Recently I was in the market for a new grill. My old one had bit the dust and because it was an off-brand I wasn't successful in finding parts that seemed to work well with it. So I decided to get a new one.

I looked at a lot of different grills, trying to decide what I wanted this time. There are a lot of options! There have been a lot of improvements in grill technology since the last time I bought a grill.

I knew that I wanted a propane grill, because often it's nice to just turn that propane on, cook what you want to cook, and be done. And since I like to grill a lot during the summer, that was important to me.

But I had also wondered about a charcoal grill. A bit more work, but worth the effort.

Then I saw the Char Griller 5050 Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill. That intrigued me. It has a 3 burner full-size gas grill for grilling with propane. AND it has a full-size charcoal grill. AND you can purchase an additional side firebox to connect to the charcoal grill for smoking or true barbecue (Texas style, as my son says). That was good enough for me. I could do almost any kind of grill cooking that I wanted!

In total you get 1260 inches of cooking space. The charcoal grill has an adjustable-height charcoal grate and dampers for controlling heat. There is also an easy to dump ash pan that makes cleaning up quick and easy. The gas grill has electronic ignition, three burners (40,800 BTUs) and a 12,000 BTU side burner as well.

I also like to do Dutch oven cooking, and sometimes I don't have time to go out to the fire pit and get briquettes going there (or a fire), and tend it while I do my Dutch oven cooking. That's partly because my fire pit is a little ways from the house and so needs to tended while being used. So I realized that I could remove the grills from the charcoal chamber, put my briquettes there and could also do Dutch oven cooking right there in the grill. Four ways to cook in one grill.

Of course you can also get a rotisserie kit to fit in the grill, so that made 5 ways to cook on the Char Griller 5050 Duo.

So that's what I decided to get. And it's been great. During the week, when I have less time, I use the propane grill, or start briquettes and put them in the charcoal grill and use my Dutch oven. And on the weekend, when I have more time, I have barbecued ribs and brisket using the side firebox. The results were absolutely delicious. Even had the whole family over and smoked a whole bunch of ribs for them.

A couple of downsides that I've discovered: The grill is HEAVY. Not a problem if you don't plan on moving it around much. This grill isn't one to load into the back of the pickup and take anywhere else for use. It's a good size grill, as well, measuring 60" long. I've also found that the area in the charcoal grill that is right next to where the side firebox is connected tends to get a lot more heat than the area further away. Rotating the ribs (or whatever you are cooking) handled that pretty well.

I assembled mine from the box which took a couple of hours. The instructions were very clear and didn't have any problems at all. There are a couple of times when you'll need some to help you, particularly when you are attaching the side firebox.

So far, I've immensely enjoyed using the Char Griller 5050 Duo model. This is a great grill if you like the flexibility to cook outdoors in a variety of ways. If you just want a gas grill, or just a charcoal grill, Char Griller has those also.
If you are in the market for a new grill, I recommend you consider the Char Griller 5050 Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill.

What to Do:

• Click here to see more information or purchase this grill.
• The side firebox is separate and can be purchased here.
• Make sure you protect your investment by getting a Char Griller Duo Gas Charcoal Grill cover as well, or
• Protect whatever type of grill you have with a grill cover