Summer is a season for the senses: the feel of warm grass, the sound of kids splashing in a pool and, of course, the smell of delicious food sizzling on a grill.

Pat Joyce, owner of South Side BBQ Co., is getting ready to gear up for home grilling for the summer. He’s especially looking for the camaraderie that forms around the sizzling meat and vegetables.

“The neighbors come by, some of our neighbors grill together,” he said.

Now that summer has (unofficially) arrived, it’s tempting to think about buying a grill — or replacing your old one. But there are so many choices with their own pros and cons that picking the perfect one can be daunting.

Don’t sweat it! We’ve got you covered (or uncovered) with a peek at your open-flame options.

No matter your time, budget, skill level or cooking style, it’s time to throw on a silly apron, whip up a delicious spice rub or mouthwatering marinade, and make some summer memories. Happy grilling!

Charcoal grills

Seen by many as the purest form of grilling, cooking on a charcoal grill is the best way to impart that signature charred grill flavor into your food. Joyce keeps a Weber charcoal grill at home in the South Hills and loves to make kebabs and sear steaks on it.

Charcoal grills utilize charcoal briquettes as fuel, and they can easily reach temperatures of up to 700 degrees.

Derek Shattenfield, owner of Rollier’s Hardware in Mt. Lebanon, said that where you put the charcoal matters: “You can put it right in the center, create a good lump in there, or you can push it to the side and create more of an indirect cooking surface.”

“Charcoal has always been sought after by people who really like flavor and aren’t in a big hurry,” said Susie Piekarski, store manager at Stanford Home Centers in Plum.

That is one of the cons — charcoal grills take longer to get to temperature, around 15-20 minutes after the charcoal is lit. Other options can provide a quicker trip to Flavortown but will generate a different taste.

When you’ve finished your meal, charcoal grills can also be a bit harder to clean, since they generate ash once the briquettes burn.

On the other hand, if you’re looking to spend more of your budget on a nice cut of meat instead of the grill itself, charcoal may be the way to go. Piekarski said Stanford sells Weber kettle charcoal grills for as low as $99.

If you’re worried about time, paying a little extra can get you a charcoal grill with features that help it start up faster and keep the temps more consistent.

Gas grills

The best thing about a gas grill is how easy it is to use — easy to start, easy to control and easy to clean. But that ease of use does come at a price.

Gas grills can start around $200 for portable models, but they get pricier as you add more features. Rocco Perla, manager of Perla’s Appliance Plus in Swissvale, said higher-end setups can come in at $2,000 to $3,000.

That wide price range does come with a variety of options, from smaller, freestanding models to “outdoor built-in kitchens” that may include side burners or even an oven.

Gas grills rely on either a natural gas line or a propane tank for fuel. As far as Perla is concerned, there aren’t many cons.

“It will require you to have a gas supply, whether it be a natural gas line that comes from the home or whether it be (propane) that comes from a tank that you’ve attached to it,” he said.

He also said gas grills are relatively easy to clean with wire brushes and pans to catch drippings. They take about 10 minutes to reach your desired temperature.

When it comes to grilling at home, Perla and his entire family get in on the action.

“I’m more traditional. I kind of like hamburgers and hot dogs,” he said. “My wife likes to do chicken there, both for ourselves and to feed our dogs.”

Electric grills

When it comes to electric grills, the main advantage is their portability and usefulness for indoor spaces.

“They are better for tailgating or small areas or apartment buildings that aren’t allowed to have propane or natural gas,” Piekarski said.

Even if you don’t have a backyard to set up a grill, you can sear some chicken and cook up some grilled zucchini in the comfort and safety of your home. They also avoid the issue of fumes from gas or smoke, as well as the possible fire hazards of other types of grills, according to Food & Wine Magazine.

“They’re not cheap. They’re made really well and they’re safe,” Piekarski said.

For example, Food & Wine’s highest-rated electric grill — the Weber Q 1400 Electric Grill — will run you about $330 for a cooking surface area of 189 square inches, a bit pricier than their charcoal or gas counterparts.

Kamado grills

While they’re technically charcoal grills, kamado-style grills are a whole new ballgame. These Japanese-style ceramic contraptions have a versatility that your average kettle grill can’t manage, according to Adam Martin, owner of Martin Sales and Service in Butler.

