Our main complaint for just about every grill is the obligatory bi-metal dial thermometer in the hood that gives you a ballpark reading of what the temperature is high above the meat. Since we cook down on the grates, it’s always better to use your own digital thermometer and place a probe at the cooking surface. With their acquisition of iGrill digital thermometers, Weber is addressing this issue. Spirit II is “iGrill3 Ready” with a mounting place on the right side shelf for an optional iGrill 3 digital thermometer. This Bluetooth device enables you to place one digital probe at the cooking surface to dial up the correct oven temp, and one probe in your food to monitor internal meat temp.
What is more, its heat redistribution is fantastic, ensuring great results even if you cram it with as much food as it can hold. The porcelain enameled cast iron Gourmet BBQ System cooking grate is a cooking grate that fits all attachments. Weber’s Smart Grill revolution may be mostly a Genesis-line upgrade, but they did spread the wealth to the Spirit series with the SX-315. They took the quality of the Spirit line and added their new Weber CONNECT technology so you can monitor how quickly your food is cooking via the included probe thermometer.
Continuing with the bigger-and-more-is-better theme, the Genesis has eight tool hooks—three on each of the side tables and two on the right side of char broil performance the cart. The upper rack under the lid is also enlarged and upgraded. The hinged rack measures 5½ inches deep when folded and expands to 11 inches.
Make every effort to avoid scratching it – so only use a stainless steel brush if you absolutely have to. What’s more, avoid using metal on it – stick to plastic cleaning tools. What’s really great, though, is the built in lid thermometer. Blackstone Adventure The center mounted thermometer gives you an idea of what the internal temperature is for the cooking chamber and whether or not it is holding up as you need it to. Such a feature allows you to stick to your preferred timing.
We chose ribs, chickens and burgers specifically to see how each grill handled different temperatures. That means the Baron excels at cooking large quantities, whereas the Double Header has two separate, main grill compartments for optimal multitasking during entertaining. Stick a chicken on one side on indirect medium heat and flip burgers on the other side using high heat.
The open cart was designed to have easy access to tools in the rack below”. In any case, prices for the new Spirit II are unchanged from the previous model. If you’d like something cheaper that also uses propane, then I would recommend going with the Weber Q 300 or the Weber Original Kettle Premium. They’re both pretty similar to this grill, but they’ll weber spirit 2 cost less and their materials are all made out of aluminum instead of stainless steel. The only problem is that they have smaller grills (300 sq. in.) and they’re not as sturdy, but I’m willing to make this tradeoff if it means getting a cheaper grill with similar features. The chicken was super juicy on the inside and perfectly charred on the outside!
A grill that is both durable and easy to repair creates much less waste than a cheapo grill that ends up in the garbage. We chose grills with fireboxes made of cast aluminum because the firebox is a major part of the grill, it’s difficult to replace, and aluminum is resistant to rust and corrosion. Cheaper grills have thin enameled steel fireboxes that are prone to damage and holes from rust.
Located on the propane tank or the grill itself, this reveals at a glance how much propane remains in the tank. An indication of the sturdiness of the gas grill, based on our rigidity test and judgments of our expert testers. Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart.