I’d like to have something propane fueled since it’s easy to setup and clean but I could be convinced to go another way.

Not interested in the newer griddle-style cooktops, having an insert would be nice but I don’t want to be stuck with it as my only option.

Doesn’t need to be fancy or super large, I’d think just about anything larger than the classic clamshell grills would work fine.

Also, anyone had experience with natural gas grills? I’ve wondered what it would be like to have a grill you’d need to “plug in” to a natural gas line a plumber would install for the purpose. Seems like it would save a lot of headache with buying and storing propane tanks and it would also allow me to hookup a generator if the need arose.

For this I think the answer is Weber. You can get replacement parts easily and I assume a natural gas conversion kit for any of their propane models. There is a small performance difference with natural gas but it's infinitely more convenient

Seconding Weber.

It's not the only good brand out there. But no matter what type of grill or grill-adjacent hardware, Weber is safe for BIFL.

My Weber charcoal grill is second-hand, from a friend who really didn't take care of it. But even after years of abuse, it's still in great shape without any rust. I didn't even need to replace the grate, just thoroughly clean it.

My Weber smoker is 15+ years old. When a handle on the door came loose, they sent me a whole new replacement door at no charge (since the handle isn't intended to come off).

I had a propane grill with a natural gas conversion and hookup at one point. Really nice not having to worry about whether there's enough gas in the propane tank. No discernable difference I could see between cooking on propane vs. natural gas.

I have no idea what it costs to set that up though, that natural gas line setup was already in that house when we moved in. I would have looked into it for my current house, except I'd switched to charcoal before I moved here. Love the flavour of charcoal, but convenient it ain't.

Weber is a great brand. I personally run charcoal. It takes 30m to heat up, but that’s often enough time to knockout any prep and do a once through on cleaning.

Another Weber vote here. Bought my first grill, a Genesis (E-335 if I’m not mistaken), nearly 17 years ago. I’ve fed it replacement parts here & there, but haven’t had to spend more than $300 on maintaining the thing this entire time.

We have a propane Weber Go Anywhere grill from the 1990s that's still in perfect shape, and we were able to upgrade to third-party griddle cooktops.

The Australian market has ones that can correct directly to natural gas without a kit, so might be worth looking at overseas shops if there too if only propane and conversion kits are available.

BBQ grill or kitchen oven grill?

If BBQ I have been thinking the best choice is to just get a replacement grill top for any reasonably decent BBQ and then dry stack some bricks to place it on.

Just thought you might want to know this exists - I imagine it might exist in English sites too?

https://varuste.net/en/p46719/muurikka-electric-smoker-1200w

Now you can get smokey flavors if you want to and don't need a fuel source

I've got natural gas, and will never go back to fighting with propane tanks.

Weber is probably your best gas grill option, but spend the money on their high-end line. A fair competitor would be Napoleon.

Alternatively, abandon gas and get a Big Green Egg. It'll outlast your grandchildren.

Lmao, I love that it’s called the “Murica” but no, I hadn’t seen that option before.

Man I’ve considered all of those options but… they just take so much commitment lol. My first grill was a cheap one that rusted out in a few years and my second was given to me that’s just died. Now I need to buy a big-boy grill and stick with it and can’t figure out what to decide haha.

How fiddly is the natural gas? Do you have to worry about line length or special cleanings or anything like that?

It is really funny, especially since I used to live in the USA and had never seen a grill like that 😂

So I guess you can count that as a bonus for it when someone asks you what kind of grill/smoker you have.

Instead of just the usual Weber, you can say it's a 'Murica 🔫🎆🦅🦅🦅🎆🔫*

*ᴹᵃᵈᵉ ᶦⁿ ᶠᶦⁿˡᵃⁿᵈ 🇫🇮

There's absolutely no fiddling.

You will likely need to get the thing connected by a licensed gas fitter. In the spring or after a long rest, you're supposed to check to make sure that spiders haven't nested in the burner inlet tube. (This is true as well for propane.)

With propane you'll want a second tank so you donpt run out mid-cook. Even with a spare tank though, when it runs out you usually don't notice until the grill starts to cool off, and screws up your timing.

For gas grills, I'm 100% on the natural gas side of the fence.