The Napoleon Freestanding Charcoal Kettle Grill took the longest to set up, clocking in at an hour and five minutes of build time. While this grill does come with an included cart, which added to setup time, we also found the instructions hard to follow, and the amount of hardware included felt a bit overwhelming. If you’re weber q going to purchase this grill, then we’d advise looking into having your local hardware store build and deliver it to you. We measured the temperature of the grill surface, as well as the internal temperature of the chicken, with an external thermometer to ensure that any built-in temperate gauges were accurate.
The 120-pound weight limits portability, even with wheels, but it also makes this a sturdy backyard companion for years to come. Powder coating protects the exterior from the elements. An additional cooking grate is a great place to roast vegetables above your meat weber genesis 2 to maximize space. Control airflow with an adjustable vent, and keep an eye on cooking temperatures with a built-in thermometer. Two wooden exterior shelves provide a convenient workspace where you can keep your tools, spices, and a frosty beverage or two.
Our test hamburgers only cooked to rare on the Napoleon. Each grill did a great job searing the chicken leg quarters while still leaving them juicy on the inside. The Oklahoma Joe’s Kettle Grill and Weber Original Kettle Grills gave the chicken skin the deepest sear. There’s nothing quite like the combo of enjoying the great outdoors while smelling the delectable aroma of fresh-grilled foods. A weber genesis 2 makes the perfect addition to tailgate parties, camping adventures and backyard entertaining.
For those who insist on charcoal, check out the new Weber Performer charcoal grill. When he’s firing up his charcoal, Karl likes to shove all of it to one side of the kettle. You can spread the briquettes out across the bottom once they’ve transformed into hot coals. When it comes to BBQ-ing around here, I’ve been using a gas grill during the 10 years I’ve lived in my house. Outstanding Customer Service- Weber is well known in the BBQ industry for having excellent customer service.
This is by far the most expensive option on our list, but the top-shelf components and features make it an exceptional pick for those who demand the best. This classic charcoal grill from Weber is a mainstay at backyard parties and gameday get-togethers for a reason. The 18-inch grate is capable of serving small groups and small enough that making a meal for yourself wouldn’t be a waste of charcoal. There’s no shortage of knockoffs trying to imitate this grill, but the difference is in the details. Rather than paint, Weber uses porcelain enamel that won’t flake or chip, so the metal is protected from rust. The cooking grate uses plated steel that wipes clean and resists corrosion.
The 22-inch Napoleon Rodeo Charcoal Kettle Grill (model number NK22CK-L) is considered one of the better Weber clones available (the pros at AmazingRibs.com, among others, rate it highly). In our cooking tests it performed well, though not quite as well as the Weber. In particular, we didn’t find its unique heat-diffusing plate—a shallow metal dome that sits in the middle of the coal bed—to be as effective as we would have liked. However, at 34 inches at the grates, it’s nearly counter height, and a full 7 inches taller than the Weber, so it was less tiring to work on. The Napoleon’s four legs, versus the Weber’s three, make this grill more stiff and stable, and allow for a nice big shelf underneath. When it came to assembly, the only direct comparison we could make was between the Weber and the Napoleon.
The Weber Summit is widely considered to be the best charcoal grill Weber has ever produced. With nine collections of charcoal grills, there’s a Weber to meet your needs. This grill ran red-hot and was nearly impossible to slow down the temperature on no matter what we did to make airflow adjustments. The Char-Griller has a noticeably deeper kettle — the deepest of the entire pool we tested. Despite the distance from the heat, meat still seared well on this grill because it ran so hot.
As a result, ribs cooked in the Weber came out tender, juicy and full of smoky flavor. In the case of kettle models, we arrange coals in a semicircle around the grill’s inner wall. The charcoal briquettes form a line two coals wide and two coals deep. We also drop a few chunks of smokewood on top of the snake . On cart-style grills, we modify the snake to run in right angles to match their rectangular-shaped fireboxes. For our tests, each grill gets a full chimney of lit charcoal and a 6-pound chicken opposite the coals for indirect heat.