If you need a cheap grill, spend the extra $20 for the Dyna-Glo. All of the grills in the Genesis II E series have an open cart, a porcelain-enameled lid, and porcelain-coated cast-iron grates. Each has an electronic igniter, a fuel guage, a side table, and a 10-year burner warranty. We think a three-burner grill is large enough for most portable bbq needs, with plenty of space to cook for a family or a backyard BBQ. Grills with more burners are usually overkill, while two-burner grills can feel cramped. Weber’s other new addition to the Spirit line, the $700 Spirit SP-335, is basically the S-315 with a built-in side burner and a dedicated high-heat searing area on the grill.
The open-cart design provides convenient access of grilling tools so that everything you need is within arm’s reach. And the Tuck-Away warming rack keeps food warm and folds for easy storage. The Weber Spirit II E-310, introduced in January 2018, replaced the original Spirit E-310 as our top pick for gas grills. Like its predecessor, it excelled at every test we put it through, producing the best hamburgers of any grill we tested, and outdoing or equaling the others on barbecue chicken and whole roasted chickens. Its overall compact size suits almost any patio or deck, but its grilling surface is big enough to cook a complete meal for a family, or a dozen burgers for a party.
Prices, promotions, styles and availability may vary by store & online. Once shipped, items usually arrive within 3–5 business days. If your item or order is large, it may ship via one of our third-party freight carriers, which deliver from semi trucks with lift gates. If you prepare in advance with weber q our guide to freight delivery, it doesn’t have to be. The Weber Genesis II Special Edition does not score well for high heat due to a low maximum BTU output, when compared to other grills in the same class. Michael Sullivan has been a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter since 2016.
Heat was fairly well-distributed across the cooking surface and the temperature range was very good, but you’ll need a bit more than 10 minutes of preheating to get it nice and hot. It’s easy to understand why when a gas barbeque will help you cook evenly, they are easy to light and they look so stylish. No longer will you have to spend your time lighting coal and waiting for it to be at the right temperature.
We slow-grilled cut-up chickens to see if the grills could hold a low temperature evenly across the whole grate. And we roasted whole chickens indirectly on both low and high heat to see if the grills could create browned skin and perfectly cook meat without charring. Sam Sifton, editor of the Cooking section of The New York Times joined us for these portable bbq tests. In 2018 we repeated these tests, pitting the new Weber Spirit II E-310 against our upgrade pick, the Weber Genesis II E-310. The Genesis II Special Edition is powered by stainless steel burners that get more narrow towards the back of the grill. This shape reduces heat in the back, producing more consistent heat across the cooking surface.