Obviously you're not a dummy, you're asking a really smart question.

To me, outdoor grills are not just kitchen ranges moved outside; in fact, I need my grill for *opposite* purposes of my range: the range needs to do stuff like boil a gallon of water ASAP. I want major BTU output. On the other hand, my grill needs (like you) to cook veggies or fish without turning them into carbon in 60 seconds.

That's why the BTU output of gas grill was always irrelevant to me. What matters is the ability to control the temperature/flame.

My advice: ignore BTU output for the grill. Instead investigate the number of burners (ie, flexibility) and how much control you have over them. That's hard to do in a store, but maybe the wise folks here at GW can help. I happen to be a Ducane fan, but others love their Webers etc.

Sorry for the long answer, and others here may have completely different perspectives. Good luck

Looks like Ducane is made by Weber. We just bought our second Weber. Looked at others, but stayed with Weber. DH did veggie bobs night before last and they were very good. Haven't done a lot of veggies on it yet, but I don't see any reason you wouldn't be happy with one. We do very slow indirect cooking (brisket for a full day) as well as searing and quick grilling. I suspect a side burner might be a worthwhile option for you while a sear burner might not. Think about how you want to cook veggies and meals with different things going. Look for what you need to do that.

The obvious first question is how big a family and do you cook often for friends plus family.

In other words grill for how many people on a regular basis and what is the largest amount for parties and such.

There is no magic formula. Some grills are more efficient than others,some are really good at high heat grilling(say a Pittsburgh steak),and others just have plane poor design( have high btu's but not very good at grilling.)

We are a family of 3 but we do plan to entertain up to 12 adults + kids with this grill. However, we expect to entertain an additional 2-4 adults + 2-4 kids in a typical scenario, on this grill.

Obviously, my plan is to get a grill that is not too big for the family (thus can accommodate couple of guests comfortably) -- but for really large parties, I am prepared to just grill repeatedly to accommodate them.

Regarding the comment of grill efficiency, what is grill efficiency?

Here is my favorite outdoor grill.
http://www.komodokamado.com

precise temperature control from low to high, and the ceramic method of cooking helps retain moisture in the food. It is charcoal based, and I prefer that to gas, but some people don't like it.

We are a family of 3 but we do plan to entertain up to 12 adults + kids with this grill.

I think,like most experienced grillers,that the least expensive high quality gas grill is Weber.

If you do mostly direct grilling you will want at least a Weber e-420 and maybe a Weber e-620 to s-670 if you do plenty of indirect grilling.

If you want top of the line then look at Fire Magic Aurora A540/A660

Ceramic/charcoal grills/smokers are fantastic if you willing to learn how to start them up and cook on them. An experienced griller can get the fire ready in 10 minutes.

In your scenario an XL Big Green Egg would do.

Regarding the comment of grill efficiency, what is grill efficiency?

Some grills are just better designed than others.It allows you to get the same heat over the same area with less BTUs saving you money on fuell.

Weber is known for being one of the more fuel efficent/reliable brands out there. It is the Honda of grills.

We are a family of 4 and grill for up to 16-20 sometimes. We had been limited to burgers for a crowd (on a Weber Gensis), and cooking those in a couple of rounds. That was one of the reasons we wanted a larger grill, but we weren't sure it was worth going to the largest Weber (620 would probably work for you since it sounds like a sear burner and rotisserie would be of little or no benefit to your family). I found a great price online and we went for it. I think we are both already glad we did. One thing you will notice on the Webers is that the Genesis line has side to side burners while the Summit has front to back burners. I think the front to back will allow using just a couple of burners to cook for 3 or 4 people more efficiently while the larger grill gives you the ability to cook more -- or in your case perhaps more than one veggie dish with a bit of separation.

We saw the XL Big Green Egg. I was interested in them, but DH said he was only interested in gas. He's an impatient type. ;-)

Weber 620 would probably work for you since it sounds like a sear burner and rotisserie would be of little or no benefit to your family.

This makes sense to me and that is what I said to a vegetarian in another site, a grilling specific site.

He got defensive and angry. Said there were uses for very high heat in vegetarian cooking.

lascatx: don't mean to hijack this thread, but also have genesis and am interested in the larger summit for the front to rear burners you mention and for the sear burner. Your opinions and comparisons?

As for original post, it also makes sense to me that the 620 front to rear burners would afford better simultaneous high and slower heat grilling than the genesis does.

We've not had it that long, so we are still playing with different kinds of grilling. DH seared some steaks over the weekend and I think he forgot to account for the fact that they would continue to be cooked -- a bit too much blackening on the surface (in areas, not all over), but I think that is a learning curve issue. He was really happy with it and they did taste great other than that.

