With a push of a button, the coals are lit, and the essence of BBQ fills the air. The Performer® Deluxe charcoal grill performs from beginning to end. Light coals with the Touch-N-Go gas ignition, prep food on the large work table, and know that cleanup will be easy with the One-Touch™ cleaning system. All that’s left is to sit back and enjoy the performance.
That way you’ll get a seared crust as quickly as possible. Brian Bennett is a senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET. He reviews a wide range of household and smart-home products. These include everything from cordless and robot vacuum cleaners to fire pits, grills and coffee makers. An NYC native, Brian now resides in bucolic Louisville, Kentucky where he rides longboards downhill in his free time. We fired up models from Nexgrill, Weber, Napoleon, KitchenAid, Char-Griller and more to find out which charcoal grill is king of the cookout.
“You can’t beat charcoal-grilled flavor,” said McManus. Next, we light each grill’s snake at one end of the chain with five lit briquettes . We set all air vents on each grill to the halfway-open position.
It can be difficult for amateurs to get a grasp on how this system works at first. Nonetheless, it’s an impressive feature that gives the smaller Weber the top prize in this department. Review the latest savings on Weber Q series, Spirit weber charcoal grill series, Original Kettle charcoal grills and more. The Weber grilling system is designed for even cooking, consistent results and incredible flavor. Plus, these grills are easy to clean, leaving you with more time to enjoy your BBQ.
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The 22-inch Napoleon Rodeo Charcoal Kettle Grill (model number NK22CK-L) is considered one of the better Weber clones available (the pros at AmazingRibs.com, among others, rate it highly). In our cooking tests it performed well, though not quite as well as the Weber. In particular, we didn’t find its unique heat-diffusing plate—a shallow metal dome that sits in the middle of the coal bed—to be as effective as we would have liked. We loved its height; however, at 34 inches at the grates, it’s nearly counter height, and a full 7 inches taller than the Weber, so it was less tiring to work on. The Napoleon’s four legs, versus the Weber’s three, make this grill more stiff and stable, and allow for a nice big shelf underneath.
Since stainless steel is the stronger of the two, the 26-inch model earns higher marks. On the 22-inch model, the components of this system are made of aluminized steel. The 26-inch version offers the same system, but with a stainless steel construction. Weber offers its One-Touch cleaning system for each of these units.
A few improvements have been made over the years, but the grill has always stayed true to its roots. The Weber parts listed here are Genuine Weber Parts sourced directly from the manufacturer. Sign in to see items you may have added using another computer or device. After four years of testing and 115 hours of research, we’ve found that Royal Oak Ridge Briquets are the best charcoal for your grill.