Suggestions please - Performer or 26" for my B.I.L.??


 
K

Ken C.

New member
Ok, so after many years my BIL made mention of his gas grill being worn out & mentioned (jokingly) that he'd be willing to trade it to me for one of my weber kettles - he even mentioned he is tired of the "gas flavor"! Long story short, if I had any black kettles I'd give him one but since mine are all "collectables" there ain't no way! The family is going to pitch in and buy him a new Weber kettle. I was originally going for a Performer Platinum but while looking at that, sitting right next to it was a 26" kettle.

Now he is known for having a dinner party or two and I started thinking a 26"er might be the thing given the extra capacity but then read somewhere they use a lot of charcoal. He wouldn't be cooking for groups as much as just for his family and mostly it's just he and his wife. I'm thinking with the bigger kettle he could just use the same amount of charcoal for say a steak, 'tater & corn that would be used in the 22" kettle but would it cook the same? Having never cooked one one before I'm looking for experienced input!

Thanks!
 
I say Performer. I have a 26" but rarely use it. It does come in real handy when cooking for a group though and the charcoal use is not a lot more than on a 22.75" but it is more. If he needs extra capacity on the Performer he could add a hover grill or look on Craiglist for a used Silver or OTG.
 
For me the 26 is really great. I can smoke and grill from an amburget up to 22 lgs porknshoulder, from 10 min to 19 hours smoking action. Really multi tasking!
 
Ken,

I love the performer as well, but I would look at his current gas grill that he is replacing and see how big it is and how he uses it the most. By cooking surface, is he using it all up most of the time or does he have plenty of room. Then compare it to the cooking surface of the two kettles.

This should give you a better idea of what he would get the most benefit from.

If he isn't cooking for those big parties much, then the performer should be fine. And he can always add a warmer rack to give a little more room if he needs it
 
You state that your BIL wants to switch from gas to charcoal. For those of us that use charcoal we don't even think about the difficulty of using charcoal vs gas. Your BIL may find charcoal messy, hard to light, and difficult to control temps. However, enter the Platinum Performer with it's gas assist and one touch clean out, also the ability to cook direct or indirect. Once you use the table on the performer you'll never want to be without it. Since your BIL mostly cooks for himself and his wife room is not an issue.
I hope I've made a case for the Platinum Performer.
Bill
 
I'd go with the Performer. I'm just holding out another year to see if Weber will come out with a 26.75" Performer - I'd get that in a minute.

If you're planning any trip to the Monterey area, let me know. I've got an older black kettle in decent shape that I'd give to someone that needs it.
 
Performer it is! I should have quantified that he grew up on charcoal as I did but switched to gas as a convenience when his kids were growing. We always did charcoal when we did full-family GTG's at his dad's house. He is ready to come back to "the fold"! I went back to look at the 26" and I just saw too many issues with the wimpy legs and how unwieldy the lid is, plus no work table.

I found that Crate & Barrel still has BLUE Platinums for sale... It will be here next Tuesday!

Now my biggest problem is I want one too!!! (And yes, if the Weber folks are listening I'd be all over a 26" performer!)
 
Pete in PG said:
If you're planning any trip to the Monterey area, let me know. I've got an older black kettle in decent shape that I'd give to someone that needs it.
Click to expand...

Hmm my son has been trying to glom onto one of mine... I may be I touch. Thanks for the offer!
 
I had a 26 inch once, but have now been cooking on a 22 inch Performer for about 20 years. There are so few times that I've needed more grill space. Just no an issue. The gas start, the one-touch ash removal, and the work table are fantastic.
 
I have three gassers and two charcoal grills and a mini, if I had to go down to one it would be the performer because it can do anything the others can do. It's just about as easy to use as a gasser and can do L&S like the mini.
 
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