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Most of the grills we tested turned out juicy steaks and moist, tender chicken and fish. But not all the news is good. One grill was dangerous and we judged it Not Acceptable.
The $650 Broil King Signet 90 is the first gas grill to receive that judgment since 1986.The firebox melted on two of the three grills we tested.The third grill's firebox had started to crack and become deformed when the test ended. For more details, see the Safety Alert on page 34.
The Broil King underscores the importance of considering safety when shopping for and using a grill. Plenty of grills in our Ratings combine safety with top-notch cooking and stylish looks.
Stainless steel continues to be popular, but its rising cost is forcing manufacturers to look for alternatives. Porcelaincoated steel is durable and won't rust, as long as it doesn't chip. Porcelain is easier to maintain and available in a variety of colors to jazz up your patio or yard.
Our experts spent months searing steaks, grilling chicken, and cooking salmon on 37 grills.We found that a premium price doesn't guarantee a better grill. A $200 midsized model outperformed grills costing hundreds more. And an $800 grill topped our Ratings of large grills, ahead of models costing $1,750 and $3,200.
Here's what else we found:
A truce in the Btu war. Manufacturers once touted the grills' British thermal units per hour (Btu/hr.) output, but our tests repeatedly found that more Btu don't guarantee faster heating or better cooking. Many grill makers have turned to infrared technology to create buzz. But infrared is just another way of saying indirect heat, and when it comes to grills, there are several ways to generate it. We tested grills that have a ceramic burner or a combination of plates and grates. A third type, radiant cavities, are U-shape troughs that heat the grates. None of these infrared technologies was better than the others, nor did infrared outperform regular grilling.
Other cookers were so-so. In addition to grills, we tested the $139 Orion Cooker and the $129 Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-less Turkey Fryer. Both can be used to cook whole chickens, turkeys, or roasts, freeing space on the grill for steaks, burgers, and other smaller items....