Gift for my brother in law.

ryantt

My wife's brother has just purchased a home, and I am told we "need" to get him a gift.  He had a gas grill, but has always told me he'd like to learn to cook on charcoal.  I was thinking weber kettle gold but am open to suggestions.  I know he has always commented about my old kettle, UDS and now my XL BGE, but I don't feel that I can swing a BGE for him. My daughter while only 5 soon to be six has her eyes on a MM for herself. She tells everyone at her school she is getting her own BGE for her birthday.  Funny thing is she already has her own bbq gear and will tell you no one dust a pig butt like she dose. 

pgprescott

Weber kettles are a very good value. Not on the level of an egg, but he would surely be very grateful for such a nice gift. Great grill. 

Scottborasjr

I was just going to point you too the Akorn thread but it appears you found it on your own. I'd say a kettle or one of those is perfectly acceptable as a housewarming gift. Especially for someone used to propane cooking.

Durangler

I've have had a 22" Weber kettle for the last 36 years. My ex still has the first one I purchased. I've had my current red kettle for 28 years. I learned on the Weber & have put out some great food & still do.  That would be a fine gift for an entry level cook. Smoke, indirect, direct, reverse sear. 

Ozzie_Isaac

I say go OTG.  Personally I like them better than the Akorn.  There are tons of online tutorials that he can read up on too.  Great grill to learn on.  I used them for years.

caliking

I would recommend a Weber Performer instead of the OTG. The workspace comes in very handy, and its a great grill. You can cook all kinds of things with it hot 'n' fast or lo 'n' slo.

ryantt

   caliking said:

I would recommend a Weber Performer instead of the OTG. The workspace comes in very handy, and its a great grill. You can cook all kinds of things with it hot 'n' fast or lo 'n' slo.

Performer is a great idea. I imagine he would like the workspace and those old kettles hold up forever.  I got my for my 16th bday and other than replading the cover I haven't done a thing to it.   I will start him off right with some quality lump and chimney. 

caliking

@ryantt - that's a plan worth rolling with

Durangler

Be sure to give him a box of the Weber starters with the chimney. They work great. Forgo the starter fluid.  

ryantt

Durangler said:

Be sure to give him a box of the Weber starters with the chimney. They work great. Forgo the starter fluid.  

Those little starters are an amazing invention.  I honestly don't know how I ever did without them.  I always go to HD or Lowes and buy them out at the end of the season.  Funny how we have a grilling season in Ohio, apparently someone forgot to mention it to me.  As I love going out to cook when I have to shovel a path to the grills. 

Scottborasjr

Amazon has starter cubes for around 16 bucks for 144 count box.  Search Rutland Firestarter best price I've seen for them clearance or not. 

ryantt

Scottborasjr said:

Amazon has starter cubes for around 16 bucks for 144 count box.  Search Rutland Firestarter best price I've seen for them clearance or not. 

Thank you for the info. 

Scottborasjr

No problem, I used to buy the BGE ones when I first got the Egg at I think 9 bucks for twenty four. Needless to say when I found the one's on Amazon I was excited.

Durangler

Weber makes 2 chimneys, the big one for around $15 and a smaller one, around $11. I have the smaller one and have never filled it to capacity.
Just a thought. 
This is fun spending your money!!  

SoCalTim

Here's something unique. Check out the Smoke Vault @ Amazon. It's an awesome smoker and better yet it's only $265. 

ryantt

Durangler said:

Weber makes 2 chimneys, the big one for around $15 and a smaller one, around $11. I have the smaller one and have never filled it to capacity.
Just a thought. 
This is fun spending your money!!  

Well it's nothing new, someone else is always spending my money lol.  I have the larger weber chimney and almost always put in a 1/3 of a load.  Thanks for the recommendation on the smaller one.  I'm trying to decide what lump to buy him to get started. I know it's a loaded question but it needs to be easy for him to get, any ideas.  I use Cleveland lump and RO.  

Ozzie_Isaac

For a kettle I would go kingsford blue bag.  Consistent size, lighting, and temp.

