Update 6/30/2009: Thanks to my new roommate, I now have some serious hands-on experience with this grill. I still stand by my recommendation (and more importantly, everyone has remained happy with their purchase), but I’m amending some of my statements. See the additional text in italics.
A couple friends have asked me what cheap gas grills I recommend. This is not familiar territory, as I’m usually off dreaming about the Weber Summit. [ Weber ] [ Amazon ]
It’s the only grill I know of with a pull-out smoker box with it’s own burner. When you’re doing traditional slow and low barbecue and have to add wood chips every 1/2 hour, it’s a dream come true. But it’s also around $1,500 – not cheap.
If you want a cheap (around $400) gas grill that’s also high quality, you only have one choice: the Weber Spirit E-310. [ Weber ] [ Amazon ]
IMHO, everything else is a poor investment. Here’s why.
Weber Quality
Weber is simply one of the best grill manufacturers on the market. They build quality grills that last a long time. I had a Genesis Silver B (very close the Spirit 310) for over 8 years and all I replaced were the Flavorizor Bars.1 The grill grate could have used replacing, but it was still usable. If I had gotten it from Home Depot it would been made of cast iron and lasted forever.
I need to point out that a) I used it a lot, at least 3 times a week, and b) it’s still in use today. So if you’re on a really strict budget, consider going through Craigslist and finding a used one.
3 Burners
For most foods, the secret to great results is indirect grilling. This is where the heat circulates around the food, as opposed to direct grilling where the food is right over the flame. Indirect grilling works best with an odd number of burners, and certainly no less than 3. I’m even a little miffed that the new Summit has 6 burners instead of 5, and I have a hunch it’s just for marketing purposes. The Spirit 310 does indirect grilling quite well with its 3 horizontal burners.
Even Heating
This is another comment on quality, but the Weber has good, even heating. The left side – especially the back left corner – does get a little warmer than the rest of the grill. However, this should not affect your cooking times and certainly won’t ruin any dinners. Most other cheap grills suffer from uneven heating and clogged gas ports.
Update: The heating is even. However, I’ve found the slightly smaller interior volume of the Spirit E-310 has enabled a much shorter preheating time. Instead of waiting 10 minutes for the inside temp. to reach 500F or higher, it only takes 5-6 minutes.
Also, whereas the Genesis would hit the target temperature of 350F with medium indirect (medium-off-medium), I have to set the front and back burners of the Spirit to just below medium. If it’s a fatty piece of meat that causes flareups, I sometimes need to set it to low-off-low. As always, keep an eye on it.
Tip: if your burners ever get clogged and won’t light, you can gently- no no! I mean really, really gently – caress them with your brass grill brush. There’s probably just some very fine rust buildup that you need to brush away. If you scrape them like you do when you’re cleaning the grill grate, your grill will reach temperatures most often found in iron forges. Then you’ll be buying replacement burners or rationalizing the purchase of a new grill.
The Cookbook
Weber grills come with their own cookbook in a plastic binder. I don’t think I used any of the recipes in the book (I did use a couple on their website), but I referred to the cooking times constantly. I was amazed how accurate they were. I think it’s a sign of both the consistent build quality of the grill and the careful measurements of their chefs.
Update: the new cookbook is a far cry from the old one. Out with the nice plastic binder, in with a pamphlet. But far worse is the advice – direct grilling is now suggested for most foods. This is a 180 degree change and one I disagree with. Chicken, fish, ribs, roasts, and ground meats all should be cooked indirectly. I yield to Stephen Raichlen in these matters and highly recommend his book How To Grill, especially for beginners. I also own and recommend The Barbecue Bible, although there is a little overlap between the two books.
You do have to pay attention to the portions and fat content and adjust accordingly. One steak will cook faster than four, and fattier foods cook faster due to flareups.
Value
At $400, it’s a good value. It may not sound cheap, but Weber has leveraged off-shoring to lower the cost of the grill. Many years ago, I paid $500 for essentially the same grill. It’s rare to see the cost of a high quality item go down in price over the years.
Tip: You can further increase the value by getting it preassembled. Ace/Tru Value may still offer this service for free.
Hope that helps. Of course, if you’re really serious about grilling and $400 is still too much (and you can’t find one used), consider going charcoal. Not surprisingly, Weber dominates again with the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker/smoker [ Amazon ]:
It has such a cult following that its fan site is over 10 years old. It’s regularly used by pros and costs less than $250. If you ever want to do real barbecue – authentic slow-cooked ribs, brisket, and pulled pork with a great smoky flavor – you gotta get a charcoal smoker. As much as I covet the Summit, it can’t touch “the bullet” for taste.
For accessories and other grilling equipment, check out my BBQ and Grilling Equipment Buyer’s Guide.
- Make sure you replace your porcelain-coated bars with stainless steel. That will be the last time you do so. [↩]
Thank you for a great article. I can personally attest to the quality of the Weber brand, thanks to your introduction to this product line. Also, I will be going back to the manual to see what their scheduled maintenance cycle recommends for parts replacement/cleanup/maintenance.
As an aside, do you find it useful to have a side burner on a grill?? The burner was the reason that I purchased my first gas grill back in 1999. I was expecting to be able to use it to cook my bacon and eggs for breakfast while fighting off the roving paks of scavengers brought about by the year 2000 Apocalypse. Civilization did not come to an end in 2000, so I had to start using the grill for more mundane uses.
I have used the side burner maybe a dozen times in that period, whereas the grill gets used at least once every couple of weeks.
I can see it’s good for when you’re grilling something and someone wants to open your grill and throw something else on, screwing up your cooking times. Instead of stabbing them with your BBQ fork (it’s only known purpose) you can heat/cook their food on a griddle on the side burner. So I won’t say it’s not useful, but when you’re typically about 20 feet from a stove, it’s not a big deal.