Since I moved out of my parent's house almost 20 years ago I've been burning through gas grills (pun intended) about every 2 to 3 years. I have to admit that many of these died young because of their price point. They were what I call, Holiday Grills. They're used for the SuperBowl, the 4th of July and Memorial Day, give or take a holiday. And, if they're used as such, and properly cleaned, maintained and stored they will last a decent amount if time. But, for the past 10 years, at least, I've been purchasing higher end models -- the most recent was even dubbed "commercial". I refer to this level as Summer Grills -- they're used frequently all summer long and not so much past the Fall. And yet, I still found myself watching these units crumble long before they really should. So, what's the problem? IMO -- much like my take on Crock Pots -- they're not meant to be used daily. Or weekly , for that matter. Well folks, I grill, on average, about 3 times a week. Easy. And I think that the repeated and long term heating literally destroys them. That and the humidity (I've lived in FL and TX with a 2 year stop in meatchikin). And frankly, that kills me. A grill can't stand the heat? Really? Yes. Really. Sad, but true.
Well, anyway my most recent "commercial" unit died right before Christmas. I didn't run right out and and replace it, Instead I just used my trusty Weber Kettle (coal) until I could find the right gas grill for me (a heavy user -- both in # of uses and body weight....). I talked with my dad about it because as a kid, I remember having a kick ass in-ground number that lasted what seemed like forever -- or at least util my dad lost his grilling touch and I took over. He couldn't remember the name but he said that the home builder was offering steep discounts on them through some sort of partnership. He said the grill "bowl" (which is what completely disintegrated on my last grill) was made of cast aluminum. So I started my search there and think I located the manfacturer....
Modern Home Products
After tons of research I felt that this was probably THE BEST gas grill in my price range not including building my own out of brick, which I STRONGLY considered.
In mid-January I took delivery of this model:
"Our Most Popular Model".
642 square inches of total cooking area • 40,000 BTU rated per-hour input
5/16" 2-piece stainless steel cooking grid • Stainless steel swing-away warming rack
High profile lid to handle all rotisserie functions, accommodating large cuts of meats and big Tom turkeys
It's mounted on a post in the ground, natural gas and included their SearMagic grates.
These grates kick ass as you can use one side for traditional grilling and easily obtain those fancy grill marks everyone likes to see. Or, you can flip them over for a more skillet type surface -- good for shrimp, veggies, fish, etc.
So far I am UBER impressed. Everything I cook is coming out better (taking into consideration recipe changes). And I love the fact that it has those "briquettes" under the grates. These make a HUGE difference IMO as they deflect and disperse the heat, prevent flare ups AND kick back some awesome grill smoke (less than coal but more than most gas grills). Couple this with the fact that almost the entire grill is covered under a LIFETIME WARRANTY and I challenge someone to find a better gas grill for the price. Seriously.
I give this grill a huge thumb up!
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