We have done ribs with indirect, and no complaints about those. That is the only thing I can think of that was a pure indirect slow cook. We did some chickens on the rotisserie, but that was adding the rotisserie burner in back. The differences between the 620 and 670 (if I remember correctly) are the sear burner, the rotisserie burner and the fact that the rotisserie is included and has a motor that swings up for use and back down into the work table when not in use.

With the 620 or 670, you have 6 burners. The smaller Summit have 4. That compares with 3 side to side on the Genesis, so you have more options on which burners to use and where you can cook -- directly or indirectly.

Of -- the other difference between the 2 lines is that the Genesis has the side controls while the summit puts them across the front like a rangetop so you get more useable space next to the cooking area. You can set a plate on either side rather than only on one side.

Does that help?

As far as searing veggies, I suppose -- but I can't think of any veggie that normal high heat wouldn't cook. I know the sear burner really appealed to DH. It's a guy thing, I think. A variation on power tools and more power in general. ;-)

Thanks everyone for sharing experiences and helping out! In regards to the comment that front-back burners are better than side by side for better results, can someone explain the rationale? I'm sorry for the dumb question but this is coming from someone whose only grilling experience has been on Charcoal...

Also it seems that folks here have had a great experience with Webers. Good to know. I read reviews on Amazon and it seems that only Home Depot Webers have real cast iron grates. Does anyone have a different experience?

Thanks once again in advance!

We have a Genesis Gold. I admittedly use the charcoal grill for high-heat indirect cooking (and the smoker for Q). But I really don't like the front-to-back burners on the Genesis b/c they don't lend to indirect cooking at all. Your average chicken is going to be too close to the burners to roast instead of grill/burn. I'd prefer left to right.

Ours came with kinda crappy stainless grates. I keep thinking I'm going to get the cast iron ones at HD and upgrade, but I haven't yet. Haven't been paying that close of attention, but I think that they weren't at HD for a season or two.

With burners "front to back" you have three long skinny burners that run right to left. A front, a center, and a back. If you want to cook indirectly, i.e. roasting as thull said, you can do it by using, say, only the rear burner. However you'd have to arrange your food on the narrow rectangular "front half" of the grill, instead of a squarish "side half".

My Weber came with cast iron grates but I didn't like dealing with seasoning them, doing it badly, and then dealing with rust. Weber replaced them for free with porcelain enamel which are very easy to keep clean, we're going on 15 years with them. Stainless grates were the most expensive option.

I have grilled for 30 years; first with the classic charcoal large 'charbroil' and for 5 years with a smaller gas stainless grill. I believe half our dinners use the gas grill all year round (there is a roof over part of the deck). I'm a meat kind of guy (mostly chicken these days) but I have Vietnamese and other 'earth shoes/bean sprouts type relatives who insisted on contaminating MY charbroil with veggies.

I found that veggies usually took up more space so even the large Charbroil could be overwhelmed with portabella mushrooms and eggplant. I never found a need for high heat with veggies. The old Charbroil had heavy cast iron grates that I only cleaned in March by burning off the winter generated mold (no roof, no winter use). I just prepped the hot grill with a wire grill brush. I do the brush thing with my stainless grates but they stick more.

Therefore, I would suggest a larger grill surface, cast iron grates (good luck finding any), not worrying much about btu and have space (charcoal) or 3 burners so you can have off direct heat action over a variable area.

Don't know if you have already made your decision, but I would actually describe the burners opposite of idrive65. Front to back to me describes the direction the burners run front to back with them left right and perhaps several in the center. That means that for indirect heat (slow cooking for ribs, brisket, whole poultry and large meats) you can use one or two burners on one end and cook on the opposite end, one on either end and cook in the center, use the center burner(s) and cook on wither side -- gives you options and full use of the front to back grill space.

With side to side (not side by side) are burners going across from one side to the other where you have one front back and center. For indirect heat, your options are to use the back only or the front and back and cook in the center. You have the full width of the grill to cook, but less room front to back and the heat may be less indirect for whatever you are cooking.

