All you do is place crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the tool with charcoal on top, and after you light the bottom, your charcoal will be ready to add to the grill in around 10 minutes. From enameled steel to stainless steel to ceramic, grills are made from a wide variety of materials, and each has its pros and cons. But that’s not all—grill grates can be made from cast iron, stainless steel, or other material. Our home tester used this to portable bbq cook up barbecue classics like chicken wings and ribs, and she was highly pleased with its performance. Other aspects she liked were that the grates became more nonstick as the testing went on and the warming rack proved itself to be the perfect bun warmer. We looked for charcoal grills with good heat retention, but that also allowed for easy airflow adjustments through dampers and vents or other functions like an adjustable charcoal tray.
Other grills we tested either ran hotter and overcooked the hamburgers, or they weren’t hot enough and barely seared or cooked the meat. The lack of a simple lid hook feels like a design oversight and removing and replacing the ash catcher isn’t as smooth as it should be because the damper handle gets caught on the legs. There’s no function for pushing the ashes into weber charcoal grill the catcher, either, so it has to be done manually with a grill brush or other tool. I also worry about longevity, mainly because the handles, ash catcher, and lid damper are identical to the same parts on the worst grill we tested. Starting a charcoal grill is definitely not as easy as starting a gas grill, so it’s important to understand how to do it correctly.
However, it takes longer to heat up and is a different cooking experience from traditional charcoal grills. During our tests, we were only able to get our hamburgers to cook to rare, and our chicken did not sear and crisp up as well as it did on all the other grills. Because of this, the Napoleon is definitely not a grill for charcoal beginners.
Is there a portable grill that works as well as a full-sized one? Get easy-to-follow, delicious recipes delivered right to your inbox. Sarah Vanbuskirk is an accomplished writer who tested her grill out on her family of seven to see if it could live up to the rigors of feeding a large family. These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love. Since then Weber, like many others, has outsourced manufacturing of more product lines.
You’ll need to purchase a bag of briquettes, and either lighter fluid or a handy charcoal starter. We filled it up to the top with briquettes and then put newspaper underneath, which we lit on fire and then allowed the coals to heat up for exactly 15 minutes. Once your briquettes are fired up and ready to go, you then dump them into the base of the kettle grill. After you pop the cooking grate over the red-hot briquettes, you’re ready to start cooking. For instance, the grill is equipped with cast iron cooking grates, as well as a convenient side drawer for adding charcoal.
With the 18-inch Weber Original Kettle Grill, you can still get the full weber charcoal grilling experience for under $100. Perfect for those looking to save space, Weber electric grills are compact, durable and built to last. All you need is access to a power outlet to create mouthwatering dishes that rival those cooked on gas or charcoal Weber grills. Deanna McCormack has reviewed dozens of products for The Spruce and thoroughly tested her portable grill out in her backyard and a beach campsite. You’ll also want to wipe down the inside of the lid and bowl using a mild soap.