Spending the weekend with family or friends is such a memorable moment. This is even more wonderful, especially if you have BBQ dishes prepared by a grill to enjoy with your beloved ones.

In order to meet your demands and get the best value for your money, you need to take into account some essential factors to ensure that you choose the best grills under 500. Are you confused to choose one due to the many options in the market? We’re sure you will be, so here we present the best grills under 500 consumer reports.

There are several critical factors to look for when deciding to buy a grill.

Best Grills Under 500 Consumer Reports – What Factors You Need To Consider?

Size of the Grills

There are a variety of size options for you to opt for when it comes to the grills’ size. It is also one of the key things to consider when buying a grill.

If the grill is used individually, you can get a compact device. However, if you are looking for a grill to use for beloved people gatherings or outdoor parties, we recommend that you should purchase a large grill.  

You need to think carefully about the number of people you want to feed when buying a grill. Both small-size and big-size grills offer you a wide range of prices to choose from.

Capacity/ Cooking Area

The cooking area is one of the main factors that you need to consider before purchasing a grill.

Nowadays, there are a wide variety of grills with different capacities. The size of the grill’s cooking surface will determine the number of people that you can feed.

In case you want to feed a family of six, you should consider a grill offering a cooking space of 250 sq inches.

On the other hand, for social events, get-togethers, and parties, you should consider a 450-to- 500-square- inch grill and larger cooking space.

Material

If you are finding a grill that lasts long with time, you should choose one that is made of stainless steel material. This material protects the design from fading or rusting with time.

A grill made from these materials is durable and robust. Thus, when shopping for a grill, never forget to check its material.

Type of Grills

Gas Grills: This type of grill goes with many features such as a pullout grease tray, and gliding drawers for storing utensils and condiments.

You can decide between small gas grills for holding 18 burger patties or mid-sized grills large enough to feed 18-24 burgers because you will pay for these grills under $500.

Charcoal Grills: Besides adjusting the air intake and fumes, a charcoal grill can stabilize and maintain your desired temperature throughout the cooking process; suppose there is good charcoal to keep it running at that temperature.

A charcoal grill is simple to utilize, and foodies crave the smoky, rich flavor which charcoal imparts. This type of grill is quite affordable, ranging from $50 to $400 for most budgets.

Kamado Grills: Like charcoal grills, kamado grills depend on the airflow to regulate heat. Kamado has two categories: ceramic and non-ceramic. Ceramic grills are heavier, with inch-thick walls.

By contrast, non-ceramic grills tend to weigh less and are more flexible. The price of the Kamado grills is higher compared to other grills.

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Price of grills

The prices of grills vary, ranging from $100 to more than $1000, contingent on their capacity and brand. Their main functions consist of heating systems and barbecuing. Nonetheless, additional highlights such as defrosting and explicit food preparation can add to the value, which can go as high as over $600.

Checking the price of a grill you want to own is a necessary task. If you are a person on a budget, it is compulsory to check for grills under $500. 

Some Of The Best Grills Under 500 

These are some of the best grills under 500 you can consider.

1. King-Griller Smokin’ Ace 30-in Black Charcoal Barrel Grills
2. Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Charcoal Grills
3. NORTHFIRE Inferno Single Propane Infrared Grill
4. Weber 44020001 Spirit II E-210 2-Burner Liquid Propane Grill
5. Fuego F24C Professional Propane Gas Grill

Conclusion

Overall, grills are an excellent choice for people who love enjoying a healthy grilled meal. Having a grill around can save you time and energy when it comes to BBQ parties.

With the best grills under 500 consumer reports, you can quickly make a decision to purchase the one that suits you best.

Good luck with your purchase, and see you in our next posts!

You do not know how to use Oklahoma Joe smoker. Then, it becomes a useless bulky thing even when you choose the best and most expensive product on the market.

But there is no need to worry much about it. Our user guide will help throw your trouble away.

How to use Oklahoma Joe smoker? 

In comparison with other types like kettle grills, smoker grills are more complex to use. However, with proper usage, the device can deliver surprisingly tasty results. 

Now, let’s follow the simple seven-step instruction below to make it real!

Step 1: Setting Up Temperature

225°F is an ideal temperature that you should keep it stable when grilling.

Cheaply-made smoker grills with only one temperature probe often require you to track the temperature fluctuation carefully. It is not a story for the Oklahoma Joe versions due to their a couple of digital temp probes. 

We suggest you drill a small hole at the position near the cooking chamber’s end. The closer the hole is to the food, the more excellent results you will get. 

