Ariane Resnick, who also updated this article, is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author. She has more than 20 years experience in the food and writing spaces and weber charcoal grill believes in a joy-filled approach to health and wellness. Stainless-steel grates are inexpensive and lightweight, but you’ll need to clean them with a great grill brush after every session.
The Weber Performance Deluxe 22-Inch comes with updated key features, which will make your grilling sessions exceedingly easy. To start, the grill is embedded within an easy-to-move cart that features an extra-large side table and enclosed charcoal storage. Next, we tested each grill’s medium heat cooking capability by roasting whole chickens. The trick here is to keep the grills at a hot enough temperature to cook a chicken for upwards of two hours. Before the cooking tests, we spent a day assembling the three grills.
Equipped with a Tuck-Away™ lid holder for convenient lid placement, taller legs, and Char-Basket™ fuel holders. While you’re shopping, don’t forget to add the best charcoal for grilling or a charcoal chimney starter to your cart. But once you factor in price, performance, and design, the Weber is the heavy hitter in the arena of charcoal grills. A high-end ceramic kamado grill, while a superior cooker thanks to its insulation, will run you $800 minimum. Barrel-style charcoal grills, while larger, can be more difficult to manage and harder to clean.
But what really sets the Premium version apart from the standard 22-inch kettle is the enclosed ash catcher, which makes cleanup easy and eliminates concerns about stray embers. Assembly is dead simple, and the construction and weber q materials are sturdy. Add its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and the Weber Kettle Premium Grill is the best value going. No matter what you slap on it, the Weber can cook it—hot and fast or low and slow.
Another great component is the hinged grate’s circular insert where you can quickly add charcoals while cooking. You do have to take the whole grate off to re-adjust your fuel though, one of the few downsides. When grilling time is over, this again has an advantage over older kettle grills. The ash is swept into the bottom catcher for easy disposal once it’s cooled, while everything else only needs a quick wipe-down.
All of our tests were designed and run by Wirecutter senior writer Lesley Stockton, who has over a decade of experience in professional kitchens, many of them spent on the grill station. Lesley conducted the testing with senior staff writer Tim Heffernan, who wrote this guide, and Michael Sullivan, a senior writer on the kitchen team. Sam Sifton, assistant managing editor at The New York Times, also joined in and added his extensive knowledge. The world of the charcoal grill is essentially back to basics – returning to the original experience of cooking over an open fire.
I’ve thrown pork, burgers, steaks, chicken, veggies, and even some pineapple on the Weber with fabulous results. You can even use the Weber to slowly smoke more traditional barbecue by adding a little wood to the fire. This Weber’s plated steel cooking grate is hinged so that it’s easier to load charcoal, even while cooking, onto the heavy-gauge steel grate below.