Vents above and below need to be adjusted, oftentimes during cooking. A charcoal grill is harder to cook on, too, since you can’t just turn a mound of burning charcoal from “low” to “high” like you can with the flames of a gas grill by simply turning a knob. Experience the evolution of the iconic Kettle where charcoal grilling meets low-and-slow smoking.
The vents in the grill’s bowl and lid allow you to control the airflow into your grill. For grilling, you want a hot fire, so you want plenty of air to come in. It’s true that great charcoal grills don’t have to cost a lot, but there are many high-end models with superb construction and compelling features. For most of us, price is a key element in all purchasing decisions.
The oval shape of the grill made it easy to cook multiple types of food, from skewers to roasted corn. After she was done testing, cleanup was a breeze, whether using a grill brush or removing the grate to clean in the kitchen sink. A couple of downsides discovered during testing were that the lid can detach while cooking and the weber q lack of a built-in thermometer means you’ll need to have your own. There’s a built-in lid thermometer and dampers on the lid that allow you to monitor and adjust the inner temperature. Gas grills are mainly for convenient, quick cooks — they work “hot and fast,” says Horsman, great for firing up hot dogs and burgers after work.
The resulting chicken was tasty, and the grill features really well-made cast-iron grates across its 365 square inches of cooking area. The lid houses a temperature gauge and a handy hinge that makes it easy to add charcoal. This grill can hold up to nine burgers on its plated steel cooking grate, and it features an enameled porcelain lid and bowl, lid hook, and easy-to-adjust weber charcoal grill dampers. It has durable wheels for easy transport, and you can clean up quickly using the one-touch cleaning system, which sweeps ash and debris into the rust-resistant ash catcher. In our testing, the Weber Premium was hands down the easiest grill to control temperature on, with the flames inside the kettle responding expertly to any tap of the vents.
Toast to the authenticity of charcoal grilling, classic design, and taste loved around the world—the Original Kettle. Its ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl retain heat, while the dampers can be easily adjusted for precise temperature control. Grilling purists will tell you that charcoal cooking is the only way to go, and seasoned grillers I’ve spoken to maintain that a Weber kettle is the best charcoal grill you can buy. It’s hard to argue with the first part because propane simply won’t give you the same smoky flavor you get from charcoal.
One look at this grill, and you know you’re dealing with a classic. This is a straight-up charcoal grill that would be right at home in a Norman Rockwell painting. The thick wire handle weber charcoal grill of the ash catcher can be a little hard to move at first, but it does loosen up with use. Just make a habit of emptying it every time you clean the grill and you’ll be fine.
Attaching the vent, ash catcher, and legs to the Weber is dead easy—everything simply snaps into place. Throughout, we also tested our “necessities”—accessories such as spatulas, tongs, grill brushes, and sheet pans. We learned a lot about them , but they also helped us identify a few design strengths and flaws of the grills. The lightweight yet durable Premium Grill Cover makes it easy to pull on and off your grill. Its fastening straps keep it from blowing into your neighbor’s yard, and water-resistant material helps maintain a clean, sleek surface. (cheese, fish, etc.) where the grill is used as a smoking chamber not for cooking.
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. We got good results in one or another respect with the other models, but they didn’t perform consistently great on everything the way the Weber did. It’s compact yet big enough to cook an entire elaborate meal for a family, a simple spread for a party, or even a whole Thanksgiving turkey.
It has changed very little since the actual original Weber… and why should it? Just to look at it is to conjure up memories of family cookouts and good times — even if you’ve never owned one. The Weber Original Kettle is no more difficult to use than any other charcoal grill. In fact, it’s probably easier than most, given how roomy it is. Temperature is controlled with vents at the bottom of the bowl, and one up top on the lid.