Step 2: Firing Up the Grill With Charcoal

With this step, all the food that you are about to grill must be ready. Especially for meat, frozen meat can absorb smoke better than the room-temperature one. 

Next, use a chimney starter to light all the charcoal needed. If the coal is not available, the wood will be the best supplement. Both of them give you excellent food flavors. However, wood fires may leave some ash on the meat. 

In general, the second step can take you about 15 minutes.

Step 3: Controlling the Oxygen Intake

The oxygen intake is an important part that helps the smoker run as a heat maker. The better you can control the flow of oxygen, the more stable your Oklahoma Joe smoker’s temperature will be. 

Firstly, you keep two baffles, including the intake baffle and chimney baffle, fully opened. Secondly, add some fuel into the smoker, wait for it to heat up, and then adjust the baffles. Then, filling the firefox with coals will be the next step. And you add the meat into the smoker only when the temp reaches the desired level. 

Unlike the baffle, both the firebox door should be closed to reduce the temperature fluctuation. 

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Step 4: Maintaining the Temperature

In Step 3, we have already mentioned two baffles that will do different functions to maintain the temperature. The heat is under the control of the intake baffle while the baffle at the chimney controls the smoke. When the temperature starts to decrease, it is time to replenish the smoker with coals. 

Step 5: Adding Flavor by Wood Chunks

As for wood chunks, it will be better to choose large pieces for smoking instead of small chips. For every cooking cycle, about one or two pieces are adequate to infuse smoke into the meat. 

Moreover, if you love to add more tasty flavors into the meat, some wood types like hardwoods and fruitwoods come as potential options. Plus, soaking wood chunks is unnecessary before adding coals since moisture can affect the burning coal. 

Step 6: Adding Some Moisture

In this step, you can add some moisture to gain a deliciously smoky taste without affecting the burning coal. 

You can do the step in two ways.

The first way is to use a metal frame on the coal layer along with a water pan. The steam from the pan will provide the extra moisture for smoke and then for the meat.

In case that the meat dries out while smoking, the second way will be worth trying. You can spray some mineral water or fruit juice into the meat to keep it juicy and add some additional flavors. 

How to Clean the Oklahoma Joe Smoker

Even when your Oklahoma Joe smoker comes with high quality, it cannot last for long without proper care. And cleaning properly and regularly is one of the most important things to lengthen its lifespan.

Maintenance

After smoking, it is a must to remove all of the ashes on the smoker. If you skip this step, the ashes, along with humidity, will cause the rust for days. So, you should wait for the ashes to cool and sweep them out. 

Then, you moisten a cloth with warm water and wipe sauces and marinade left on the smoker. For grates, you can use a nylon bristle brush to clean them up. 

Also, in the cooking chamber, there may be some grease off the meat. In this case, a four-inch putty knife can help. In terms of starting-rust spots, buffing with some high-temperature cooking oil will be the best solution. 

Cleaning

Now, we turn to a deep and thorough cleaning task.

A clean burn is an optional solution in which you use a kitchen torch to burn off all the residues left. You must keep the smoker away from combustible materials during this step.

The cleaning will be more efficient with warm water and degreaser detergents (if needed). Next, you let it air dry. 

Tips for Smoking With Oklahoma Joe Smoker

In this final section, we would like to share with you some useful tips. After reading this article, let’s give them a try and you will see surprising results. 

• Don’t over smoke: While cooking, you had better maintain a thin white or blueish smoke to make the perfect meat color. 
• Spray to keep moist: As we mentioned above, you can spritz apple juice or cider vinegar to retain the meat juiciness. But with too much moisture, the top layer of spice will be washed away. 
• Calculate smoking time: There is no need to prepare a clock. We recommend you use one wood chunk for every hour of cooking.
• Don’t peek: Opening the lid will lengthen the cooking time. Consequently, it may affect the perfection of the smoked food for both taste and color. 
• Use peach butcher paper: This tip is to keep the moisture of the meat while smoking. You wrap the meat with an FDA approved peach butcher paper and place it again inside the smoker. 
• Use a water pan: Filling an aluminum foil pan with water and putting it into the smoker will help keep the temperature between 225 to 275°F.
• Use a marinade injector: You use this tool to inject the meat with beef or chicken broth. 
• Collect dripping: Never waste the marinade sauce dropping on the grill. You can use it later for gravy or au jus sauce.

Conclusion

Do you have any question about how to use Oklahoma Joe smoker? If you do, we are willing to give you tons of helpful answers, then.

