Best charcoal grills in 2022 CNN Underscored Our experiments ran the gamut from grilling burgers to smoking . 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 Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22? is a classic for good reason. And, yes, I totally love those few features; not having to hand-scoop the ash is a blessing, and the lid hook will save you from dents and scratches. The only reason I say that is because if you're like me, you may enjoy experimenting with different add-ons and accessories. The Tel-Tru then threads in the hole and secured via a locking nut. The enamel is baked on at 1,500F - which is enough to hold up to any heat you throw at the grill as well as potential rust and burn through problems. Typically, prices drop in the Winter months when demand is low and increases in the Summer when demand is high - If you're in the market for a new grill, always wait till Winter. We have several recommendations for charcoal grills, at a host of price points. However, for under $200, we think a lot grillers will be happy with the Weber Original 22-Inch Kettle Grill, which performs incredibly well and will last forever. If you want a grill as well as a smoker, consider the Slow 'N Sear Kettle Grill. Heat control is relatively easy with both top and bottom vents. There’s a learning curve, of course, when it comes to controlling heat on a charcoal grill, but once learned, it’s plain sailing from there. As with all charcoal grills, your briquettes or lumps rest near the bottom of the bowl on a grate that keeps them off the base of the pit to allow airflow. None of the hood thermometers built into these grills mirrored the temperatures recorded by our own thermocouples and data software. The Nexgrill definitely gets hot enough to create a nice sear, but you do have to work a little harder than you do with the Weber to avoid overcooking your meat. You can also raise the Nexgrill's adjustable charcoal tray basket to its highest position. Brian Bennett is a senior writer for the home and outdoor section at CNET. He reviews a wide range of household and smart-home products. Portable charcoal grill options allow you to prepare your steaks and burgers on the deck, at the poolside, or in the driveway for a neighborhood BBQ party. Choose a small tabletop Weber Charcoal grill or a large 30 inch grill from Char-Broil. Let Blain’s Farm & Fleet set you up with the best charcoal grill to fit your outdoor entertaining lifestyle. Spark your passion for charcoal grilling with the Kettle that started it all. They're easy to start up and you can start cooking on them in minutes with little effort. But if you want a full-size, backyard family grill, go big. This is typically accomplished by piling or corralling your charcoal fuel on one side to create a hot direct cooking zone over the fire and a moderate indirect zone on the opposite side. A two-zone setup helps you avoid charred chicken and exploding sausage, plus it gives you the option to gently roast or sizzle and sear at the same time. For our tests, we cooked hamburgers on direct heat for four minutes on each side and then compared their level of doneness. The two Weber grills both cooked our hamburgers to medium rare, while the Oklahoma Joe’s, Cuisinart and Char-Griller all ran slightly hotter and cooked our test hamburgers to medium. Stack your charcoal briquettes in two rows of two deep along the inner wall of the grill. Add the extra money you pay for the Napoleon grill over the Weber kettle that it emulates, and the Weber model’s superiority is even starker. If the ash catcher is even slightly warm, the ash inside is still a fire hazard. Indirect grilling can produce a great roasted chicken—the Weber’s is a textbook example. In our research, most proved to be cheap knockoffs that weren’t worth the minor savings. We resolved instead to find a kettle that could compete with the Weber on performance, price, and value. But we also opened our search to include charcoal grills of different designs. The fact that the kettle shape dominates the charcoal-grilling field doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the ideal. No matter what your preferred style of backyard BBQ cooking is, Weber has you covered with a complete line of gas, wood pellet, charcoal, electric and portable grills. 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.