Properly Assemble a Weber Charcoal Grill That Won’t Collapse Cook’s Illustrated

We placed two steaks on each grilling grate near the center and seared them for five minutes before flipping them over and searing for another five minutes. With a good, reliable grill, this will give you a steak with a seared outside and a medium rare to medium center. If you prefer meat that’s more well done, you can extend the cooking time, or sear and finish cooking in an oven. They’re bulkier, the assembly is more involved and you’ll likely need more fuel to keep the larger space at a high temperature. Our results, however, were almost as good as with the kettle-style Weber, so if you’re interested in a cart-style charcoal BBQ, this is your best bet.

In terms of basic design, charcoal grills can have round or oval kettles (an oval or oblong design is better for smoking, as it can accommodate a water tray and large cuts of meat). Charcoal grills are great for beginner grillers, thanks to their relatively low price point (gas grills can cost double 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.

This is sort of hard to explain without you physically setting up the grill. The color I opted to go with was Green as my last Kettle was black; The only other color choice for the premium kettle is copper. While there are a number of different Kettle grills these days – it’s hard to beat the price of the Weber kettle. I also know the grill will last me another 10+ weber gas grill years because I don’t treat my grills poorly and Weber doesn’t skimp on materials. Co-founder Matt Van Horn is the president of June while the company’s other co-founder, Nikhil Bhogal, is the senior vice president, technology and connected devices of Weber. Van Horn continued to focus on the June Oven while Bhogal works with Weber R&D programs and new products.

weber charcoal grill

From an aesthetic standpoint, it’s hard not to like this classic-looking grill. It has changed very little since the actual original Weber… and why should it? Just to look at it is to conjure up memories of family cookouts and good times — even if you’ve never owned one.

This grill has enough room for a three-zone charcoal fire—and a handful of beer-can chickens, multiple racks of ribs, or (at least) 20 burgers. It’s also a great grill for slow cooking a whole pork shoulder and then some with or without Char-Griller’s optional side fire box. The Char-Griller Super Pro is a versatile steel barrel charcoal grill with a whopping 850 square inches of total cooking area, if you count the top warming rack. The main grates are made of heavy-duty cast iron and resemble the grates of some of the best gas grills we tested this year.

Weber is also a company that’s essentially synonymous with barbecue at this point. Sign in or create an account to view this content and much more! The Art of Manliness participates in affiliate marketing programs, which means we get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links.

With new features such as a convenient hinged lid and charcoal ring for efficient fuel consumption, the Master-Touch Premium is your answer to grilling. Stay true to the modern version of the kettle that started it all—the Original Kettle®, invented by Weber’s founder, and loved around the world. Its ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl retain heat, while the dampers easily adjust for precise temperature control. Clean the cooking grate as you would any other grate — use a good grill cleaning tool to remove food debris (when it’s still warm), but don’t use anything metal. You may want to occasionally wash it with warm water and perhaps a mild soap. Similarly, you’ll probably have to scrape stuff off the lower charcoal grate, though possibly not after each use.

When you consider that the Napoleon grill costs about $50 more than the Weber kettle that it emulates, the Weber model’s superiority is even starker. We tested an older version of the 22-inch Napoleon Rodeo Charcoal Kettle Grill (NK22CK-L), which is considered one of the better Weber clones available. It performed well in our cooking tests, though not quite as well as the Weber model.

In the box, you’ll find 16 pieces including a plastic wrench only used to attach the handle to the lid. While a charcoal chimney is one of the most highly recommended methods for lighting charcoal, Electric starters, such as the Looftlighter, work great (and they’re fast). Built to Last- Charcoal Weber Grills feature a tried and true design and solid engineering.