In this guide, we have walked you through usage, maintenance, and tips for better use. Let’s explore and try them together!

How exciting it is to wait for your picture sharing of tasty smoking meat with amazing Oklahoma smokers! See you all with dozens of fascinating topics!

You must have been looking for the Pit Boss Smoker Reviews as there are too many options to choose from the reliable household brand – Pit Boss. This company is indeed a giant in the grilling community, always making its customers tip their hat for providing them with high-quality and reasonable smokers.

A smoker is a significant investment to make, and Pit Boss has provided us with a wide range of first-hand smokers. Yet, we are going to cover the review for the PIT BOSS 77435 Smoker as we believe it will be a trustworthy and convenient partner for you.

Let’s get into the major parts!

Is Pit Boss Worth Buying? 

Many customers seem quite hesitant when being recommended the Pit Boss smokers as there are dozens of reputed household appliance brands in the market. Yet, we can assure you that choosing Pit Boss for an affordable and convenient pellet grill will be the wisest decision you have ever made.

Specifically, this well-known manufacturer offers better value for money and more elegant design than any other company. Although each model is guaranteed to be made from the finest and most durable material, it still holds a favorable price, which has pleased many high-demand buyers.

Especially, Pit Boss is the leading firm in manufacturing smokers with a vertical shape, which has brought about a lot of advantages. Not only giving the smoker a unique look, but this vertical design also requires less wood to burn as the capacity is 40 pounds only.

Pit Boss is the sole corporation that applies the frame broiler technology in every smoking model for a more extensive and more optimal grilling process.

In terms of the warranty, no other brand can compete with Pit Boss when it offers up to 5 years warranty, as long as you’ve followed all the registration forms and procedures.

Pit Boss Smoker Reviews 

Undoubtedly, the Pit Boss’s line up is remarkably preeminent. Yet, after hours of combing product comparisons, customer reviews, and queries, we eventually chose the PIT BOSS 77435 Smoker as our last option to be present in our pit boss vertical smoker reviews. 

Let’s see what criteria make this product stand out to us!

1. Temperature Range

A smoker would be useless if it didn’t provide a sufficient heat range for the grilling process, and that’s why we will examine this machine’s temperature scale first.

The dual valve system equipped in this item makes it one of the most efficient smokers in maintaining a consistent temperature. Concretely, for the wood chips, the system includes a 3500 BTU burner, yet the number would go up to 10,000 BTU regarding the cabinet.

Generally, you can enjoy your cooking in the temperature range of between 100 – 350 °F. It is ideal to keep your smoker around 225 °F, and the single-knob control would handle that for you without any hassle.

2. Cooking Area

The PIT BOSS 77435 Smoker lies in the top products that provide the largest cooking area, up to 800 sq. This large space is divided into 4 grilling trays and 3 of them are porcelain-coated.

Compared to other items whose cooking area is just around 660 sp, this smoker is such a bargain.

3. Convenience

There are many utilities in this machine that would please even the grumpiest purchasers.

You will no longer have to withstand the peek-a-boo cooking as the large viewing window makes the monitoring more accessible than ever. However, do not touch this glass surface unless you want to get burnt. 

Adding wood or coals won’t be a problem anymore as the front-loading slide-out tray provides external access to the woodchip drawer, enabling simple loading and refueling.

The construction is assumed to be not only super enduring but also light and easy to assemble. It is doable by yourself to attach all the parts and also fix them properly. Even though you are not an expert, the detailed instruction will always be ready to ease your struggle.

What is more, this smoker is easy-peasy to clean, and busy or lazy shoppers have always appreciated that. Porcelain grates often take time to clean, yet you can easily wash away all the stubborn stains by soaking the trays in lukewarm water and soap. Then, all the leftovers and oil would be cleaned up right away.

You won’t have to worry that the coat would degrade once you put it in the water and rub as this device is facilitated with a protective coating, which prevents dust and damage to the machine.

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4. Portability

According to recent buyers’ records, this item is portable enough to transport around your backyard or a park as it tips the scale at only 52 pounds, a piece of cake with a man to carry. To make the maneuverability more effective, the rear wheels and handle are implemented to enable you to drag the device anywhere you desire.

Conclusion 

The PIT BOSS 77435 Smoker is such an excellent representative of the Pit Boss Vertical Smoker as it delivers exceptional temp range, cooking area, convenience, and portability.

So we hope you can grasp a better understanding after our Pit Boss Smoker Reviews and let your wisdom in shopping manage the rest.

Thank you for your time and see you in the next post!