“You can sear on them, you can smoke on them, you can turn that temperature down and get a real long smoke. You can turn that temperature down to around 200 degrees. Then you can get them hot enough — to 700 degrees — so you can use them to do pizzas. You can use them for baking, too,” he said.

This is where the increasingly popular Big Green Egg comes into play. The oblong ceramic kamado grill has grown a cult following for its variable temperature control, its ability to retain heat and its fuel efficiency (it works on its own all-natural charcoal), Martin said.

“I would say that most of my customers who do a lot of grilling maybe only go through two or three bags of charcoal in a whole year,” he said.

But all those pluses come at a price: Martin said that, on average, the kamado grills he sells run about $900. If you’re buying from their site, Big Green Eggs run from about $500 for the 79-square-inch Mini model to $2,650 for the XXL, which has a cooking surface of 672 square inches.

Smokers

Before we were talking about grilling; now it’s time to talk about barbecue. Smokers typically cook food “low and slow” by circulating hot smoke from burning fuel — commonly wood chips, but sometimes charcoal or gas — in the chamber with chicken, brisket or pork butt.

“Depending on the kind of meat, we smoke anywhere from two hours to 15 hours,” Joyce said of the cooking methods at South Side BBQ Company. It all depends on the amount of connective tissue in the meat — chicken gets smoked for just a couple of hours, while brisket and pork can take more than half a day until they reach perfection.

Smokers and similar appliances that use wood for fuel can also be flavored by the type of wood used. For example, South Side BBQ uses hickory, but other options like apple and cherry can offer other flavor profiles.

That time investment can be a pro when you’re looking to get that perfect melt-in-your-mouth texture and unique flavor, but it can be a drawback if you don’t have the hours to invest.

Andy Wincko of Plum started smoking brisket as a hobby and grew it into the Pittsburgh Smokehouse food truck.

“A smoker is what I consider barbecuing,” he said. “The time is the thing I would say that can deter people.”

While charcoal grills can get up to 700 degrees, both Joyce and Wincko said they keep their smokers anywhere from 225 to 325 degrees, depending on what they’re smoking and for how long. To get an accurate temperature on your meat, you may want to invest in a probe thermometer.

Cleanup isn’t too bad, both Wincko and Joyce said, for your average backyard smoker. As far as price goes, there are smokers for a wide range of budgets, but typically you’ll look at a price tag from $250 and up.

Pellet grills

Wood pellet grills resemble smokers and charcoal grills in many ways, but they have some different features — and different price points, too.

Working essentially like convection ovens, pellet grills use wood pellets to indirectly heat food, so there’s no open flame here. Much like with smokers, different types of wood pellets can be used to impart different flavors based on your pellet choice.

They’re also the most modern of your grill options, with added features that allow you to monitor your food without having to baby it.

“You can actually program that grill to set an exact temperature,” Martin said, explaining that pellet grills have probes that measure temperatures inside and also in the food. “You can run it from a smartphone, which is really unique.”

Much like the kamado grills, pellet grills also offer many cooking style options, including grilling, baking and smoking.

Cleanup isn’t bad, either — Martin said it requires cleaning the cooking grid after each use and scraping out the burn pot where the pellets do their magic two to three times a year.

Depending on size and features, wood pellet grills will set you back anywhere from $300 to $1,500.

Griddles

“Griddles are a very hot topic, no pun intended,” Shattenfield said. “When you go to the trade shows, almost any company known for their gas grills, they’re coming out with a griddle now.”

Griddles differ in that their cooking surface is flat, as opposed to most grills and smokers, which have grated or gridded surfaces. This allows them to be used in the cooking of different kinds of foods, including pancakes, eggs, fried rice, flakier fish and anything else you can imagine.

Standalone gas grills by companies such as Blackstone can range from about $180 to $1,000.

Shattenfield said griddles also can be versatile — many have hinged lids that can close over the food to trap heat. But when you’re keeping that lid off, you’re likely limited to food you can flip to ensure even and all-the-way-through cooking. “You’re not doing your Thanksgiving turkey on there,” he said.

Griddles also tend to be easier to clean because of their flat surfaces. But much like their closest relations — gas grills — they won’t give you a smoky, charred flavor.

“Griddles are becoming really popular,” Shattenfield said. “Some of my customers are even replacing their gas grills with griddles.”

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