Grills

Weber Genesis Gold C (NG) Grill Weber Genesis Gold C (NG) Grill Key FeaturesType:GrillFuel Type:Natural GasCooking Area:611 ...

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To shortly summarize what may be a somewhat lengthy review, the Weber Genesis Gold C natural gas grill is fantastic. I have been purely a charcoal man up until recently and my Weber One Touch Silver has served me well for about 8 years now . Charcoal snob might be a more accurate description. I have always thought, and still do, that food tastes better cooked over charcoal as opposed to gas. However, gas grills have some advantages that even a charcoal snob can’t deny and when I recently moved in to a new house I decided that I wanted it all, charcoal AND gas.

So what are these advantages I mentioned? For starters I think gas is a lot easier. There were plenty of times we didn’t grill just because it is a lot of hassle to build and tend a fire just to cook enough food for 2 people. With my Weber Genesis Gold C you just turn it on, let it heat up, and cook away. No trouble at all. I also think that a gas grill gives someone who is not a grill master a lot better control of the heat and a lot more options. Once you build a fire you are kind of locked in. You can move the coals around, but they are going to be as hot as you made them. With gas you can turn the heat up or down as well as turn off certain heating elements for indirect heating.

Specifications and Features

Compared to most charcoal grills the Weber Genesis Gold C is a beast. It measures 63 inches high, by 64.5 inches high, by 30 inches deep with the lid open. As far as cooking area, the primary cooking area is 424 square inches with a 112 square inch warming basket and a 75 inch warm up basket. The burners are made of stainless steel. There are three burners that bring heat to the entire cooking area. When you are shopping for any grill pay attention to the burner arrangement. Many grills offer a single burner shaped like an H. This may be cost effective but the H shape allows for hot and cool spots giving an uneven heat distribution. Weber’s 3 burner arrangement outputs as much as 36,000 BTU’s per hour. The Weber Genesis Gold C offers a crossover ignition system. I don’t know what crossover means but I can tell you how it works. You open the lid and turn on the burner with the lightning bolt picture on it. This is the one designated for igniting the grill. You turn that burner knob to the light position and hit the crossover ignition button. The instructions recommend you press the button several times. For me the grill has always lit on the first push.

I strongly considered the Weber Genesis Silver C. There are a few reasons why I went with the Gold C. What I consider the most substantive difference is the fact that the Gold C comes with stainless steel grates and flavorizer bars. A flavorizer bar covers the heating element. That way when the juices from your food drip down they don’t hit the burner directly. This reduces flare ups that make precision cooking harder, but still allows the juices to vaporize and flavor your food in the form of rising smoke. The fact that they are stainless steel, well that just means they are going to last longer and lengthen the amount of time before you need to replace them. The same goes for the grates, stainless is easier to clean and lasts longer. The Silver C offered these parts in coated cast iron. While cast iron is an excellent conductor of heat, it won’t hold up like stainless. The only other difference I noted between the Gold C and the Silver C is the hood. On the Silver C the hood is black and on the Gold C the hood is stainless. I didn’t mind the black. Stainless may look a bit better, but it wasn’t something I was interested in paying for.

The Weber Genesis Gold C also offers a side burner. This is something I was pretty excited about. We like to do some Wok cooking, but most people in the know seem to think that the average kitchen range does not offer the BTU’s necessary to really utilize the Wok. Good luck finding how many BTU’s are necessary. I did a lot of research and found a few references that said the bare minimum is 10,000. I have a 15,000 BTU burner on my range, but making pad thai on that makes the kitchen really hot and the whole house stinky. To my delight the Weber Genesis Gold C offers a respectable 12,000 BTU burner. You can imagine your own uses for it, but I can now do the hot, stinky cooking outside.

I feel like I have said quite a bit about features, but wait, there’s more. The Weber Genesis Gold C has a thermometer set into the hood, tool holder hooks on the side, and an enclosed cart. The front of the enclosed cart has stainless steel doors, which I must admit look pretty sharp. The entire setup is on wheels with two having locking casters. Finally, they give you a little cookbook. Now I have only made one recipe from it and it was good, but I think the best thing about the book is the cooking guide. Weber gives you basic instructions for cooking all kinds of meat and vegetables including how high to set the heat, whether to use direct or indirect heat, and how long to cook it. If you have been grilling for a long time you might know these things but since I am new to the gas grill I found it very helpful.

I opted for natural gas over liquid propane purely because I had an available natural gas hookup. The natural gas model come with a 10 foot flexible hose and now I never have to worry about tanks or running out of fuel.

My Experience

I have only had my grill for a few weeks but I have used it extensively, including four out of the last four days. I have cooked steaks, chicken, corn, and sausages. Every experience has been a total lack of hassle and delicious. Actually discovering grilled corn has been a particular treat. The grill heats up quickly and cooks the food evenly. It lights right away and if you don’t like how the food is cooking you can adjust the heat. I have actually never had good success with chicken on the charcoal grill. I always dry it out. After following the provided instructions, my chicken was cooked all the way through but was still nice and juicy.

Assembly

The instructions said 30 minutes for amateur assembly and 15 for professionals. Well I think it took us almost 90 minutes. It wasn’t hard, not at all, but 30 minutes may be for those who are assembly inclined. The directions were clear and the grill didn’t come in an unnecessarily large number of pieces which I very much appreciated. You can count on grilling within a reasonable amount of time after opening the box.

Conclusion

I haven’t said a single negative thing about the Weber Genesis Gold C and I don’t intend to. I think they retail for $649. I happened to have a 10% off coupon to Home Depot so I saved a few bucks. They were also nice enough to comp shipping to my house. I love it and I highly recommend it. I have grilled my family’s last four dinners on it and I have the next three all planned out.

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