Those are parts that should be easy to find and can be purchased for a reasonable price—preferably from the company that made the grill. Any solid grill maker will have those available for purchase, even if your grill is 15-plus years old. We grilled the chicken with the lid down for 45 minutes, occasionally checking for charring, and redistributing the pieces as necessary. After 45 minutes, we flipped the chicken parts, slathered on a coating of barbecue sauce, and closed the lid for another 15 minutes. Throughout, we monitored the grills’ temperatures according to their built-in thermometers; the goal was a steady hold at 375 °F with little or no burner adjustment. While the burgers cooked, we kept an eye out for flare-ups—which can char the meat and create acrid smoke—and looked at the evenness of cooking across the grates.
A dedicated rotisserie burner is usually located on the back of the firebox, slightly above the cooking grates; some models use the grill’s main burner(s). This feature allows you to roast meat (a whole chicken, for example) very evenly, yielding a flavor that some people prefer to that of grilled food. Spirit II has four legs, two wheels and a lower open-air storage rack. Spirit II continues to be a solid, dependable tool for aspiring backyard pitmasters and pitmistresses.
After about 10 minutes of cooking, we compared how well each grill had seared the burgers, and we looked for excessive charring or patties that were still unacceptably raw. All of our picks are propane-gas grills, since propane tanks are portable and can be purchased almost char broil performance anywhere, and they don’t require any special hookups in your backyard. To monitor the cooking temperature, we generally don’t rely on thermometers built into the hood. Instead, we placed our digital thermometer in the middle area, and it registered a cooking temp of 295°F.
Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices on Spirit II 3-burner and 2-burner grills are $599 and $499 respectively, but the street price is about a hundred bucks less. Those who take the long view on purchasing decisions could consider Spirit’s $500 (3-burner) and $400 (2-burner) street prices a bargain. Most gas grills use metal heat tents under the cooking grate to disperse heat, protect the burners, and to sizzle drippings that impart flavor to foods. Better quality grills, like Spirit II, blanket the entire cook box for more even heat and more delicious sizzle (see below).
Though there’s no debating that, some experts argue that lump charcoal (not briquettes, which can have added chemicals) is potentially carbon neutral. If you want to read more about comparing grilling fuels, we found helpful articles from The Atlantic, Slate, and NPR. Check the grease trap after every use (or before every use), and don’t let it get too full.
This may have a lower price, but the E 310 outclasses it in cooking surface area, power, and the number of burners, so there is no competition, really. A good gas grill should last a decade or more, provided you clean it after every Blackstone Adventure use and protect it from the elements. Weber, which makes all three of the grills we recommend, guarantees all parts on its Spirit II series for 10 years. So we expect our top and budget picks to hold up for at least that long.
When comparing the two materials—without taking anything else into consideration—cast iron holds more heat, so it will leave darker sear marks on your food than stainless steel. But the difference is minimal, especially if you’re not doing a side-by-side comparison of the two. Some folks think cast-iron grates distribute heat better across the grilling char broil performance surface than stainless steel. But in our research we found that the design and the materials that make up the grilling system (firebox, burners, burner hoods) are what determine heat distribution. The Spirit II E-210 Gas Grill integrates Weber’s iGrill Digital Grilling Technology by building in a side shelf mount specifically for the iGrill 3.
The only thing that you need to be careful of when cleaning is the flavorizer bars. Make every effort to avoid scratching it – so only use a stainless steel brush if you absolutely have to. What’s more, avoid using metal on it – stick to plastic cleaning tools. The center mounted thermometer gives you an idea of what the internal temperature is for the cooking chamber and whether or not it is holding up as you need it to. Let’s start of this gas grill review with the things that I like about the design. It boasts a compact, lightweight design that works well for a small family or even a mid-sized one.
This item is offered by one of our Exchange Plus Partners – a trusted, third party paired with us who ships directly to you when you order on ShopMyExchange.com. The Exchange sells and handles payments for these items, and you can find information and track the status of items purchased from Exchange Plus Partners on your AAFES order details page. Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. Now, I do want to quickly compare the Spirit II E 10 and Genesis II – the former is a higher end option. However, apart from the fact there is slightly more cooking area and the BTUs are higher, I wouldn’t waste my money but stick with the Spirit II E 310 instead.