The Complete Buying Guide to Weber Grills: Every Model Explained It's relatively inexpensive as far as grills/smokers go and it will essentially last a decade or longer. A good example is the Slow N' Sear deluxe - which is an add-on for kettle grills that essentially creates a quintessential two-zone fire . In this setup, the lid thermometer is measuring the temperature of the hot zone rather than the cool zone . Given the enormous variety of products and designs, there is no one-size-fits-all test. The Weber One-Touch Gold 22.5-Inch Charcoal Grill is our favorite kettle grill, but it has a flaw... We like to barbecue in the Parks on the weekends and bring a portable charcoal barbecue with us. Also, we go camping in a tent, and we put our gear in our SUV and there isn’t a lot of room. 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. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Sarah Vanbuskirk is an accomplished writer who tested her grill out on her family of seven to see if it could live up to the rigors of feeding a large family. To find out which are the best bets for your next backyard barbecue. Nothing beats the smoky barbecue flavour that can only be created on a charcoal barbecue. Cheers to the modern version of the kettle that started it all - the Original Kettle. On balance, gas is probably the better choice if you favor no-fuss cooking or grill often . If you’re an occasional griller or you enjoy getting hands-on with your cooking, charcoal is an economical choice that, with a bit of practice, produces superb results. Nothing beats the smoky barbecue flavor that can only be created on a charcoal grill. To make the most of your cookouts, you’ll need the best utensils at your fingertips. Get closer to achieving grilling perfection with our selection of Weber grilling tools and accessories. While a majority share of Weber-Stephen Products LLC was sold to BDT Capital Partners in 2010, the acquisition did not include restaurant operations. We recommend products based on quality and price, not on fees. These fees do not add to the price of purchase but they do help keep this site alive. The thick wire handle 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. One thing that I noticed while putting the grill together was that the materials just seemed chintzier and more flimsy than those on the Weber Kettle Grill my dad owned. At a certain moment, Dad would decide that the charcoal was ready for cooking. On would go the grate, and an assortment of burger patties, hot dogs, and sausages were laid upon this culinary altar. 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 to make smoking feasible on a charcoal grill. When you invert the assembly to screw it to the grill, the inner collar can slip down unnoticed and prevent the screws from attaching to the grill body. That happened to us twice before we figured out what was going on. If it had been full of hot ash, we would have had a real problem. Finally, after all our tests were done, we did routine maintenance, emptying the ash catchers, brushing the grates, and washing out the grills. Over the course of two days, we put three charcoal grills through a battery of tests. In 1952, George Stephen took his love for barbecue - along with his passion for the perfect grilled steak - and combined them with a revolutionary grill design inspired by the shape of a buoy.