About the Editor
My name is Frank W. Roberts. I’m 82 years old and retired, and I’ve been cooking over fire for more than 50 years. I have cooked on charcoal grills, gas grills, pellet grills, smokers, barrel cookers, and backyard setups that were not always fancy — but they had to work.
I do not accept corporate sponsorships, and I do not write fake fluff reviews. Everything Grill Reviews is built for regular backyard cooks who want to know whether a grill is actually worth buying before they spend their money.
I use my lifetime of backyard cooking experience, real owner feedback, product specifications, warranty information, setup reports, and long-term complaint patterns to judge each grill as honestly as I can.
When I review a grill, I am not trying to make every product sound wonderful. Some grills are good. Some are average. Some are overpriced. Some have design problems that shoppers deserve to know about before they buy.
How I Review Grills
Not every grill on this site is personally owned or tested in my backyard. That would be expensive, and I believe readers deserve honesty about that.
When I have hands-on experience with a grill or similar cooking setup, I use that experience in the review. When I have not personally cooked on a specific model, I research it carefully before writing. I look for patterns from real owners instead of relying only on manufacturer claims.
For every review, I study:
Manufacturer specifications
Cooking space and grate size
Heat range and heat control
Smoke production
Searing ability
Fuel usage
Assembly difficulty
Cleanup and grease management
Owner complaints
Positive owner feedback
Warranty coverage
Customer service reports
Replacement part availability
Long-term durability concerns
Whether the grill is a good value for the price
My goal is simple: help you decide whether that grill fits the way you actually cook.
What I Look For in a Grill
A good grill should do more than look nice in a product photo. It should cook well, hold heat, be reasonably easy to use, and make sense for the money.
When I judge a grill, I pay close attention to these areas.
Build Quality
I look at the materials, lid fit, cart strength, grates, wheels, shelves, firebox design, paint or coating, and whether owners report rust, warping, leaks, or broken parts.
A grill does not have to be expensive to be good, but it should feel like it can survive normal backyard use.
Heat Control
Good heat control matters whether you are smoking ribs, grilling burgers, cooking chicken, or trying to hold a steady temperature for a long cook.
I look for reports about temperature swings, hot spots, cold zones, slow recovery after opening the lid, and how well the grill performs in real weather.
Smoke Flavor
For pellet grills and smokers, smoke flavor is a major part of the review. Some pellet grills are easy to use but produce lighter smoke. Some charcoal and offset cookers produce stronger flavor but require more attention.
I try to explain what kind of smoke flavor a buyer should realistically expect.
Searing Ability
A lot of grills claim they can sear, but not all of them do it well. I look at maximum temperature, direct flame access, grate design, burner strength, charcoal bed control, and owner reports about steaks, burgers, and chops.
If a grill is better for low-and-slow cooking than searing, I say that clearly.
Ease of Use
A grill should not make a simple cook feel like a repair job. I look at startup, controls, pellet feeding, ash cleanup, grease trays, charcoal access, air vents, app controls, and how hard it is for a normal person to use the grill without frustration.
Cleanup
Cleanup matters more than most shoppers think. A grill that cooks well but makes every cleanup miserable may not be fun to own.
I look at ash removal, grease management, removable trays, grate cleanup, pellet dust, charcoal mess, and whether owners complain about difficult maintenance.
Value for the Money
The most expensive grill is not always the best choice. I look at what the buyer actually gets for the price.
A grill can earn a good rating if it delivers strong performance for the money, even if it is not perfect. A high-priced grill can lose points if it has cheap parts, poor support, or common design complaints.
My Rating System
I use a 1 to 5 rating system to keep reviews simple and easy to understand.
5.0 — Excellent
A grill in this range is one I consider easy to recommend. It still may not be perfect, but it performs very well for the right buyer.
4.0 to 4.9 — Good to Very Good
These grills are usually strong choices with a few tradeoffs. Most good backyard grills fall into this range.
3.0 to 3.9 — Average or Buyer-Specific
These grills may work for some people, but they usually have clear drawbacks. I try to explain who should consider them and who should skip them.
2.0 to 2.9 — Hard to Recommend
A grill in this range has enough problems that most shoppers should be careful unless the price is very low or the grill fits a very specific need.
Below 2.0 — Not Recommended
These are grills I would be very cautious about recommending because of poor value, weak design, bad owner feedback, or serious reliability concerns.
Who Should Buy and Who Should Skip
Every review should answer two important questions:
Who is this grill right for?
And who should avoid it?
A grill that is great for one person may be wrong for another. A beginner may want simple controls and easy cleanup. A serious backyard smoker may care more about smoke flavor and steady low temperatures. A family may need more cooking space. Someone cooking on a patio may need a compact grill.
That is why I include buyer-focused sections whenever possible, including:
Who should buy it
Who should skip it
Best uses
Biggest drawbacks
Better alternatives when needed
Affiliate Disclosure
Some links on Everything Grill Reviews may be affiliate links. If you buy through one of those links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
That does not change my opinion. My goal is to help you buy the right grill, not push the most expensive one.
If a grill has problems, I will say so. If a cheaper grill makes more sense than a costly one, I will say that too.
My Promise to Readers
I write for regular backyard cooks, not corporate marketing departments.
My promise is simple:
I will do my best to give you practical, honest, buyer-first grill reviews based on real cooking knowledge, careful research, and common sense.
Before you spend your money, I want you to know what a grill does well, where it falls short, and whether it truly fits your backyard cooking style.