The Grill of My Dreams

As I mentioned last week, the old grill died.  

It wasn’t a painful death, just one rendering the old grill useless.  The handle broke off, which, at first, didn’t appear to be a problem. Until I realized that the handle was attached to the ‘shelf’ the grill grate rested on, meaning that unless I wanted to counter-balance the grate with a rock, the grate would remain slanted with one end in the air and the other in the fire.  No way to cook over hot coals.

So The Civee and I bit the bullet and invested in a genuine American Weber charcoal kettle grill (pictured).  And it’s completely revolutionized my grilling experience. 

The ventilation is perfect for cooking over flaming coals, with the air going up through the device, rather than from side-to-side.  Additionally, with a 24-inch diameter cooking surface, there’s plenty of room to do a main course, vegetables, and whatever else I want to throw on there.  And, most importantly, there’s space between the coals and the food (great if I want to throw something, like, say an artichoke down there).

So far in the two or so weeks we’ve had it, we’ve made chicken, pork, potatoes, corn, turkeyburgers, steak, salmon on a plank and porkchops on a plank.  

Cooking on the old grill was always fun, to an extent. But things would get crowded, or the heat would slowly die if I closed the top.  Now, I don’t have to worry, because here’s a grill that was designed to cook with a top on (revolutionary idea).

Now, if only the days weren’t getting shorter and the weather wasn’t getting colder, I’d have some more time to enjoy the new grill.