High quality without paying for the Weber name

I did tons of research online to find the best gas grill. I wanted a good quality grill that will last not rust out and not need constant upkeep and replacement parts. I'm only cooking for my wife and I so I did not need a huge oversized grill. I checked all of the local big box stores. The smaller grills at these stores had a nice price tag ($80-$150) but they were so flimsy and all of the online reviews said they either rusted out or broke after a year or two of use. I was willing to step it up a notch and pay more but in the big box stores all you get for a bigger price tag is a bigger grill that will still rust out and break down after a couple of years. I wanted something that would last. The next option up in the big box stores was to purchase a Weber. Weber has a great reputation for quality but they are so expensive and big. I found that the Broil King brand was the perfect solution to my problem. They build high quality grills (via Onward Manufacturing Co. which has some affiliateion with Weber but I'mnot sure what.) Broil King has several differnt models with a lot of configurations and options. They are one of the few companies that use cast aluminum for the oven (it will not rust and comes with a lifetime warranty). Their burner design is praised in online reviews and comes with a 5 year warranty. They use heavy duty cast iron cooking grids that weigh over seven pounds each. Their heat diffuser (Flav-R-Wave) is made of heavy duty stainless steel (other companies use cheap steel..just a step up from aluminum foil). I finally narrowed my search down to a Monarch or Crown model. Amazon's price ($319) no tax and free shipping sold me on the Monarch 40.



One thing to note is that the stand looks like stainless steel but it isn't. It is steel painted to look like stainless. Also I agree with another poster that the stand could use some extra stffness. The fact that the casters are plastic bother me but they work and they are used on all of the Broil King's grills. So I think the only con on the Monarch line is the cart/stand. It will last but I think the actual grill will outlast the cart. Of course this is the bottom of the Broil King line. In the end I think I finally found what I was looking for. I just wish Broil King was sold in more local stores. If they were the would tear up the competition!



One final thought. The "Mr. Bar-B-Q Platinum Prestige Medium Grill Cover" is the perfect fit and best quality cover I have found. It was only $19.99 when I bought it...and free shipping!More detail ...

Excellent but a little pricey

I am cooking ribs on my 22" WSM as I type this. This will be my third time cooking since I received it a few weeks ago and the results I've been getting have been some of the tastiest barbeque I've ever had. The design is excellent the build quality is excellent the instructions and support from Weber - all excellent. But after all this "hype" the reason I only gave it 4 stars out of 5 is because as good as it is I believe Weber has over-priced it somewhat. I would have expected something of this size and quality to be priced closer to $350 or so.



Anyway the good news is the key to successful barbeque is temperature control. I threw away money a few years ago on a cheaper smoker in which it was almost impossible to control and ruined several dollars worth of meat trying. But temperature control is what makes this unit great. The WSM almost feels like cheating. Once you get it set it just seems to stay locked into a very narrow temperature range requiring very little adjustment as it cooks. It's as easy to keep it "locked in" at 200 degrees as it is to keep it at 325. However there are a few little tips and tricks of the trade to cooking on a smoker and barbeque in general that require a little research trial and error and discussion with experienced "pit masters." For this I highly recommend The Virtual Weber Bullet website and The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board. There is a wealth of knowledge there and you can get questions answered by professionals as well as pit master wannabes who are just starting out and learning too.



I would recommend starting with a Weber Smokey Mountain a high-quality easy to use smoker rather than wasting money on a cheaper one only to realize later that it's too frustrating to use and then have to break down and buy the good one later. That would be the MOST expensive way to get into barbeque at home.

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Love this grill

I've had the Q300 for about 10 weeks and grilled on it 3-4 times per week. Grilled steaks roasts chicken (both direct and indirect heat) pork

loins hamburgers and hotdogs and the Q300 handled it all.



Gets hot fast:

From start with both burners on high...3 minutes grill is at 310 degrees....7 minutes 400 degrees.....10 minutes 520 degrees....14 minutes maxes out at 590 degrees



I like to cook chicken and pork over indirect heat so I really like having the two burners with separate controls. The larger burner runs the perimeter of the grill and a second smaller burner goes down the center.



Outside burner only (High)..maintains 400 degrees(Low)..300 degrees

Center burner only (High)..maintains 300 degrees(Low)..200 degrees

Both burners on (High)..maintains 590 degrees (Low)..500 degrees



Heavy duty cast-iron cooking grates. Grates dimensions are 25" x 17.5".More detail ...

Great improvement of a great product!

As a fan of the earlier Smokey Mountain Cooker I'm surprised and gratified with the changes they made to the smoker.



The previous smoker was an easy 5 stars in my book. I guess I'd have to give this one 6 stars because it's better!



After using my old smoker for some time I began finding ways to improve it. It seems that Weber thought so too and their changes include all of mine plus a few more.



Here are some important improvements:



Wider door for adding charcoal & such. This is NOT a small detail but rather a much appreciated design change. The older model's smaller door made it more difficult to place wood chunks or new charcoal where I wanted them and once upon a time I knocked the water pan down into the coals trying to put a wood chunk toward the back of the smoker.



The door latch is spring loaded and features a lever type handle. The previous door latch is not spring loaded and had a featureless round knob. It was less secure and not always easy to tell if the latch was fully closed. Now it's obvious -- for those of us who need things to be obvious. :)



Built-in thermometer! To think I paid more than Amazon's current price on the smoker and then another $50 on a thermometer. Mine is even in the same place on the lid. Great minds think alike I guess... and Weber added this useful feature while keeping the price under control.



Bottom ash catch pan. I never thought of that one but then again I have a concrete pad set up and it was never a big deal to sweep up a few stray ashes.



Overall the smoker performs as well as the older model but is much easier to use. With the thermometer it will be much easier to maintain temperature and smoke up some great grub right out of the box.



I am by no means an expert but here are a few quick tips for using this smoker.



0. If you are interested in instant gratification get a gas grill or go out for dinner. It takes some work time and patience to use and maintain this smoker.

1. Keep the temperature as stable as you can.

2. Don't lift the lid any more than you have to (for mopping adding charcoal etc.

3. Use briquets at least at first. It's much easier to work with compared to lump charcoal. If you do choose to use lump charcoal don't add any extra wood chips or would chunks! You'll oversmoke the food and that's bad!

4. Start early. Give the charcoal time to start up and the liquid in the water pan to get up to temperature before you put on the food.

5. Line the water pan with aluminum foil. Trust me; it will be much easier to clean later if you do!

6. Make small changes to the vents when you need to adjust the temperature. Give it some time to work.

7. Get a good book on smoking. I think we all know a good place to look for one...

8. The internet is your friend. Check out Weber's site some of the bbq forums and most definitely Virtual Weber Bullet.

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