When purchasing a new charcoal grill or smoker, understanding the different styles of Weber charcoal grills and what each type can do is important. No matter your grilling experience, use this convenient charcoal grill buying guide to select the charcoal barbecue grill that’s right for you. The Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″ is our pick as the best charcoal grill for most people. In our tests it outperformed the other grills in cooking, ease of assembly, and user-friendly details.
But the open-top design of these devices left the meat vulnerable to weather. Big winds could kick up ash or set the precious meat ablaze, and rain would weber q fill the grills with water. Even worse, backyard chefs had to breathe in the excessive smoke from the grill top and the meat rarely had an even cook.
He reviews a wide range of household and smart-home products. These include everything from cordless and robot vacuum cleaners to fire pits, grills and coffee makers. An NYC native, Brian now resides in bucolic Louisville, Kentucky where he rides longboards downhill in his free time. Nothing beats the smoky barbecue flavor that can only be created on a charcoal grill. “This was the perfect grill for me,” wrote a thrilled customer.
Weber even supplies a simple plastic tool to help you attach the thermometer without digging out a wrench. All you need is a Phillips screwdriver to attach the side handles, and something dense to tap the end caps of the wheel axle into place. One person can have the grill up and running within minutes of opening the box. Every grill we tested had a hinged grate, a nice feature that lets you add or adjust the coals without lifting the whole grate off. We preferred the Weber and Napoleon designs, which each have a pair of hinged sections, on opposite edges of the grate, that let you directly access the entire bed of charcoal below. We noticed no performance differences, and all worked well, with no notable sticking of the items we cooked.
It prepared a tender and juicy rack in 4 hours, 30 minutes. In our chicken test it held a high temperature for longer than any other grill in the lineup. The burners on every single gas grill are ignition-tested before they leave the factory to ensure a problem-free product arrives at your door. There’s something special about the experience that you just don’t get by stirring something on the stove top or baking it in the oven.
Make the remodeling process easy by downloading this step-by-step buying guide. Select 2 or more products for side-by-side feature comparison. Catch up on Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
They’re handy, no doubt, but if your patio or deck already has a table or countertop, you’re paying for something you don’t need and giving up valuable living space, too. On balance, gas is probably the better choice if you favor no-fuss cooking or grill often . If you’re an occasional griller or you enjoy getting hands-on with your cooking, charcoal is an economical choice that, with a bit of practice, produces superb results. Napoleon delivered excellent cooking results in our ribs test.
In our high-heat searing tests, Weber delivered the best balance of seared exterior and medium-rare interior steak. The Weber kettle grill gave us tasty chicken too, with crispy chicken skin. The Weber can also smoke low and slow at a rock-steady cooking temperature.
If napalm in the morning is the best smell in the world, burgers on the grill must be a close second. It doesn’t matter if the yard is covered in freshly cut grass or a foot of snow, sizzling meat over an open flame satisfies an almost primal hunger. We can debate the merits of grills that use charcoal, propane, or wood all day long, but they all make delicious food.
The steak had nice grill marks while keeping a medium doneness on the inside. The worst was our Tacklife review unit, which didn’t hold much heat and didn’t sear while cooking. The steak on that grill needed an additional five minutes to get to a temperature of 135 F, the minimum for weber genesis 2 medium rare. We placed two steaks on each grilling grate near the center and seared them for five minutes before flipping them over and searing for another five minutes. With a good, reliable grill, this will give you a steak with a seared outside and a medium rare to medium center.