I only use lump in my webers when I need higher temps.

ryantt

Funny thing about this forum, my debit card seems to be used every single time I get on here.  I think the boss is going to start complaining.  As long as I don't have to share custody of the egg in the divorce it will all be ok.   

DMW

ryantt said:

Funny thing about this forum, my debit card seems to be used every single time I get on here.  I think the boss is going to start complaining.  As long as I don't have to share custody of the egg in the divorce it will all be ok.   

You have no idea. Stay away from that Cen-Tex fellow. He's really good at moving your money from you to someone else.

ryantt

Ozzie_Isaac said:

For a kettle I would go kingsford blue bag.  Consistent size, lighting, and temp.

I only use lump in my webers when I need higher temps.

Good point on the kingsfird blue bag, haven't purchased any in years but it's probably a great place for him to start.  I think I'll still through in a bag of lump for him to try.  I imagine they will want to try making a pizza in it.  

Ozzie_Isaac

Yeah Cen-Tex made me buy the KO Worksharp.  He twisted my arm.  Now I need better knives just to use on the awesome sharpener.

DMW

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Yeah Cen-Tex made me buy the KO Worksharp.  He twisted my arm.  Now I need better knives just to use on the awesome sharpener.

Sous vide, meat glue, books, KO work sharp, trip to Salado. Dude owes me a tax receipt the way I see it.

ryantt

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Yeah Cen-Tex made me buy the KO Worksharp.  He twisted my arm.  Now I need better knives just to use on the awesome sharpener.

Funny how we need things isn't it.  

Miked125

A kettle is a great way to see if they like using charcoal and I still have my first kettle. If the performer is around the same price I would opt for that. I loved that grill.

Ladeback69

caliking said:

I would recommend a Weber Performer instead of the OTG. The workspace comes in very handy, and its a great grill. You can cook all kinds of things with it hot 'n' fast or lo 'n' slo.

I agree that the Performer is a good option, but I also like the Weber Smokey Mountains.  I stated with a 22.5" one and put "L" brackets on the base so I could use it as a XL Smokey Joe grill.  Either one would be a nice gift.

revolver1

Scottborasjr said:

Amazon has starter cubes for around 16 bucks for 144 count box.  Search Rutland Firestarter best price I've seen for them clearance or not. 

If you have a Tractor Supply, look there.  Routinely 12ish for the Rutland squares/144.

dcc

A Kamado Joe Jr can be ordered on Ace Hardware's web site and shipped free to any Ace Hardware in the country.  We did that for my B.I.L. at Christmas.  He just had to stop by his local Ace to pick it up.  Good deal if he lives far away.  They probably have Webers too.

jcaspary

If you can't swing the Egg get them a gift ceritificate.  Some stores carry both Eggs and Weber.  That way they can get what they like.  You can also choose a Visa card or something like that, that can be used anywhere.  I know sometimes gift certificates are seen as lame but me personally I'd rather get a gift certificate that something that I didn't want or samething better. Just my .02.  

mahenryak

dcc said:

A Kamado Joe Jr can be ordered on Ace Hardware's web site and shipped free to any Ace Hardware in the country.  We did that for my B.I.L. at Christmas.  He just had to stop by his local Ace to pick it up.  Good deal if he lives far away.  They probably have Webers too.

I was just thinking the same thing regarding the KJ Jr and Ace.  Seems to me that the Weber Performer is creeping up near this same price range--unless I'm looking at the wrong unit.  The only caveat being that if you live outside the lower 48, like me, expect to pay some shipping costs.  (I just purchased one last month and it was around $30 to have it shipped from the warehouse to my Ace store here in Alaska.)

ryantt

Didn't think about KJ Jr. they are only around $100 more than the better   Weber performer 

mahenryak

ryantt said:

Didn't think about KJ Jr. they are only around $100 more than the better   Weber performer 

Yeah, as a bonus I was thinking it might serve as good common ground for get-togethers.  Cooks would obviously tend to be a little more comparable, etc., for conversation / planning purposes.