Thank you for those insights. Very helpful in making my decision.
And yes, when I started looking into infrared I was searching BBQGUYS and the one I saw that looked awesome was this
Broilmaster R3N. And it came in under $1500 which is near the top of what I was looking to spend, but something I would consider. But when I look into it further… this grill did not have any side tables, and from what I can see no underneath storage. If I add side tables, a cover, and maybe some type of outdoor storage I am getting out of budget. And, I’ve never used infrared so I would be worried about spending so much on something I’m not sure I like. And the next step up in infrared from that grill cost well over $2K.
In the end I am most likely going to get a standard 3 burner grill with no bells and whistles. No side burner. No rotisserie. I’ll probably end up doing all kinds of research, over-analyze things, re-think, second guess… then just go out and get a 3 burner Weber. I’ve just accepted that the over-analyzing is part of my process!
Right now I am looking at the Weber Spirt E-310 and the Napoleon Rogue 3 burner (or Rogue XT). I like the stainless steel sear plates on the Napoleon. There is one brand I am not familiar with that I am considering and was wondering if anyone has any experience with. I was also looking at the
Broil-King Monarch 320. It seems heavy duty. I like the stainless-steel Dual-Tube burners. I also think the Flav-R-Wave flavorizer bars looks nice too. I also like that you can just rest a smoker box on them. But I’ve never even seen one in person or known anyone that has one.
One more question. Any preference between cast iron grates vs. stainless steel grates? I really wish I could get a standard 3 burner, no extras, with stainless steel grates. But as soon as you make it up to a stainless steel grate model with just about any grill maker, it is part of their higher end line and has the extras I don’t necessarily want. And, is more expensive. But I cook on cast iron grates now and I like them so… I’m not sure it’s a big deal anyway.