Care, I would find another Weber dealer. Your sales person sounds like a real a-hole... I wouldn't trust him with a quarter. I bought a Genesis 3000 when they first came out back in the 80s. I'm on my second one now, (a Genesis 1000; I didn't use the side burner enough to justify it) and it is about 7-8 years old. Still cooks great. I've never had a corrosion problem with the porcelain external parts rusting... the cover, the frame, the bottom tray. I did eventually burn through the flavorizer bars and the cooking grates on both grills; probably due to my lack of keeping them clean as anything. I've replaced both the grills and bars in my current 1000 with stainless. I've also replaced the propane hose with one that has the newer quick-connect fitting. The only other corrosion issue I've had is with the two rails that the bottom tray slides in and out on. I had to replace those. Weber sent me new ones at no charge. It looks to me as if the only significant difference between the Silver and Gold is the stainless lid, flavorizer bars and grates. Since you can get the grates and bars, I'd suggest picking based on looks... pay for the SS cover if you really like it. The Summit models have a double wall lid, which might stay cooler to the touch on the outside. But that's a lot to pay for something that doesn't really cook any better. Here's a link to compare the features: Here is a link that might be useful: There is a Compare Grills menu item under the

I agree with Alexa. A thermometer is worthwhile. I have had both electric and charcoal smokers. The electric is more convenient, but the charcoal gives better flavor IMO and is worth the slight amount of fussiness it takes to maintain the right temp. Best piece of advice I can give is to avoid the temptation to look at the food cooking. You may need to do so a couple of times during the cooking, but every time you take off the lid the system cools dramatically and it takes a good while to get back up to cooking temps. As far as wood goes, I really like pecan. You can use pecan shells if you have access to them. Hickory is good, but a little stronger than pecan. I used to live near an apple orchard; apple wood is great, too. I don't care too much for mesquite, but that's just me. Another trick is to put something fatty on the top rack and something that needs basting on the bottom rack. My dad used to do a pork roast on the top rack and as it cooked it dripped fat onto a turkey on the bottom rack. I've done ribs on the top rack dripping on to chickens on the bottom. Delish. I found I could smoke about 6 whole chickens at once. (They make little wire racks that make the chickens sit upright during the smoking, and that does make for a more efficient use of space. I found them worthwhile.) What I would do is smoke them, and then store them in individual freezer ziploc bags. Use a soda straw to evacuate as much air as possible, then seal them and freeze them. When you wanted a quick and yummy dinner, just take a frozen bird in its plastic bag, open the bag and put a couple of ounces of water or white wine in the bird's cavity, and microwave it in the bag for a few minutes till reheated. If you take the smoked chickens and take the meat off the bones, the meat makes a fantastic chicken salad; save the skin and bones, though, and you can make an incredibly rich and flavorful chicken stock that would jack up the flavor of many dishes like beans, soups, etc. What's really nice is that the cooking times are not written in stone, and slightly overcooking the stuff will not ruin it since it's a very moist environment. Another plus is that most of the work is done 3 or 4 hours (or more) prior to serving food. Once you load the smoker and get everything going, it really doesn't take much attention at all--in fact, most of the time it's better to leave it the heck alone. That means that if you're entertaining a bunch of people, you have time to check on everything else without worrying about the main dish. Much less stressful than, say, grilling a bunch of steaks for a crowd.

That Weber method is basically a braise, no? I, too, prefer pork ribs over beef ribs except for short ribs. I fondly remember the days when I would get a full prime rib, bone on, fat cap on. We'd layer the bottom of an apple crate with salt, place the roast on that and totally cover the roast with more salt. Then into the oven overnight at 200* (as low as it would go). The next morning we would knock the salt cap apart and cool the very rare roast. That evening the friends would gather and I'd carve it up, to order so to speak, and each guest would quickly toss theirs onto the grill to warm it. Those bones were good. Now that my mortgage is done, maybe I can try that once again. I have an oven that will set lower too...that would be ideal.

oh thanks Trixie - I like them started in the oven too - just wanted to play a bit with my grill and get more used to it. Shaun, they were GREAT! I took them off and added the corn to the fire (soaked with husks on - in water for a couple hours) and roasted the corn - then threw the ribs back on after the corn came off. That's when I added the bbq sauce over a hot fire before serving. I'd say they were on for close to 3 hours - maybe a bit more - totally on the side of the grill without the fire. I think I'm getting the hang of that thing - lol. I have unfortunately, gotten out of my photo taking habit - besides my hands were all black from peeling that roasted corn. :-) Yummy summer supper. Stacy