Those Napoleon grills look really great.
Peter, you may WANT a decent grill for $300 - just like we all WANT M60's to cost $500. I shopped this issue pretty hard last year (although I did not come up with the Napoleon brand, apparently due to distribution deficiencies). For the options I had, I don't think you can do better than a Weber.
We subscribe to Cook's Illustrated. It is expensive, but it is a great magazine. The test they did was very thorough and informative. I will not assert it "science" but it was compelling. They liked the Weber silver a lot - high, even heat.
I still have a 22" Weber kettle that I have been using for charcoal for about 15 years. It is awesome. There is nothing like charcoal for ultimate control and intense heat. But for convenience and scale, you can't beat gas.
I ended up with a Weber Gold B. I would have gotten the Silver series and been delighted, but we ended up running a new natural gas line in our new house for the stove, and well, while we're at it, let's just go ahead and have natural gas on the patio for the BBQ too. Since I made the commitment to Natural Gas, I would have had to special order just about ANY grill (the LP and NG grills use fundamentally different burners). I found a good deal on a floor model for the NG Gold B and snapped it up.
I like the use of stainless for the grills, flavorizer bars and top of the Gold series. I doubt they work "better", but they do exude a pure sense of purpose that I enjoy. Until I learn more about what I might be missing, I feel pretty confident that I did not pay for diminishing marginal returns. I would not consider a more costly grill, but feel happy that I spent what I did.
A couple of observations: First, charcoal burns hotter than LP gas which burns hotter than NG. Bummer for me. Since I mostly grill beef, I could have used the extra heat, but it is still pretty great. The convenience of being able to get "started" that quickly is something I really appreciate. It is just much faster, with overall much less maintenance than either charcoal or LP.
That being said, I'm spoiled. Few people will have the option to use NG. And the purist in me KNOWS that charcoal is really "better", but it is a compromise I make in order to have more time and to use the grill more often.
Whether NG or LP, you can impart excellent smoke flavor by employing a pouch of hard wood chips. I put about a cup of apple wood chips (my favorite, and yes, I do think it makes a difference) into a couple thicknesses of heavy duty foil. Then, I crimp up the foil around the edges so that it is a flat square about 3" across. Poke about 5 small holes in the top and bottom with the tip of a knife. Set it on the grill and close the lid about 7 minutes before you want to start cooking. When you start getting smoke, throw the meat on and close the lid again. It's NOT charcoal, but it is a pretty effective method.
Sorry for the long post. Most of you know all this already, I'm sure. It is something for which I have some passion, so I wanted to share my experience.
