The silver colored finish adds more glamour to it and it will definitely provide you with a fascinating grilling experience. The dimensions measure 56″L x 21″W x 44.4″H, which is great when compared with the competitive grills on the market. When taking the side burner into account, that cooking area quickly improves, totaling weber spirit 2 660 square inches. One of my key considerations when comparing grills is size. Power and usability are both important, but when it comes to outdoor cooking I like to be able to get a lot of food on the go at once. Perhaps it’s the inner caterer in me, but I like to feel like I’m able to get a spread on quickly.
Luckily, this grill from Char-Broil comes with 500 square inches of space, which is more than enough to cater for most of your grilling. When combined its neighboring side burner and drying rack, the total cooking area of it comes to 660 square inches. This generally means that the grill comes with a dedicated rotisserie burner; the motor and spit are usually purchased separately. A dedicated rotisserie burner is usually located on the back of the firebox, slightly above the cooking grates; some models use the grill’s main burner.
Electronic ignition system is powered by one AAA battery and offers fast and reliable burner lighting with the push of a button, . When not in use, the lid folds down to protect the burner and offers incremental work or prep space. I love cooking outdoors over live fire and smoke whatever the weather, using various grills, smokers, and wood-fired ovens to produce epic food. My goal with this site is to help as many people as possible enjoy and be good at doing the same. On many lower-cost grills, all you get is a tiny bucket that you hope the grease will drain into.
We spatchcocked a whole chicken, cut it in half and seasoned each half with Kosher salt and black pepper. Then we turned off two or four burners, depending on how many burners each grill had, and cooked the chicken with indirect heat by putting the chicken on the unlit burners for 30 minutes. When the leg and thigh were cooked through, we transferred the chicken to the lit burner and crisped up the skin until it was golden brown. We put four beef hamburgers on each quadrant of the cooking grate to determine whether the grill was hotter in the back, sides or front. We seared the burgers for three minutes, turned them and using a digital meat thermometer, cooked them to medium-rare, between 140°F and 145°F.
The Char-Broil Performance XL has a classic look with its stainless steel design and black detail. Grill grates above the five stainless steel Blackstone Adventure burners are made of a rust-resistant porcelain-coated cast iron. A temperature gauge on the lid displays the grill’s interior temperature.
These Beta Test Program Terms constitute a binding agreement between you and Ace Hardware Corporation (“Ace” OR “we” OR “us”). Gene Gerrard was recently voted as one of the top five personal chefs in Los Angeles. He created About.com’s Meat and Wild Game Cooking website and published hundreds of recipes, interviews, cookbook reviews and blog posts about food trends. Gene is also a professional magician, and when he’s not writing for Your Best Digs, he’s performing at the World Famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. At half the price of the Weber we tested, the Char-Broil – Performance is a fantastic value for this well-made and sturdy grill that we believe will last you several grilling seasons. Grease-management system, again similar to Char-Broil’s, in which a tapered pan forces the grease to drip into a tray with a replaceable foil inset.
If you’re looking for a midrange grill that’s easy to operate, cooks well and looks good, too, the Char-Broil Performance XL is a great choice. I’ve always been a fan of grills with porcelain-coated grates as this coating helps distribute heat evenly across its cooking surface. I’ve found this particularly useful for longer forms of cooking (i.e. not just searing), as it helps reduce uneven hot and cold spots across your grill. Primary cooking grates made of stainless-steel are generally sturdier than those made of coated steel and resist rust even without a porcelain coating.
A well-made and sturdy grill, the Char-Broil Performance series holds its own against the more expensive Weber. With consistent heat distribution, the Char-Broil can sear steak and burgers and also slowly cook chicken to juicy and crispy perfection. Next, we heated the grills back up to 500°F and seared one-inch-thick New York strip steaks on both sides for three minutes. We then lowered the heat and continued to cook them, turning frequently, until the digital meat thermometer hit 135°F. We took the steaks off the grill and allowed them to rest 10 minutes before cutting into them.
This grill seemed to cook a bit gentler and left the burgers without a tasty char, but the centers were a consistent medium well. The burgers finished within an average of 2 minutes, 49 seconds of one another. The Char-Broil Performance XL is a well-priced five-burner option for beginners and season grillers alike. If a signature is required please inspect your package carefully before signing for it.
The vast majority of grills place it on the hood, where it can’t accurately gauge the temperature of the meat cooking inside. You’ll likely still need to use a meat thermometer even with this to make sure the internal temperature of your meat is within a safe range. The maintenance of this char broil 2-burner gas grill will be a real hassle. What I can’t speak to is how well it will hold up over multiple grilling seasons. We tested smaller, more expensive grills like the Weber Spirit II E-310 and didn’t find them nearly as adept at cooking whole chickens, racks of ribs or burgers.