It’s certainly true that the Weber Kettle’s fire can be tricky to control, especially when compared to pellet grills and kamado smokers. It’s simply not as fuel efficient and heat insulated as fancier grill styles like those. Still, you can buy plenty of aftermarket products designed to make life easier. weber q First, I filled a charcoal chimney 75% full with briquettes and ignited them. Then I replaced the grill grate and dropped my spatchcooked bird on the cooler side . One downside to this grill is the ash pan, which can only be emptied by reaching into the grill and lifting it up and out of the kettle.
It’s also a lot compared with the Weber’s 363-square-inch cooking area. Weber’s original kettle remains its most popular grill today, but in the 60-plus years since its invention, the company has expanded. The Weber name is stamped on propane gas grills, smokers, electric grills and portable grills. There are sub-products under each category, each at different price points, and all with different features.
The idea is that the fire spreads slowly from the center of the coal bed outward. Without fail, there comes a point when all of my coals are burning at once. Most grills come with analog hood thermometers, if they have one at all.
The main difference between the standard and more premium models is a home for the lid; the premium model (about $10 more expensive) has a hinge that holds the lid when not in use. For more grill content, check out our guides to the best charcoal grills, pellet grills and gas grills. You can create an indirect heat zone by placing briquettes, or lump charcoal if you prefer, only on one side of the charcoal grate. You leave the other side empty then cook food above the cool spot. The trouble is that it’s tricky to control the grill’s heat level this way. It’s harder to do that with a Weber Kettle, at least without lots of practice.
From Bluetooth speakers to patio furniture to gas and charcoal grills, here’s what we think you need for backyard entertaining and cooking. 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 weber q 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. 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.
Its main cooking grates are porcelain-enameled, which helps to retain heat as well as distribute it. This is always a key feature I look out for on modern grills as its helps to reduce uneven cooking temperatures. Due to their comparably simple construction, they tend to cost less than a similarly sized gas or pellet grill.
For those new to cooking outdoors, the Weber makes it easy to learn to grill over a flame; you’ll look like an old hand in no time. But even if you have a gas grill or a pellet smoker , sometimes the charcoal option is simply superior. Once you factor in price, performance, and design, the Weber is the heavy hitter in the arena of charcoal grills. To clean the grates, build a fire, heat up the grill, and then take a bristle-free wire brush (metal bristles can fall out and end up in your food, and you don’t want that) and scrape. Every few cooks, I like to use a Shop-Vac to remove any greasy ashes stuck in the bottom of the grill.
It’s about waist level in height for almost everyone, so it’s quite comfortable to cook on. The 363-square-inch cooking area can easily handle a pair of whole chickens or about 10 to 13 burgers, depending on how large you make your patties. Any more than that and the grill can get overloaded, making it difficult to cook everything evenly and to flip the patties. The Performer adds a prep table, cooking timer and gas-fired charcoal starter to the standard kettle grill.
Bringing the delicious taste of BBQ, without the city limitations. The Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill is a classic backyard cooker that’s inexpensive, versatile, and nearly impossible to break. Gear Patrol participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page. From the Smokey Joe to the brand-new Genesis range, here’s everything you need to know about Weber, America’s favorite grill makers.