Assembly is dead simple, and the construction and materials are sturdy. Add its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and the Weber Kettle Premium Grill is the best value going. Though the basic design has barely changed since 1952, Weber has added helpful details over the years, like hooks on the side handles for hanging your spatula, tongs, or other tools. But, that’s the beauty of charcoal; you can get a lot for a little because they’re so simple. Weber has a lot of confidence in its products, and they back it up with an exceptional warranty. Overall, it’s well-designed, well-built, and deserving of the Weber name.
Read on to see how well the Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill performed under fire. At $139, Weber’s original, kettle-style charcoal grill continues to stand the test of time. In our high-heat searing tests, Weber delivered the best balance of seared exterior and medium-rare interior steak. The Weber kettle grill gave us tasty chicken too, with crispy chicken skin. The Weber can also smoke low and slow at a rock-steady cooking temperature.
If you prefer meat that’s more well done, you can extend the cooking time, or sear and finish cooking in an oven. In our medium, indirect-heat chicken tests, the Nexgrill delivered flavorful, juicy meat as a close second to the Weber. And this updated model, when we used the charcoal snake method, demonstrated temperature control almost as good as the Weber. Simple construction means there aren’t too many parts to assemble or too many features to handle while cooking. A vent on the lid controls airflow and a well-designed ash tray beneath the Weber grill facilitates easy cleanup. Unfortunately, the Napoleon grill’s assembly was overly complex and potentially dangerous.
Unless it was not an option (like with the PK Grill model), we opted to test versions of these grills without built-in carts or side tables. They can add unnecessary bulk and cost to a type of grill often chosen for being compact and cost-efficient. If a rounded barbecue like a BGE can have one, surely this could, too? At least you get a small shelf down in the legs, but I’d love a handy spot to rest my sauces, rubs, tools, thermometer transmitter, drink, and so on.
We set all air vents on each grill (top and bottom) to the halfway-open position. Lastly, we place one rack of ribs on each grill for indirect cooking, with the meat not sitting directly above the coals. Next, we tested each grill’s medium heat cooking weber genesis 2 capability by roasting whole chickens. The trick here is to keep the grills at a hot enough temperature to cook a chicken for upwards of two hours. Hinged sections on opposite sides of the grate let you access the entire charcoal bed below.
All you need is a Phillips screwdriver to attach the side handles, and a hammer (or even just a chunk of firewood) to tap the end caps of the wheel axle into place. One person can have the grill up and running within minutes of opening the box. By contrast, other grills we tested had cumbersome assembly processes. The Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″ is a classic for good reason. In our tests it outperformed the other grills in cooking, ease of assembly, and user-friendly details.
Overall, this is a good basic barrel grill, but assembly was frustrating and it lacks many of the features that made the Classic our pick for best upgrade. Charcoal grills are great for beginner grillers, thanks to their relatively low price point (gas grills can cost double portable bbq or triple their charcoal competitors). They’re simpler to use and master, and have a wider temperature range, making them ideal for smoking, moderately hot cooking, and ripping hot searing. But even within the category of charcoal grills, the price varies widely.