the family, like the Junior Elite, model BBQ155, at $429.99. For $1,599.99, the Lil’ Pig is a conversation-piece pink pig, with digital temperature controller and large hopper to cut down on the tending chores.
4. Charcoal grills
Charcoal is “coming around again,” says Nipple, but that nostalgia-evoking flavor doesn’t need lighter fluid to get a fire started. The Weber Performer Premium charcoal grill is a “nice kettle grill” with a twenty-two-inch grate and gas starter. Whether they use briquettes or lump wood, “everybody likes the taste of charcoal, and a lot of people say they can’t get that taste off the gas grill.”
5. Pizza grills
Do you spend so much time hanging out in pizzerias that they’re ready to give you an apron and teach you to toss dough? The versatile Fornetto, such as the freestanding model 11PZ5WTSRSS at $1,495, does pizzas, breads, strombolis, and just about anything else. Heated with wood or charcoal, “it provides a controlled burn, long and slow,” says Gehman. “It has more of the authentic taste as far as heating the stones in the pizza oven, giving it a true baked flavor.”
Other grills, including the Big Green Egg, can reach temperatures high enough to replicate brick-oven pizzas, says Soccio. “Your regular gas grills typically aren’t going to do it.”
