The Cost of Grilling
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 9:01AM It's true that I have more money invested in my BBQ pits than I ever did in a gas grill. And when I'm asked for advice on a grill/ smoker purchase, folks often cringe at the cost of the cooker that I like to recommend ( The Big Green Egg).
But I've come to a conclusion about what grills cost. You see, before I stepped up to a quality grill/smoker I went through my share of gas grills. I bought cheap units from big box stores as well as stainless steel units from higher end shops.
When I spent $100 on a grill, it would last about a year before it was falling apart and needed to be replaced. When I spent $500 on a stainless steel grill, it lasted about five years before the cost of replacement burners and parts were more than it was worth. See what I'm getting at? Gas grills have an annual cost of ownership of about $100 and it really doesn't matter how much money you spend.
Sure, I've got approximately $800 invested in my large Big Green Egg. But it seems like this grill is going to have a much lower cost of ownership as I believe it's useful life will be much greater than any gas grill I've ever owned.
Of course if you factor in how much more cooking I do now vs. before, my meat costs have gone way up! =)
Cheers,
Braddog
Reader Comments (1)
I did the same rationalization when I spent $2,400 on a bicycle in 1995. That bike has well over 10,000 miles on it now so my per mile costs are way down! I feel the same way about the Egg, plus I use it more than my oven.