I\’ve had a number of charcoal grills in my time and even made may own on a couple of occasions but I\’ve still to find the perfect charcoal grill, in other words something that caters for all needs.

Charcoal is a challenge in itself, for many it\’s simply just too much hassle and they prefer the immediacy of gas – just switch it on and you\’re ready to cook in ten minutes. Others (like me) just can\’t stop wanting to play with fire and and go for the traditional approach. When I say play with fire I\’m not referring to taking unnecessary risks or having a death wish, I just mean that we love watching the flames.

If you are like me and want to cook on charcoal then the choice of grills that you have at your disposal in immense and so is the range of prices so how do you determine what makes a good grill and what makes a bad grill?

The first thing I want to say about price is that it does have it\’s part to play and there are reasons why some grills cost more. That said, does it represent value for money to pay more? On the whole I think yes.

You will pay more for example for a cast iron firebox and in my opinion this is an absolute must if you don\’t want to be changing your grill every one or two years. My first grill was made out of sheet steel and after a few cookouts, the heat had really got to it and it had warped beyond recognition, it just looked tired and worn, not something that you could wheel out a BBQ party.

I also had one of those brick built grills that had a sheet of metal upon which to place the charcoal. Again not made out of cast iron. The combination of heat from the coals coupled with a dose of rain and the metal simply disintegrated and a hole formed.

I then bought a cast iron tray, that was about 25 years ago and the same unit is still going strong today. That said about cast iron I can fully respect your choice not to go this route if you\’re looking for portability and weight is a factor. In this case go for a lower quality solution, pay less but just be prepared to buy a new grill every so often.

Another thing that drives the cost of a grill is the material used to make the cooking grates (that\’s the bit that you put your food on). There\’s generally three quality standards, stainless steel, porcelain enamel and cast iron.

Stainless steel is at the lower end of the spectrum, it does the job and it\’s relatively cheap. My personal preference is actually to go for porcelain enamelled grate because they perform equally but they are so much easier to clean. Hot soapy water and a wipe with a cloth and generally any charred food comes away with ease.

Cast iron raises it\’s head again and arguably is just as easy to clean because you can go at it with a wire brush. The big advantage is that when you get the grill really hot you can make some great sear marks on your steaks or veggies – to some folks, that\’s important but I have to say that to me, it\’s not.

The final point to make is that again, cast iron is heavy so if portability is what drives your priorities the steer clear of cast iron.

Author Bio: In addition to his knowledge about charcoal barbecue grills, Paul Yates has perfected how to build a brick BBQ and written many gas grill reviews.

Category: Cooking
Keywords: charcoal grill, good charcoal grill, charcoal barbecue grill,