It puts out the same 13,000 Btu as the others, for a combined total 52,000 Btu across the four burners. By contrast, the Spirit II E-310 puts out 30,000 Btu and the E-210, 26,500 Btu. No matter the brand of grill, we don’t like to fully rely on built-in thermometers. But thermometers in the lid are several inches above the cooking grate and don’t accurately report the temperature on the surface where you’re actually cooking your food. Consider getting an inexpensive infrared thermometer to gauge the temperature of the cooking grates.
If a random person walked into our offices off the street and demanded the best grill they could get, I’d point them to this. Beginners will be able to turn out great food without needing to master anything new, and serious grillmasters will find that the Spirit II E-310 is great for acing the basics.
It’s available in both propane and natural gas configurations, and each burner features individual Snap-Jet ignition. 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. To find the best gas grills for your backyard cookouts, the PEOPLE Tested team spent several days testing 13 weber gas grill different full-size gas grills. In the first round of testing, we used each grill to cook hamburgers and buns, as well as grilled onions, and after comparing all the results, we selected the 10 top performers to move onto round two. In the second round of testing, we cooked skin-on fish filets and steak, evaluating each grill on its ease of use, performance, cleaning, design, and value.
The S-315 has a slightly higher Btu output than our pick (32,000 Btu versus 30,000 Btu, respectively). But other than those minor variations, it looks like the S-315 would perform about the same as our pick—and wouldn’t be worth the higher price. At about 20 inches x 20 inches and a little more than 22 pounds, Weber’s 18-inch Jumbo Joe is compact enough to make it the smart choice for small spaces and travel. The charcoal grill features a metal bracket that keeps the lid locked in place during transit—and holds it in place during cooking, as well.
Camryn Rabideau is a freelance commerce writer and product tester specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her 6+ years of experience as a product tester, she’s reviewed hundreds of items firsthand, and her work appears weber portable grill in publications such as The Spruce, Homes & Gardens, and more. For this article, she consulted tested insights and interviewed Chef Dale Talde, chef and owner at Goosefeather and host of Tastemade’s All Up In My Grill.
Too big and you’ll be wasting fuel, too small and you’ll be eating dinner last. For grilling, the two important rules to follow are that you’ll need about a pound of meat per person and that you’ll need 72 square inches for each of those servings. For a family of four, 400 to 500 square inches is sufficient—that allows enough room for sides, extras, or the occasionally dinner guest without being too big a grill for everyday use. The SmokeFire EX4 has a 20-pound pellet hopper, as well as a DC-powered engine designed to prevent auger jams. The grill is also equipped with a number of smart features like two meat probes that let you keep an eye on the doneness of your food and allows you to control and monitor the grill from your smartphone via Wi-Fi. It can even walk you through the grilling process, letting you know when it’s time to flip food—a handy option for novice grillers.
It wasn’t as bad as other grills we’ve tested, but you might need a partner or a friend on hand to help you build it. This grill is easy to use and made the best food of any we’ve tested. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of the competitors, but it doesn’t need them. Finally, although we looked at grills from high-end makers such as Hestan, Lynx/Sedona, and MHP for comparison (and a sense of what’s possible in a grill, for a price), we did not test them.
The hinged rack measures 5½ inches deep when folded and expands to 11 inches. Weber also switched the direction of the rods on the upper rack so that they now run back to front, instead of side to side. As a company, Weber constantly refines its designs, even on its classic charcoal kettle grill, which has been around for well over 60 years. And, again, Weber’s warranty covers all parts of the Spirit II E-310 for a full 10 years.
Since wood pellet grills work by indirect heat, you’ll be able to smoke food as well, without any accessories. You will need to make sure there’s an electric outlet nearby since most need to be plugged-in for the ignition and the auger. To get you ready for peak grilling season, we’re doing a new round of testing on both gas and charcoal grills in early 2023. We’ll be testing both tried-and-true models as well as a few of the newer grills on the market.