Weber Charcoal Grills Max Good is the vice president and director of equipment reviews for AmazingRibs.com. Because of the kettle-shape design, there’s no practical way to include a secondary cooking surface for cooking delicate items, warming buns, etc. The bowl and lid are protected against burn-through and rust-through for 10 years. The one-touch cleaning system comes with a 5-year warranty, also covering burn-through and rust-through, plus you get 5 years on the plastic bits, not including fading or discoloring. There’s a hook inside the lid for hanging on the bowl which helps prevent damage to it, and a special handle just for rolling the grill around. From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s hard not to like this classic-looking grill. Once the victuals were hot and sizzling, they were eagerly placed inside soft Wonder Bread buns, slathered with ketchup and all the other fixins, and devoured with gusto. When it comes to BBQ-ing around here, I’ve been using a gas grill during the 10 years I’ve lived in my house. While i'm not a professional Pitmaster, I've worked with nearly every cut of meat. Plus, its generous size and ample room under the lid make it easy to roast large items over a longer period. Up higher, food cooks on the food grate, and you top it all off with the dome-shaped lid to trap the heat and smoke. One look at this grill, and you know you’re dealing with a classic. This is a straight-up charcoal grill that would be right at home in a Norman Rockwell painting. We rarely recommend products we haven't tested and we never recommend products that we don't love. Often, but not always, if you purchase a product after clicking a link on our site we get a finder's fee. For more than 50 years, Weber charcoal grills have been one of the top sellers in the BBQ industry. Their kettle style grills are one of the most popular charcoal grills of all time, and this is due to Weber's solid performance and dependable quality. Weber charcoal grills are portable, lightweight, and our huge selection includes all the sizes and colors available from Weber. Some grills are equipped with a variety of special features. Certain models double as smokers or have integrated thermometers. The classic kettle-style charcoal grill is the granddaddy of backyard barbecues. In fact, you might be tempted to break out a nice pair of loafers and light up a pipe standing in front of one. Immerse yourself in the sound of crackling briquettes and the rich, inviting smell of smoke. Stay true to the modern version of the kettle that started it all - the Weber Original Kettle. The most popular Weber charcoal grill, the Original Kettle, can be found for between $100 and $450, with the differences coming in diameter, ash management, colors, and cooking grates. Smoking is a process in which meats are cooked at a much lower temperature for an extended period. A Weber charcoal smoker is a great option for larger cuts of meats like brisket and ham, while charcoal grilling may be a better option for classic grilling dishes like hamburgers, hot dogs and more. 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. For example, a kettle-style charcoal grill left in the July sun all day will run a lot hotter than it will in the cooler spring months. The Cuisinart Black Kettle Grill is one of the smallest we tested with its 18-inch kettle. It’s similar in size to the Weber Original Kettle Charcoal Grill, though unlike that grill, it comes with an ash pan and a thermometer. However, a major downside to this grill was that the built-in thermometer barely worked. The Cuisinart was also the only grill with which we experienced grease flare-ups when cooking. Though you only have to endure setup one time, build time is definitely relevant if you’re picking up a charcoal grill for a last-minute barbecue. The Weber Original Premium Grill took 15 minutes to assemble, while the Weber Original Grill took only 10 minutes. In our tests it outperformed the other grills in cooking, ease of assembly, and user-friendly details. We got good results in one or another respect with the other models, but they didn’t perform consistently great on everything the way the Weber did. It’s compact yet big enough to cook an entire elaborate meal for a family, a simple spread for a party, or even a whole Thanksgiving turkey. 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. The Smokey Mountain Cooker™ smoker has two cooking grates for smoking multiple items at once, and dampers that adjust easily so that you’re always in control of the heat—and your feast. Make grilling season easier on yourself and clean your grill at the start of each grilling session, not at the end. Start by lighting your coals and letting your grill heat up for about 10 minutes. This should heat the grates enough that any crusted-on food can be easily removed with a grill brush. After you clean the grates, oil them using a paper towel dipped in oil and held in tongs. To use one, load up the space on the bottom with a piece of newspaper or two, pile coals in from the top, then light the newspaper. The fire and heat from the newspaper ignites the bottom coals, then the fire builds up. When the top coals are covered with gray ash, you're ready to go. I've been reviewing grills and smokers full time since 2012.