The goal was a steady hold at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and we adjusted the vents to get as close to that as we could. After 45 minutes, we flipped the chicken parts, slathered on a coating of barbecue sauce, and closed the lid for another five minutes. We repeated this step twice more, rounding out the cook time at an hour flat. Then we had a taste, paying special attention to the breast meat—a long cook can dry it out. For the high-heat, whole-grate burger test, we lit a chimney’s worth of briquets—the equivalent of six quarts, or about 90 coals of a former runner-up from our extensive briquet tests. We poured the lit coals into the grills, spread them in an even layer, and then heated the grills with the lids down and all vents fully open for 15 minutes (a standard manufacturer’s recommendation).
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. The Blackjack Kettle Grill also features two air vents, and it was easy to control the grill temperature with them. The bottom vent functions like most kettle grills, but the top vent is styled more like a traditional smoker vent.
Enjoy the great outdoors and barbecue to your heart’s content with charcoal grills from the brands you trust like Masterbuilt, Char-Broil, and Weber. A high quality grill made from heavy duty, weather-resistant stainless steel will provide years of tasty burgers, juicy bratwurst, and cherished memories. Portable charcoal grill options allow you to prepare your steaks and burgers on the deck, at the poolside, or in the driveway for a neighborhood BBQ party. Choose a small tabletop Weber Charcoal grill or a large 30 inch grill from Char-Broil. Let Blain’s Farm & Fleet set you up with the best charcoal grill to fit your outdoor entertaining lifestyle.
The Smokey Mountain Cooker™ smoker has two cooking grates to smoke two large items at once or plenty of ribs. The fuel door is removable so that adding charcoal and wood is easy, and the dampers allow you to be in control of the heat for tender, fall-off-the-bone meat. The ritual of charcoal grilling meets the convenient features and the wow factor of the Master-Touch®. Equipped with a hinged Gourmet BBQ System cooking grate, you’re also able to purchase additional inserts, like the wok or griddle, to cook smoky chili or breakfast outside on the grill.
As we tested this over the course of two weeks, it rarely had any faults. The 513 square inches of cooking space was consistently even in heat, with some slightly hotter temperatures observed directly over the burners. The sear zone produced delicious steak, though you might want an additional burner like we did. It’s even great for beginners since the app includes everything you need to know for grilling and maintaining a gas grill. There’s a reason Weber is nearly synonymous with classic, quality grills. The brand has been around since the ’50s when the founder first invented the kettle grill.
We experienced even heating and few flare-ups during our testing, with our home tester claiming that it’s “worth the splurge.” Testing charcoal grills requires a lot of hands-on cooking, and your results will obviously vary based on your technique and ingredients, among other factors. Depending on the season and how your charcoal grill is set up, your experience cooking and grilling will likely be very different from ours.
If you prefer meat that’s more well done, you can extend the cooking time, or sear and finish cooking in an oven. They’re bulkier, the assembly is more involved and you’ll likely need more fuel to keep the larger space at a high temperature. Our results, however, were almost as good as with the kettle-style Weber, so if you’re interested in a cart-style charcoal BBQ, this is your best bet. In our medium, indirect-heat chicken tests, the Nexgrill delivered flavorful, juicy meat as a close second to the Weber. And this updated model, when we used the charcoal snake method, demonstrated temperature control almost as good as the Weber.
However, it takes longer to heat up and is a different cooking experience from traditional charcoal grills. During our tests, we were only able to get our hamburgers to cook to rare, and our chicken did not sear and crisp up as well as it did on all the other grills. Because of this, the Napoleon is definitely not a grill for charcoal beginners.
Whether entertaining on a small patio or in a big backyard, the need to grill has no limits. After dinner, fold down the side table, push together your chairs, and toast to the Performer charcoal grill. After testing and reviewing it for over 6 months, I can safely safe I’m a big fan of the Slow N’ Sear, however, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary weber genesis 2 to make smoking feasible on a charcoal grill. Having said all of this, this upgrade is not necessary to smoke on the weber kettle. If you’re someone who has never smoked meat before and you look at the lid thermometer, you might panic when you see 400F on your lid thermometer. The above is the most basic arrangement for charcoal when smoking meat.