Think grilling is just about flipping a few steaks on the barbie? Sure, but with today’s tools of the trade you can also rotisserie, sear, sautŽ and sizzle to your taste buds’ content. To find out what’s hot this summer grilling season, we talked to local grill meisters about their top picks. We found everything from a cute baby grill to big gas giants. Read on to find out how you can make perfect grill lines, sear an ice-blue steak or turn out the best-cooked dog.

Little Grillin’ Buddy

Photo courtesy of Weber.

Cute! There’s no other word for the Weber Q 100 found at City Mill. This compact grill is super-portable—perfect for a small lanai or for transporting to beach cookouts or tailgate parties.

Small it may be, but this powerhouse is designed to provide all the firepower you need to grill big. Inside the Q 100 you’ll find 8,500 BTU-per-hour input, a stainless steel burner and a spacious 189-square-inches of cooking area.

While many portable grills have the solid flat surface of a griddle, the Q 100 is a true grill with open flames beneath the porcelain-enameled, cast-iron cooking grate. This futuristic looking grill wins raves for its super-fancy sear lines.

The Q 100 also sports a removable drip tray and push-button ignition. It uses disposable, 14.1-ounce liquid propane cylinders and comes with a limited five-year warranty. Weber Q 100, $159.98. City Mill 533-3811 (Honolulu store) or visit www.citymill.com.

Tools of the Flame

You’ve got the grill fired up, the steaks are marinated—now you just need the perfect accessories. Executive Chef stocks Outset BBQ Grillware, that offers high-end grillware products that will turn any outdoor cookout into a swanky affair.

Take the matchstick lighter. This is the perfect accessory for the grill master who has everything. Available in either seven or 14 inches, the matchstick lighter looks like, well, a matchstick—albeit a fancy one with a copper tip.

The rosewood hot dog grill must be the classiest way to cook hot dogs. Crafted from fine rosewood and stainless steel, you pop your dogs in, they cook to an even perfection, then you lift them off with the nifty, dog-shaped utensil.

Executive Chef also carries Outset’s nonstick copper skillet. Slice up your red peppers or portobello mushrooms and throw them in this fine-looking skillet. The holes let through the barbecue’s flavor, but stop your food from falling to certain charred death below the grill racks.

Outset BBQ Grillware, including matchstick lighter $8.95 for 7 inch, $9.95 for 14 inch; rosewood hot dog grill (small), $24.95; nonstick copper skillet, $37.95. Executive Chef at The Ward Warehouse, call 596-CHEF (2433) or visit www.executivechefonline.com.

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above: photo courtesy of Viking Range. below: TruSear Infrared Burner

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Serious Searing 

In true Viking Range style, the Ultra Premium gas grill promises to let you grill like a pro.

The VGIQ models carry Viking’s TruSear Infrared Burner, which will really put the sizzle in your barbecue. It can cook everything from thick steaks and chops to seafood and vegetables. The sear zone is so hot (30,000 BTUs) that it will quickly sear and caramelize the outside, leaving you with a nice, ice-blue, rare inside (if that’s what tickles your taste buds!).

The Ultra Premium grills are built from rugged stainless steel and come loaded with 25,000 BTU stainless steel burners, an infrared rotisserie burner, a warming rack, a removable smoker tray and a thermometer on the canopy that lets you know the best zones for warming, smoking and grilling.

There are easy-clean drip trays, and the heavy-duty cooking grids are porcelain-coated to prevent food from sticking.

Ultra Premium 41-inch grill, $3,800; 53-inch grill, $5,400; TruSear accessory only, $1,200. Viking Range Corp., call 845-8018 or visit www.vikingrange.com.

Big Grillin’

This five-burner beast is the largest grill in the Bull Outdoor Products line. It’s a drop-in model, designed to work with the barbecue islands created at Island Grills & Outdoor Products.

The Brahma’s hot point is its infrared rotisserie back burner. Holding up to 25 pounds, it delivers a high, searing heat that renders anything you’re cooking juicy and moist. This is a great feature for the price.

The Brahma is a rugged-looking grill with fashionably chunky knobs and heavy-duty stainless steel housing and grates. Built to last, this is 304-grade stainless steel—the best you can get in a grill.

The Brahma offers loads of cooking space and plenty of fire power, with 15,000 BTUs on each of the five burners. And, those burners are made with durable cast brass, a step above the more common stainless steel burners.

The Brahma comes in both natural gas and liquid propane models. Bull 38-inch Brahma grill, $1,900.

Island Grills & Outdoor Products, call 949-7059 or visit www.islandgrills.biz.

All In the Family

Never again run in and out of the house while grilling outside and preparing other dishes inside. The Viking Range family of outdoor cooking appliances and stainless steel cabinets makes it easy to boil water for corn-on-the-cob, stir-fry veggies and grill the perfect steak.

Available from Northstar Pacific Inc., Viking’s 20-inch stainless steel wok/cooker sizzles on a burner that cooks at 27,500 BTUs for fast, high-heat cooking. And, the set up is versatile. Add a custom center trivet to convert the porcelainized, cast-iron burner from wok ready to stock pot ready.

Photo courtesy of Viking Range.

Northstar Pacific can also assist you in choosing the perfect Viking cabinetry configuration. The hearty, stainless steel cabinets, with professional-style handles, seamlessly coordinate with Viking’s muscular appliances. All cabinets are 30 inches deep and feature fully-extending drawers.

As pictured, Viking 41-inch outdoor gas grill with gourmet-glo rotisserie, $3,512.50; grill base with warming drawer and storage, $3,030; double-side burner with steel cabinet base, $1,592.50; wok/cooker with steel cabinet base, $3,327.50; beverage dispenser, $2,400; additional storage cabinets, $2,208.75. Northstar Pacific Inc., call 949-7048 or visit www.vikingrange.com.