I might get blasted for this by purists, but that's ok. I was at Lowes
the other night and noticed they had a Brinkman Professional Charcoal
Grill for $199. I know a bit about decent grills and smokers, and I was
impressed with this grill for the price. 14 ga steel, 830 sq in of
cooking area, coated cast grates, easy to clean ash pan, big front door
for fire access, crank to raise and lower fire tray relative to the
grates. Overall, I don't think you can beat this for under $200. Went
back on Saturday and bought one. I'll be seasoning it next weekend and
cooking a - um - well, I'll think of something!

I'm also the proud owner of a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker I bought last
year as well as a propane grill I also picked up at Lowes about two
years ago - one of their "Jennaire" branded ones. It does the job. I
just had to have a decent charcoal grill as well!

--
John
kc2kth

John L wrote:

> Overall, I don't think you can beat this for under $200.
> Went back on Saturday and bought one. I'll be seasoning it next
> weekend and cooking a - um - well, I'll think of something!

Spatchcocked chicken and babybacks would be my vote.

> I'm also the proud owner of a Weber Smokey Mountain cooker I bought
> last year as well as a propane grill I also picked up at Lowes about
> two years ago - one of their "Jennaire" branded ones. It does the
> job. I just had to have a decent charcoal grill as well!

Ya got a good collection going. You can never have too much outdoor cooking
gear :-)

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

John L wrote:
> I might get blasted for this by purists, but that's ok. I was at Lowes
> the other night and noticed they had a Brinkman Professional Charcoal
> Grill for $199. I know a bit about decent grills and smokers, and I was
> impressed with this grill for the price. 14 ga steel, 830 sq in of
> cooking area, coated cast grates, easy to clean ash pan, big front door
> for fire access, crank to raise and lower fire tray relative to the
> grates. Overall, I don't think you can beat this for under $200. Went
> back on Saturday and bought one. I'll be seasoning it next weekend and
> cooking a - um - well, I'll think of something!
>
> <snip>> --
> John
> kc2kth


John, good purchase, great grill. I recently bought a similar grill,
same size and material etc. (See Brinkmann Dual Zone Grill pictures on
ABF.) I couldn't be happier with its performance. Assembled easilly,
fairly mobile, in spite of its weight, I was able to ramp it into the
buggy by myself, the handle/crank makes adjusting the heat very
convenient, and leaves great grill marks. Held the heat for over an
hour doing some testing. Oh, did I mention a 3rd place trophy last week
at Snowshoe?

Congrats.

Pierre

John L wrote:
> I might get blasted for this by purists, but that's ok. I was at Lowes
> the other night and noticed they had a Brinkman Professional Charcoal
> Grill for $199. I know a bit about decent grills and smokers, and I was
> impressed with this grill for the price. 14 ga steel, 830 sq in of
> cooking area, coated cast grates, easy to clean ash pan, big front door
> for fire access, crank to raise and lower fire tray relative to the
> grates. Overall, I don't think you can beat this for under $200.

I was recently in the market for a charcoal grill, and I came very
close to picking up the Brinkman grill at Lowe's. I was completely on
the fence though between that and a Weber kettle charcoal. I couldn't
decide, so my wife bought me a 22.5" Weber kettle and made my mind up
for me.

I think the only thing I didn't like about the Brinkman was the
charcoal tray seemed a little too wobbly for my liking. Actually,
every adjustable charcoal grill that I've managed to see in person had
a wobbly and/or questionable tray mechanism. It just didn't look like
something that would hold up very well after years of my usage. But
other than that, I really liked the Brinkman. However, the simplicity,
reputation, and parts availability of the Weber design made it a very
close race. In the end, I'm glad my wife got me the Weber, it works
great, and I don't need the adjustable charcoal tray as much as I
thought I would (at least not yet anyways). I do wish she'd have
gotten the gold instead of the silver, but I can't complain!

In article .com>,
says...
> I was recently in the market for a charcoal grill, and I came very
> close to picking up the Brinkman grill at Lowe's. I was completely on
> the fence though between that and a Weber kettle charcoal. I couldn't
> decide, so my wife bought me a 22.5" Weber kettle and made my mind up
> for me.
>

That is what I anticipated purchasing, but I couldn't resist this model
when I saw the "bang for the buck". I've seen similar grills for around
$500, so I thought this was a steal. I was definitely leaning toward the
Weber in a big way though!

--
John
kc2kth

In article >, says...
> John,
> I'd blast you for the propane cooker, not the charcoal cooker! (Grin)
> You are hereby blasted for your propane stove!!!
>

Fair enough! I have to admit though, for grilling off a couple of
burgers, brats, whatever at night after work you can't beat propane or
natural gas. Who wants to fire up charcoal after a long day at work for
5-10 minutes of use? That "Jenn-Air" (branded) does what I expect it to,
and it does a pretty good job of it. Just don't expect to smoke, sear,
etc. on them and you typically won't be disappointed is my feeling.

--
John
kc2kth

John L wrote:
> In article >, says...
>
>>John,
>>I'd blast you for the propane cooker, not the charcoal cooker! (Grin)
>>You are hereby blasted for your propane stove!!!
>>
>
>
> Fair enough! I have to admit though, for grilling off a couple of
> burgers, brats, whatever at night after work you can't beat propane or
> natural gas. Who wants to fire up charcoal after a long day at work for
> 5-10 minutes of use? That "Jenn-Air" (branded) does what I expect it to,
> and it does a pretty good job of it. Just don't expect to smoke, sear,
> etc. on them and you typically won't be disappointed is my feeling.
>

Ah, a voice of reason.

I do prefer cooking with lump but also have a Weber Silver B
sitting beside the WSM for "quickies". ;-D

--
Steve
Dumb sign # 27: On a restroom dryer at O'Hare Field in
Chicago: Do not activate with wet hands.