Weber Charcoal Grills & Smokers a KC BBQ Store Gear Patrol participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. From the Smokey Joe to the brand-new Genesis range, here’s everything you need to know about Weber, America’s favorite grill makers. Our customer service reps are real people offering great service, backed by 8 weeks of hands-on training with all of our products. The lifespan of any grill is affected by several factors including cleaning frequency, maintenance, amount of use, weather, and the overall environment where the grill is located. There is an abundance of Weber owners who have been using the same grill for decades. After she was done testing, cleanup was a breeze, whether using a grill brush or removing the grate to clean in the kitchen sink. A couple of downsides discovered during testing were that the lid can detach while cooking and the lack of a built-in thermometer means you'll need to have your own. Our last test is grilling barbecued ribs, specifically baby back pork ribs. This style of cooking requires strict temperature control over a period of multiple hours. Ideally, a quality charcoal grill will keep its fire humming along close to 225 degrees F for as long as possible. If you're looking for the fanciest kettle grill out there, this one might just be it. Finally, make sure to empty your ashes, and keep that grill covered when not in use. Flimsy charcoal grills with loose, warped lids and rickety moving parts make temperature control a nightmare. Charcoal grills don't need to be tanks made of heavy, quarter inch-thick steel, but they shouldn't be tin cans that lack structural integrity. We assembled each grill according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I timed each build and noted any confusing directions or hard-to-finagle parts. Assembling each grill also allowed us to assess the quality of the materials. In 1956, the Weber kettle was redesigned to its current shape. The 1956 through 1959 Weber Kettles had a solid metal triangular base and the handle on the lid and bowl handles were metal . For “metal lid handle” The steel legs are held into the sockets with thumbscrews. Another powerful draw of these grills is the intense smoky flavor they create in the food they cook. They're versatile too since they can use either traditional charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal as fuel. In the case of kettle models, we arrange coals in a semicircle around the grill's inner wall. The charcoal briquettes form a line two coals wide and two coals deep. We also drop a few chunks of smokewood on top of the snake . We were underwhelmed with the performance of the Napoleon 22-inch grill, which is most likely a result of the grill needing more briquettes to really work well. The kettle on this model is pretty deep and you can adjust the cooking grate to two different levels. We wouldn’t advise cooking with the grate at the highest level if you’re looking for a nice sear since it’s too far off the heat. The grill grate on a Napoleon is made of a thicker and flatter cast iron, which is an upgrade from the usual lightweight, stainless steel grates you see on most charcoal grills. The original circular design of the Weber Kettle Grill has been adopted by many other charcoal grill brands due to its superior heating ability. When it comes to charcoal grills, Weber offers a cooking experience that is unmatched by any other brand. From here, you'll want to clean and oil your cooking grates and preheat them for several minutes before placing food on the grill. As you cook your food, control the grill's temperature by using the upper and lower vents. This arrangement is better than the Santa Maria-style grill where the food moves up and down and the coals are stationary because the head room above the food isn’t reduced. Weber-Stephen is one of the oldest and most respected manufacturers of BBQ equipment and related accessories in the world. Weber grills and smokerscook beautifully and have great features that are clever, effective and easy to use. Even in this crowded marketplace, many consumers are still willing to pay more for the Weber name and they are rarely disappointed. Their iconic black charcoal kettles are known throughout the world. Weber makes charcoal grills for every budget, ranging from around $50 to over $2,000. The best charcoal grill for steak searing in our lineup was the Weber Classic Kettle. The steak had nice grill marks while keeping a medium doneness on the inside. The worst was our Tacklife review unit, which didn't hold much heat and didn't sear while cooking. The steak on that grill needed an additional five minutes to get to a temperature of 135 F, the minimum for medium rare. The 22-inch Napoleon Rodeo Charcoal Kettle Grill (model number NK22CK-L) is considered one of the better Weber clones available (the pros at AmazingRibs.com, among others, rate it highly). In our cooking tests it performed well, though not quite as well as the Weber.