The short of it is – the Weber Kettle is what I believe to be one of the best grills and even smokers to exist, especially at a fair price-point. We didn’t have a charcoal starter on hand this time around, so we used some firestarter gel from Hasty-Bake. It doesn’t evaporate quickly like traditional lighter fluid and doesn’t give your meat that gross lighter fluid taste. portable bbq Once the victuals were hot and sizzling, they were eagerly placed inside soft Wonder Bread buns, slathered with ketchup and all the other fixins, and devoured with gusto. At a certain moment, Dad would decide that the charcoal was ready for cooking. On would go the grate, and an assortment of burger patties, hot dogs, and sausages were laid upon this culinary altar.
For the same reason, don’t let your charcoal grill sit out in the rain, as the resulting lye will quickly corrode any metal it touches. Instead, bring your grill into a garage, put it under an awning, or tent it with a grill cover (in every case, after the ash is cool). Clean the grates before or after each use by brushing them free of cooked-on gunk and wiping them with a wet rag. Oil the grates after heating them, before you cook anything—it’ll help keep food from sticking. Nothing beats the smoky barbecue flavor that can only be created on a charcoal grill.
Our experts provide the recipes and skills you need to be a grill master. This was originally written by Erica Puisis, a writer and interior design expert, who has been writing about all things home and lifestyle for The Spruce since 2017. The Spruce Eats Editor Siobhan Wallace compiled testing data from our official Lab as well as insights from our home testers’ full product reviews to compile this roundup.
Enjoy the great outdoors and barbecue to your heart’s content with charcoal grills from the brands you trust like Masterbuilt, Char-Broil, and Weber. A high quality grill made from heavy duty, weather-resistant stainless steel will provide years of tasty burgers, juicy bratwurst, and cherished memories. Portable charcoal grill options allow you to prepare your steaks and burgers on the deck, at the poolside, or in the driveway for a neighborhood BBQ party. Choose a small tabletop portable bbq or a large 30 inch grill from Char-Broil. Let Blain’s Farm & Fleet set you up with the best charcoal grill to fit your outdoor entertaining lifestyle.
The enormous capacity of the Ranch® kettle charcoal grill sets the tone for a party that lasts until tomorrow. With more than 1,000 square inches of grilling space and a stainless steel hinged cooking grate for easily adding charcoal, you’re set up to grill for the masses. At $139, Weber’s original, kettle-style charcoal grill continues to stand the test of time.
This is a straight-up charcoal grill that would be right at home in a Norman Rockwell painting. Broadrick says that consistency has elevated the charcoal grill into something more. “At this point, the Weber Kettle is more of a platform than a stand-alone product,” he says. Out of dozens of community-driven updates and upgrades, these are the best Weber Kettle add-ons that money can buy. We believe that everyone should have access to high-quality grills at an affordable price, which is why we purchase grills by the truckload and pass the savings on to you!
We experienced even heating and few flare-ups during our testing, with our home tester claiming that it’s “worth the splurge.” Testing charcoal grills requires a lot of hands-on cooking, and your results will obviously weber charcoal grill vary based on your technique and ingredients, among other factors. Depending on the season and how your charcoal grill is set up, your experience cooking and grilling will likely be very different from ours.
The goal was a steady hold at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and we adjusted the vents to get as close to that as we could. After 45 minutes, we flipped the chicken parts, slathered on a coating of barbecue sauce, and closed the lid for another five minutes. We repeated this step twice more, rounding out the cook time at an hour flat. Then we had a taste, paying special attention to the breast meat—a long cook can dry it out. For the high-heat, whole-grate burger test, we lit a chimney’s worth of briquets—the equivalent of six quarts, or about 90 coals of a former runner-up from our extensive briquet tests. We poured the lit coals into the grills, spread them in an even layer, and then heated the grills with the lids down and all vents fully open for 15 minutes (a standard manufacturer’s recommendation).