Electric grills?

I'm thinking of simplifying my life and picking up a cheap electric grill for the back porch. Has anybody ever tried one of these? Are they any good vs. a propane grill?

Use case is grilling a few burgers occasionally for friends, vegetables on a weeknight, maybe chicken wings occasionally, etc. I don't need to cook steaks--that's what the cast iron pan is for. And I don't need something giant or something with tons of bells and whistles.

I know the holy grail is a nice charcoal grill, but propane is already enough of a pain that we hardly use it. The goal here is quick and easy. Is an electric grill the right answer?

Good news!  Your oven is already equipped with a broiler function!   

Please excuse the snarkiness from the man who takes a disdain to propane and always grills over charcoal.

If it weren't for Gov't subsidies, these Electrics wouldn't sell! 

I like my Weber 2000 series propane grill.  They sell the same form factor in electric.  A large 2000 series and smaller 1000 series.  

https://www.weber.com/US/en/electric/weber-q-series/weber-q-2400-electric-grill/55020001.html

1988RedT2 said:

Please excuse the snarkiness from the man who takes a disdain to propane and always grills over charcoal.

Taste the meat, not the heat!

Annie and I have been using an electric grill for a few years (actually we have two for when we have to cook for son Jason and family), and really like it. That is our method of grilling indoors during the cold months. Steaks and pork tenderloins (aka "schlongs") come out great.

I have this Phillips one for days there's too much snow to get to my charcoal grill. I does an ok job but it's not the same as a real fire. 

I've been considering one of those Ninja grills that you can also add wood pellets for some smoke if you want. 

We rarely use our Weber charcoal grill anymore. Even when we use natural starters and hardwood charcoal, for some reason I still taste lighter fluid. 

Don't get the Char-broil one that I have.  It takes forever to heat up and never really gets hot enough.  Fine for warming a hot dog or toasting buns, but it won't sear.  Burgers come off boring, and by the time you get a sear on a steak it's ruined inside.

Mine is called the Patio Bistro and it sucks.

Blackstone griddle Tom! 

I love my (propane) Weber Q Grill.

Simple, no frills, and built to last forever.  They made an electric version that shows up on ebay, but y tho.  

TJL (Forum Supporter) said:

Blackstone griddle Tom! 

I'm in a larger group than Tom (I have 5 kids), but I think the Blackstone changed my life.  If I had to choose between that and my Weber (propane) grill, I wouldn't hesitate to give the Weber away.  And the Weber is the best grill I've ever owned.

Hibachi, cheesesteaks, wraps, all of the brunches, all of the time, etc..

I mean isn't an electric grill an outdoor George Foreman grill?

$18 George Foreman Grill - World of Wally

John Welsh said:

I like my Weber 2000 series propane grill.  They sell the same form factor in electric.  A large 2000 series and smaller 1000 series.  

https://www.weber.com/US/en/electric/weber-q-series/weber-q-2400-electric-grill/55020001.html

I have one of those and it's great. 

My FIL was afraid of propane and had an electric grill. I made jokes about his manhood, but when they were buying a new one I took the old one and used it for years. We gave our son that Weber when he was living in an apartment. Now that he isn't it became surplus and we have it. We have all three but we use it the most by a lot. 
You just cannot beat the convenience of an electric grill. And no flare ups. 

The heat does not make the meat, the smoke does. Any heat source will create smoke. Some of my best BBQ has come out of my electric smoker because I have complete control over the smoke.

I looked at the Ninja grill the other day because the propane grill I carry on the motorhome is too hot to cook chicken and too cold to cook a steak. With the built in smoke chamber, I think it would be perfect. We frequently end up cooking for 8-10 people so I don't think it would be big enough, but for two people I would think they would be perfect. 

If you buy one, I would be very interested in how it works out for you. 

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

That's what I was wondering - for the occasional burger or similar, why not a George Forman grill?  

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

That's what I was wondering - for the occasional burger or similar, why not a George Forman grill?  

That's what I'm looking at--literally a George Foreman grill on a stick that I can put on my back porch.

In reply to Tom Suddard :

I think I would want something I could add smoke to. With a propane grill you can add a smoke box. Electric smokers have a smoke box. The Ninja has a smoke box. The George Forman Grill seems to be about the same as a frying pan. 

canoe

How much of a hassle is the propane really?  1-2 tanks a year?    If its that big of a deal get a pipe for your house gas (Natural Gas or Propane or whatever you run) and pipe it in.  

Electric smokers I understand and they make sense.   Electric grills - I fail to see the use case.  

Here we go. Crappy weather again. We're not going out. So apropos to this thread, I suggested we use the electric grill this evening. Ours is a Hamilton Beach. Grilling lamb chops. Buy one Tom. You won't regret it. Easy peasey.

Toyman! said:

The heat does not make the meat, the smoke does. Any heat source will create smoke. Some of my best BBQ has come out of my electric smoker because I have complete control over the smoke.

Much truth, friend.  I currently have two charcoal smokers, one electric smoker, my crappy electric grill, and I'm building a gas/charcoal smoker.  With the exception of the charcoal itself adding a little flavor, the point is for the food to take in varying levels of smoke; either from the drippings hitting the heat, or added smoking wood.  It's pretty easy to use any of the three fuels to brilliantly cook, sear, smoke, broil, or roast.  Sometimes you want smoke, like a ribeye or pork chop.  Sometimes you don't want smoke, like maybe corn, Whitefish, or scallops. With any of the fuels you can tailor how much of the drip returns to the food as smoke, and you can tailor how much wood smoke you add... anywhere from none to a lot.  The fuel is mostly inconsequential.

The reason I'm building a gas/charcoal smoker is so that I can truly leave it alone.  There are some charcoal smokers that I could do that (brinkman...why did you stop making the bullet?!?), but many need a little tending.  With a gas/charcoal, I can start the coals in the morning with enough to get me through 8-ish hours and go to work.  If, for some reason, the charcoal burns out, the gas takes over until I get home.

But I don't stress about the heat source.  I've had a steak from an electric, a gas, and a charcoal grill.  It's all cooked, seared, and done.  Just a matter of which one you prefer.

Our house is being renovated right now, and we're temporarily living in an apartment. Since I can't use my Weber Genesis or my smoker here, we got a countertop grill thingy. Specifically the Ninja Foodi IG601 7-in-1 Grill:


We cook way more on this thing than we do the stove. It grills both with a regular grill AND a flattop setting, and it works especially well as an air fryer. Only downside is the size; it's both pretty large for the counter while being a much smaller cooking surface than I'm used to with the outdoor grill. That said, it cooks things perfectly. Once we are back in the house, I bet we'll continue to use the thing all the time.

I ended up going with the small kinda portable Blackstone. I really like it. Sips propane and heats up very quickly. Scrape stuff into the little grease trap and dump it out on occasion. Here it is perched on the side shelf of my old Weber grill I bought used for $80 and almost never use anymore since going Blackstone.

Oh, that Blackstone looks like what my brother-in-law gave me. He moved up to a larger one. I haven't used it yet because I have a pellet smoker for smoking meat and bagels, and a NG grille plumbed into the house supply.

Australians use those flat griddles a lot in my experience. Not sure how it's any different than frying your meat, but I've eaten a lot of lamb chops off one of them.

Steaks and squash on the indoor grill tonight. Tom, did you buy one yet?