Webber has 3 different types of grates and different stores may carry one or two. Cast iron sears (may give a bit more char flavor) and retains heat well but rusts most easily (they suggest not cleaning after cooking so that the oils from cooking protect the grates until you preheat and burn them off when you cook the next time). Porcelain coated have protection from rusting, but some may feel they don't retain heat and sear as well as cast iron. We've used both and never had any complaint with the porcelain-- the rust factor probably makes it a better choice in our climate). Stainless is an option that comes standard on the higher end Summit grills or as an option or additional purchase for the Genesis. I've cooked on the other ones so long I wasn't sure about the stainless even though the rust proof definitely appealed in our humid climate. We were thinking about it when I realized the charcoal grills I've used all have stainless grates and the Summit ones were heavier and should do even better. So far, they've been working very well.

I can cook happily with any of the grates, but the use of space -- having enough, being able to use it efficiently for large of small cooking needs and having it arranged well for what you want to cook would be what I would focus on. The burner direction matters most if you pile charcoal to one side and cook on the other. If you usually place evenly across the bottom, it may not matter to you at all. Have fun looking and hope you find one you enjoy.

Hi, thanks everyone for the great tips and sharing experiences.

I went with Weber Genesis S-320 stainless steel. The only thing different from what this forum recommended was burner placement, partly because when I read it, I interpreted it differently LOL :-) Anyway, the grill is now here. Comforting words were when chas045 told me that veggies take up a lot of space. If so, it should not matter which way my burners are placed since all of them will be used anyway.

It has not been assembled yet -- but I sure will post review when I am fully using it. I cannot wait!

Thanks again.

I think the Genesis is a solid choice for almost anyone. We had a similar model (they've been updated) for about 12 years and it was a solid performer. We upgraded to a larger one because we cook for crowds enough to want it. I don't think the burner direction is likely to be an issue for veggies. That is more of an issue when cooking certain meats for hours. Can't see it with veggies.

DH has just purchased a Bull Angus grill. It costs a little more than the Webers, but he needed it to fit into a specific space (56") & decided to pay a little more to avoid deck construction. He doesn't need side burners & is intrigued by the rotisserie -- always wanted one. The burners run back to front & he was looking for this -- he feels more control over different temperature cooking (we mix meats & veggies when we grill). This grill has a large cooking area & an infrared lamp(?) which we feel will help with cooking chicken & often doesn't seem to be seen except on high end, e.g. Viking. It has heavy stainless steel grates which can be placed in DW. He found it on-line for $1,800-ish & it seems to be compared to the higher-end grills. I'll let you know how it does once he gets it.

Bull grills are very expensive for being Made in China.

Grill arrived today. I have searched over all the boxes & the larger pieces. I don't see a "Made in China" sticker -- I'll keep looking. Home office is Rialto, California.
The grill is 16 gauge stainless steel & looks beautiful.

Lascatx: Have you ever been to Eggfest? They have them all over the country. My hubby just became an "EggHead" and is having a marvy time! As for your hubby being impatient and only wanting gas, you can use a propane tank w/a torch attachment and have your charcoal ready to go in 8 - 10 mins (depending on how much). DH is enjoying the temp stability and of course, all the new toys.

DH is a grill man to the core, we have two Webber Kettles and a "Q" with several years on them and so far, the Big Green Egg is the favorite.

When we were checking out the BGE, we found a dealer that let's you try before you buy, so maybe you could find a similar opportunity? It is a large investment.

You should really check out a memphis wood burning grill. See thier youtube videos. Just recently I have had the opportunity to start playing with one and they are amazing. My play time has been short but I'm leaning towards buying one. Still looking for more opinions of someone who might own one, but they seem like a solid grill with some serious options, smoker, grill and convection oven at quater to half the price of the comp. Viking / Linx / Solair

Hi,

It's been a few months of non stop enjoyment with my Weber grill. Since I promised to post a review when I used it sufficiently, here it is:

First, I could not be happier with my purchase. Note that we looked at extreme high end grills with prices of $5000.00 ballpark. We did not want to spend that kind of money therefore we went with Weber Genesis, all stainless steel body.

Definitely very well constructed. We can leave the grill out in the elements without worrying about rust, due to SS contruction. We have purchased grill cover too but SS body provides additional peace of mind.

We went with a side burner. Great decision! A lot of side cooking can be done on the burner, as needed. We've used it only occasionally but it definitely is a plus.

It is a very fuel efficient grill. Heats VERY quickly. Cools as fast (don't expect your food to cook on ambient heat once you turn it off). Excellent temperature control!

Easy to assemble (DH's feedback).

We've tried Chicken, Seafood and several veggies (incl. potatoes) so far. At around 400F, most of our foods have cooked satisfactorily (times vary). Therefore we have not missed Sear Burner.

Overall, one happy customer of Weber's. We also purchased a few accessories such as kabob stand, grill tray etc. and two thumbs up to Weber in general.