One of them, the Spirit S-315, is similar to the Spirit II E-310 (our pick) with regard to the specs, and with a few cosmetic differences—and higher price tag. The S-315 has a slightly higher Btu output than our pick (32,000 Btu versus 30,000 Btu, respectively). But other than those minor variations, it looks like the S-315 would perform about the same as our pick—and wouldn’t be worth the higher price. Next time you cook, brush the cold, soot-covered grills clean, wipe them with a wet paper towel or rag, and then proceed. That goes against the common advice to clean the grates while they’re hot. Salvaggio has found that cleaning hot grates more easily damages the porcelain coating on cast iron, allowing rust to form.
However, this grill can still accommodate a whole cut-up chicken or six to eight burger patties at a time. And it performs on a par with the three-burner version, the Spirit II E-310. Like our top pick, the two-burner Spirit comes with a cast-aluminum firebox, an enameled steel lid and open cart, two side tables, and a 10-year warranty.
It’s a classic backyard staple, and it can fit up to 12 burger patties to feed a crowd—the same as the Spirit II E-310, but for less than half the price. This three-burner grill offers an unrivaled combination of performance, usability, versatility, durability, and value. Interestingly enough, Weber’s Spirit series of older models cost more than the newer Spirit II series. While there is no compromise in quality with the Spirit II, they are comparatively less expensive than their original counterparts. The Spirit excellently combined innovation and performance to get the best grilling results in a smaller footprint.
Spirit II reversible grates have a thin side which Weber believes is “ideal for food such as shrimp and fish”, and flat side which “creates a thick sear mark”. The ultimate goal is an evenly dark brown crust across the entire surface of the meat, which transforms dull, tan meat to a delicious flavorful crust thanks to the magical Maillard reaction. The cast iron cooking grates are good for maintaining heat, allowing the food to cook more evenly. They are also fairly easy to clean up after, without causing any damage to the grates. This generally means that the grill comes with a dedicated rotisserie burner; the motor and spit are usually purchased separately.
Weber tries to help these people out by making the side tables collapsible. Take the guesswork out of cooking with Weber’s iGrill Digital Thermometers. This grill includes a dedicated side shelf mount specifically designed for use with the iGrill Blackstone Adventure 3 so you always have it by your side when cooking. The side shelf mount keeps it from taking away valuable shelf space. (iGrill 3 Digital Thermometer not included) The technology connects to WiFi for remote access to monitor your cook.
The lid is also specially designed to keep smoke away from your face while you grill. The side-mounted propane tank, gas meter, sturdy side tables, and cooking grates are also a perfect fit and very aesthetically pleasing, as well as being easy to put together. The upper warming rack adds 90 square inches of Blackstone Adventure cooking surface to the E-210, making the total grate area 450 square inches. Overall, the two-burner Spirit II is the same depth and height as the three-burner model, but the E-210 is 4 inches smaller width-wise. That may not seem like much, but if you’re working with a small patio area, every inch counts.
They back up the claim by increasing the warranty on the ignition from two to ten years. You fire Spirit II up by turning the left control knob to HIGH then pressing the ignition button. A crossover flame runs from left to right to ignite the middle and right burners. Throughout our limited time testing Spirit II, we were impressed by the flawless ignition performance. This fire box design holds and radiates heat evenly, perhaps making up for a lid that seems slightly light weight.
This grill boasts a high quality construction and ahs excellent build quality from top to bottom. The other reason is that I can prepare these spaces to take food off the grill as quickly as I put them on it. With hotdogs and hamburgers, spending even more than a minute longer than necsesary on the grill can throw off the taste and texture.