The new PK 300 also comes with cast-aluminum lugs and legs, so nothing is bound to fall apart or buckle like it would on a cheaper grill. It handles about five (crowded) burgers on the grate, so it’s plenty for a normal carload of people, which we find is just right. There are tons of portable grills out there, but the most basic and familiar is the miniature version of our top recommendation, Weber’s 14-inch Smokey Joe. We like the Kamado Joe (KJ) Classic II because it makes few, if any, concessions in quality, but is priced well.
Another great component is the hinged grate’s circular insert where you can quickly add charcoals while cooking. You do have to take the whole grate off to re-adjust your fuel though, one of the few downsides. When weber charcoal grill grilling time is over, this again has an advantage over older kettle grills. The ash is swept into the bottom catcher for easy disposal once it’s cooled, while everything else only needs a quick wipe-down.
For our tests, each grill gets a full chimney of lit charcoal and a 6-pound chicken opposite the coals for indirect heat. But the biggest problem is that the instructions completely overlook what we found to be a potentially dangerous design flaw. The Napoleon’s vent assembly consists of two metal collars, one inside the other. 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.
A few twists of the knobs, and I can have a high-heat zone, medium-heat zone, and low-heat zone at the ready. There are many approaches to how to clean a charcoal grill, but while it’s still warm, you can use a brush, scraper, or block to remove grease, drippings, and fuel residue. Here are some of the best grill brushes and cleaning tools we recommend. Another popular method, which should only be conducted while the grill is cool, is using a spray cleaner.
We were really impressed with the meal created using this grill, especially the quality sear marks it left on veggie shish kebabs, hanger steak, zucchini slices, and marinated chicken breast. Though we did miss the true smoky flavor that can only come from wood and charcoal. The authenticity of charcoal grilling started with the Original Kettle® Series grills, invented by Weber? His idea was that the rounded cooking bowl with a lid was the key to success. The ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl are uniquely designed to retain the charcoal’s heat, while dampers are easily adjusted for precise temperature control. The only real learning curve to cooking on a charcoal grill is fire management, but the built-in thermometer makes that easier.
Ariane Resnick, who also updated this article, is a special diet chef, certified nutritionist, and bestselling author. She has more than 20 years experience in the food and writing spaces and believes in a joy-filled approach to health and wellness. Stainless-steel grates are inexpensive and lightweight, but you’ll need to clean them with a great grill brush after every session.
They’re all liable to leak, spill, and trash the trunk of your car, so don’t set out without a storage bin or a large, heavy-duty sealed bag to contain grease, ash, and grit. I prefer the weber, coated cast-iron grates to the plated steel grates the Original Kettle comes with, but there are weber genesis 2 worse things, and the plated steel still cooks relatively well. It’s a fun rewarding experience, though to be perfectly honest I now never smoke on this grill because I tend to always smoke on my Kamado Joes. The bowl and lid are protected against burn-through and rust-through for 10 years.
I’ve thrown pork, burgers, steaks, chicken, veggies, and even some pineapple on the Weber with fabulous results. You can even use the Weber to slowly smoke more traditional barbecue by adding a little wood to the fire. This Weber’s plated steel cooking grate is hinged so that it’s easier to load charcoal, even while cooking, onto the heavy-gauge steel grate below.
Sign up to receive new product news, exclusive offers, grilling tips & recipes, and more from Weber and its affiliates / subsidiaries! Combustion by-products produced when using this product contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. From 1999 to 2001 there was a period of tremendous growth for the business. Several additional product lines were added and delivery/setup services were expanded.
Weber kettles combine traditional design with an innovative production. Made of steel and coated with porcelain enamel, the bowl and lid are formed exactly right to allow heat to circulate around the inside of the grill for even cooking. The porcelain enamel is baked on at approximately 1500°F ensuring that your grill will not only withstand the heat, but also resist rust and burn through.