YOU ARE HERE >> AmazingRibs » Ratings & Reviews » Emeril by Viking EC240 Culinary 24-inch Outdoor Charcoal Grill Review
Looks like all Emeril by Viking Grills are discontinued.
In 2011 Chef and TV personality, Emeril Lagasse, teamed with appliance manufacturing giant, Viking, to offer a new line of gas and charcoal grills. Although the gassers already seem to have faded into the sunset, the Emeril by Viking EC240 Culinary 24-inch Outdoor Charcoal Grill may still available for those willing to investigate. Viking has brand name cachet, but it appears that Emeril’s name on the lid wasn’t enough to convince consumers to buy. In addition to “Emeril” this one has discontinued written all over it.
Clearly positioned to compete with the Weber One-Touch Gold, this design attempts to one-up the competition with several features. The looks are an alternative to the familiar shiny black kettle: A porcelain-coated metallic-gray fire box, a powder-coated “heavy gauge” steel lid, and four fat tubular legs as opposed to the Weber’s three legs. Its 24″ diameter grate with 424 square inches of primary cooking area is larger than the Weber’s 397 square inches. The grate is made of electroplated steel wire, which likely means it is nickel coated. That’s how most low-cost small grill grates, including the Weber’s, are plated.
The standard grate is hinged in the center for adding more coals, a big plus and an extra cost option on the Weber. Like Napoleon’s Charcoal Kettle, the lid is hinged, so you don’t have to put it on the ground and trip on it. At the base of the four legs is a wire shelf, a good place to stow your bag of charcoal. The wire shelf on the Weber base is not very useful. The ash removal system looks pretty easy. The handle you use to move it doubles as a towel rack. It also features the obligatory hood temperature indicator, which measures the air next to the thermometer, not on the grill. As always we suggest you supply your own digital grill thermometer.
These grills were initially priced with our posted MSRP of $229, now it looks like the remaining inventory is being unloaded in the $100 range. Of the few reviews we found by owners, one had problems with it and returned it, and two mentioned that it needs a large, oblong cover for its odd proportions. One reviewer accidentally pointed out how tight the seal is when the lid is closed: when opening the lid, the reviewer got a fireball that “singed the hairs on my arms”. That’s what happens when a smoldering fire, starved of oxygen, suddenly gets a rush of it. While I’m guessing that owner had his vents closed shut, it’s still a good indication that the seal on the closed lid is nice and tight, good for BBQ, bad for arm hair. The upper damper, a dial-type with 6 apertures, is not on the top of the lid, as you’d expect, but on the left side. This helps the user control air and smoke flow somewhat.
Still, if you can get it for a great price, meaning way under the cost of a Weber or Napoleon Kettle, it may be worth a try. Warranty is 2 years on the cooking grate and 5 years on the rest while parts last. The painted surfaces carry a 90-day warranty. Made in China.
Manufacturer:
Viking began making professional quality stoves for residential use in the early 1980s. Today Viking manufactures a vast array of award winning indoor and outdoor cooking equipment, including refrigerators, dishwashers, cabinets and cookware. Their three lines of luxury grills are known for quality and classic beauty. All are offered in LP and NG models and may be purchased on carts or for drop in installs.
Made in America in Greenwood, MS, Viking grills are available at some online sites and through a large number of independent stores coast to coast.
Published On: 2/13/2013 Last Modified: 2/14/2021
All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.
Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.
When you make rubs at home we recommend you add salt first then the herbs and spices because salt penetrates deep and the other stuff remains on the surface. So thick cuts need more salt. We put salt in these bottled rubs because all commercial rubs have salt and consumers expect it. You can still use these as a dry brine, just sprinkle the rub on well in advance to give the salt time to penetrate. For very thick cuts of meat, we recommend adding a bit more salt. Salt appears first in the ingredients list because the law says the order is by weight, not volume, and salt is a heavy rock.
Sprinkle on one tablespoon per pound of meat two hours or more before cooking if you can. Called “dry brining,” the salt gets wet, ionizes, becomes a brine, and slowly penetrates deep, enhancing flavor and juiciness while building a nice crusty “bark” on the surface. Sprinkle some on at the table too!
Are they hot? No! You can always add hot pepper flakes or Chipotle powder (my fave) in advance or at the table. But we left them mild so you can serve them to kids and Aunt Matilda
From TBoneJack, the unofficial Poet Laureate of The Pitmaster Club:
AmazingRibs is where you go,
To get the best advice,
You’ll find out how, to smoke a cow,
And it will turn out nice.
Smokers, gadgets, recipes,
Charcoal, gas, or wood?
The how, the why, and what to try,
When things arn’t going good.
Selection, prep, and cook techniques,
Marinades and such,
Rubs and brines and temps and times,
And how to use the Crutch.
Brisket secrets are revealed,
For moist and tender meat,
The point, the flat, the rendered fat,
The proper mix of heat.
I found out how to smoke spare ribs,
Great bark and taste and worth,
I want some more, I’ll have them for,
My last meal on this Earth.
Memphis Dust did suit them well,
I served them without sauce,
Not 3-2-1, not overdone,
No precious flavor loss.
Jambo, Lang, or Meadow Creek,
It’s hard to make the call,
Almost a crime, so little time,
I’d like to try them all.
I’m not ashamed, I’m not alone,
‘Cause many have this lot,
But I’ll admit, here in the Pit,
My wife said Not! Not! Not!
Weber, Brinkman, PBC,
No need for budget breach,
They cook great food, just ask me dude,
‘Cause I have one of each.
Obsessed I am, I know it’s true,
They call it MCS,
I saw the doc, he was in shock,
He too is in this mess.
Myron Mixon, Johnny Trigg,
Cool Smoke’s Tuffy Stone,
Harry Soo, Chris Lilly too,
And Moe who cooks alone.
They’re all good, I like them fine,
I’m sure they cook good Q,
They’ve earned the right, I see the light,
I’ll give them their fair due,
But I have learned, thru many cooks,
This web site is da bomb,
For what to do, browse over to,
AmazingRibs dot com.
Tired of seeing popup ads?
No need to throw a fit,
Don’t you know, just spend some dough,
And join us in the Pit.
And if you travel, don’t despair,
No further should you look,
The answer’s clear, put down your beer,
And order Meathead’s book.
High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!
Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.
Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.
Post comments and questions below
1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.
2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.
3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.
4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.
5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.
Moderators