A grill that is both durable and easy to repair creates much less waste than a cheapo grill that ends up in the garbage. We chose grills with fireboxes made of cast aluminum because the firebox is a major part of the grill, it’s difficult to replace, and aluminum is resistant to rust and corrosion. Cheaper grills have thin enameled steel fireboxes that are prone to damage and holes from rust.
One is a decent grill cover to protect and prolong the life of your grill, because let’s face it there is only so much punishment your grill can take despite its build quality. Take a quick peek at the accessories section of the website, and you’ll be overwhelmed with the length and breadth of grilling gadgets and accessories you can buy for your Weber grill. This Spirit ii E-330 is most likely an upgrade on most people’s grill setup, with many people still sticking to traditional kettles and charcoal BBQ’s. Additionally, you’ve got an added solo side burner for all your saucepan and accompaniment needs, making it a real treat of a unit to cook a complete meal on. So no running back and forth to the kitchen to tie it all together.
We also roasted whole chickens indirectly on both low and high heat to see whether the grills could create browned skin and perfectly cooked meat without charring. In 2018 we repeated these tests, with the then-new Weber Spirit II E-310 and our upgrade pick at the time, the Weber Genesis II E-310 . When comparing the two materials—without taking anything else into consideration—cast iron holds more heat, so it will leave darker sear marks on your food than stainless steel.
Bolting them to the bottom side of the cart was easy though it would have been easier if they had just come with flat head bolts instead of nuts & bolts. I had to use a wrench & vise grips to get some of them on tight because those nuts were well tight. With help from two temperature probes connected to a datalogger, I was able to track the time it took for each chicken to reach an internal temperature char broil performance of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Like pork, the USDA has recommendations on food-safe cooking temps for chicken. In addition to its decent performance, the Spirit II has a couple of special features — a propane tank scale and an optional integration with the $100 Weber iGrill 3 temperature probe. If the tank scale and iGrill 3 accessory matter to you, the Spirit II might be worth your money.
Our main complaint for just about every grill is the obligatory bi-metal dial thermometer in the hood that gives you a ballpark reading of what the temperature is high above the meat. Since we cook down on the grates, it’s always better to use your own digital thermometer and place a probe at the cooking surface. With their acquisition of iGrill digital Blackstone Adventure thermometers, Weber is addressing this issue. Spirit II is “iGrill3 Ready” with a mounting place on the right side shelf for an optional iGrill 3 digital thermometer. This Bluetooth device enables you to place one digital probe at the cooking surface to dial up the correct oven temp, and one probe in your food to monitor internal meat temp.