? about first grill purchase...

Looking at a Weber Genesis Gold C. Anyone have any experience with that model? Comments?

One concern of mine is that my buddy's grill has three burners that are horizontal across the grill face, as opposed to vertical on the Weber (if looking at the grill surface from above). Would this setup give you enough room to cook several items at once? Seems like that would make it harder to cook one thing at a lower temp in the rear and one thing at a higher temp in the front.

Also, how often do you use the side burner? I figured that for an extra $50, might be a good feature to have.

Thanks for the help.

gold c is a great choice for a propane grill. the side burner is good for cooking side dishes or sauces but don't put a big lobster pot on it.

The Gold C is the same as the Silver C, except with double-wall stainless lid, stainless cooking grates and flame tamers, and an extra shelf.

A Silver B/C will cook exactly the same.

The Silver A/B/C and Gold B/C grills are proven, with many happy owners.

-egkor

I have the Silver B and have been very happy with it. Only difference between the B and C is the side burner. My grill sits on our back deck exactly 10 feet from our stove inside in the kitchen, so felt the sideburner was overkill and wouldn't use it and saved the $50. Either way, it's a highly versatile grill, good for direct/indirect and I bought a smoker box to sit on the flavorizer bars under the grates for ribs and such.

Definitely can't go wrong with Weber.

Good luck and Happy Grilling,
BigBad

Side Burners .....

While they're convenient, IMHO, a turkey cooker and/or a Coleman LP camp stove is a better option. For a while I thought I'd replace my old gas grill with a new one. A side burner looked like a good idea. But the more I looked at grills, the more I decided that it wasn't worth the cost. Both in $$ and the shelf space it would take.

A couple of sizes of those inexpensive enamelware sauce pans from Wal-Mart sit directly on the grill for heating sauces or cooking a side dish. If I don't have room on the grill for the pan then either the turkey cooker or camp stove takes on that duty.

With the camp stove, *two* burners are available. Heat the sauce on one and saute onions & garlic or make coffee on the other burner. Another benefit is to top the camp stove with a cast iron griddle. Cornbread "pancakes" to go along with grilled seafood makes for some good eating without taking up grill space.

With a turkey fryer you're not limited in pan size, as you are with a side burner. Use a big stock pot for corn on the cob. Use a heat diffuser and a castiron dutch oven for baked beans. Pull out your big cast iron frying pan for a fish fry. I'm fortunate in that I have my Dad's 20" skillet. There's no telling how many pounds of fish have been cooked in that pan over the years.

With the side burners I saw, I'd be uneasy about putting a large (10-12") cast iron frying pan on one. In time, I'm afraid the heat from the pan would damage the grill surface around the burner. I believe that it would either melt plastic shelving and discolor stainless steel. In some cases, the pan wouldn't sit centered on the burner either, due to the burner cover design.

In closing, again IMHO, I'd rather have the use of the side shelf for workspace. Use the dollars saved by omitting the side burner "feature" to buy a turkey cooker and/or camp stove. You'll get more bang for your bucks.

BTW, use an LP T connector to hook up more than one LP appliance to the same 20# tank.

Hope my 2-cents are helpful in your decision.

Longmill

If cost is not an issue, go with the side burner, or better yet, buy a turkey fryer. We purchased a turkey fryer a few years back and use it for lobster and corn. Still haven't fried a turkey in it though!