For our tests, each grill gets a full chimney of lit charcoal and a 6-pound chicken opposite the coals for indirect heat. But the biggest problem is that the instructions completely overlook what we found to be a potentially dangerous design flaw. The Napoleon’s vent assembly consists of two metal collars, one inside the other. When you invert the assembly to screw it to the grill, the inner collar can slip down unnoticed and prevent the screws from attaching to the grill body.
Masterbuilt’s Gravity Series charcoal grills work similarly to how an electric-powered pellet grill works, minus the auger that pulverizes the fuel ahead of it hitting the firebox. The grates are made of cast iron, but they are coated in porcelain. The porcelain coating prevents food from sticking, so the grates don’t need seasoning.
Another great component is the hinged grate’s circular insert where you can quickly add charcoals while cooking. You do have to take the whole grate off to re-adjust your fuel though, one of the few downsides. When grilling time is over, this again has an advantage over older kettle grills. The ash is swept into the bottom catcher for easy disposal once it’s cooled, while everything else only needs a quick wipe-down.
For the more fearless among us, they’ll use this as is, but if you want to be a little more careful, it’s easier to take the whole grate off. Another feature that makes the Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill great is its one-touch cleaning system, weber charcoal grill which sweeps ash into a removable high-capacity container for easy disposal. It’s intuitive to use, and any ash it misses can quickly be brushed away. Weber has improved its iconic kettle grill through the decades and its latest version is nearly perfect.
Plus, the size-to-weight ratio is fabulous; there’s a lot of grate space, but it’s light enough to move it around to wherever I feel like grilling. There’s a learning curve, of course, when it comes to controlling heat on a charcoal grill, but once learned, it’s plain sailing from there. As with all charcoal grills, your briquettes or lumps rest near the bottom of the bowl on a grate that keeps them off the base of the pit to allow airflow. Spider Grills Pella manages to make the charcoal-fueled Weber a wood-pellet grill in an elegant and easy way.
But what really sets the Premium version apart from the standard 22-inch kettle is the enclosed ash catcher, which makes cleanup easy and eliminates concerns about stray embers. Assembly is dead simple, and the construction and materials are sturdy. Add its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and the Weber Kettle Premium Grill is the best value going. No matter what you slap on it, the Weber can cook it—hot and fast or low and slow.
First, we set up each grill for a low-and-slow burn, using the charcoal snake method. In the case of kettle models, we arrange coals in a semicircle around the grill’s inner wall. The charcoal briquettes (Kingsford Blue) form a line two coals wide and two coals deep. We also drop a few chunks of smokewood on top of the snake (aka fuse).
We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. Ribs cooked on the Napoleon grill came out tasty, though with bark that was a little dry. Stack your charcoal briquettes in two rows of two deep along the inner wall of the grill. Add the extra money you pay for the Napoleon grill over the Weber kettle that it emulates, and the Weber weber genesis 2 model’s superiority is even starker. We also interviewed senior product managers from almost every major grill maker at the 2017 Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo in Atlanta in early March 2017, including representatives from Weber and Napoleon. However, if you’re someone who is interested in smoking meat, it’s definitely worthy of consideration.
For the rest, Weber has equipped the Original Kettle with its “One-touch” ash removal system. It’s a rotating group of three blades you turn with a handle projecting from near the bottom of the bowl. Up top, you’ll find a single vent offset from the center of the lid to help you control the out-flow of smoke. Right at the peak of the dome is a nylon handle with a heat shield to keep you from burning yourself when you lift the lid. The Weber 22-Inch Original Kettle charcoal grill is, as the name explains, a charcoal-fired grill.
Ariane Resnick, who also updated this article, is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author. She has more than 20 years experience in the food and writing spaces and believes in a joy-filled approach to health and wellness. Stainless-steel grates are inexpensive and lightweight, but you’ll need to clean them with a great grill brush after every session.