Award-Winning Steaks, Burgers & BBQ
First, we set up each grill for a low-and-slow burn, using the charcoal snake method. In the case of kettle models, we arrange coals in a semicircle around the grill’s inner wall. The charcoal briquettes (Kingsford Blue) form a line two coals wide and two coals deep.
It is important to have both kinds of heat available at once, particularly when you are cooking with a live fire. Direct heat is best for relatively small, tender pieces of food that cook quickly, such as hamburgers, steaks, chops, boneless chicken pieces, fish fillets, shellfish, and sliced vegetables. Direct heat sears the surfaces of those foods, developing flavors and texture, and it cooks relatively thin foods all the way to the center. Indirect heat is best for larger, tougher foods that require longer cooking times, such as roasts, whole chickens, and ribs. Indirect heat cooks the surfaces of food, too, but in a much more even way. Grilling purists will tell you that charcoal cooking is the only way to go, and seasoned grillers I’ve spoken to maintain that a Weber kettle is the best charcoal grill you can buy.
On top of all that, it features a convenient One-Touch cleaning system that makes it a breeze to clean charcoal ash out of the grill at the end of the day. The premium model adds a couple of upgrades to the nearly 70-year-old design. A built-in thermometer on the lid allows you to monitor the grill’s temperature, while a hinged grill grate makes it easy to add coal or weber charcoal grill reposition embers for enhanced fire management. And when dinner’s done, an improved ash catcher makes cleaning up the charcoal mess even easier. Read on to see how well the Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill performed under fire. Whether they were charcoal or propane, stationary or portable, all of our favorite Weber grills had some things in common.
For freight shipments, standard shipping includes curbside delivery and liftgate services. Special considerations and fees may apply to certain delivery exceptions (e.g. deliveries to hard to reach areas). The One-Touch™ cleaning system provides hassle-free cleanup of charcoal ash and debris by swiping it into a high-capacity, removable ash catcher. The One-Touch cleaning system provides hassle-free charcoal ash and debris cleanup by sweeping it into the rust-resistant ash catcher.
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. Ribs cooked on the Nexgrill had lots of bark but were juicy and tender inside. Ribs cooked on the Napoleon grill came out tasty, though with bark that was a little dry. The Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill is a classic backyard cooker that’s inexpensive, versatile, and nearly impossible to break. Nothing beats the smoky barbecue flavour that can only be created on a charcoal barbecue.
High-quality Weber grills are easy to assemble (although as with most other brands, the charcoal grills have fewer parts and are simpler to put together than gas models). The best grills are intuitive to use, without confusing bells and whistles. The heat source is consistent, as well as simple to adjust and add to while cooking. We favor Weber grills for their efficiency in managing multi-zone cooking, and for their generous warranties that stand out from their competition.
But our recent gas grill testing proved Weber is a powerhouse in that department, too (four out of six of our winners in our gas grill test were Webers). If you’re looking to buy on a budget, and/or favor a smoky flavor and scent while grilling, consider Weber’s charcoal grill options. If efficiency is on your list of grilling must-haves, consider a gas grill, which takes less time to heat up. The authenticity of charcoal grilling started with the Original Kettle® Series grills, invented by Weber?
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 (or any smoker) will keep its fire humming along close to 225 degrees F for as long as possible.
If you prefer meat that’s more well done, you can extend the cooking time, or sear and finish cooking in an oven. The main cooking grate is actually three separate pieces that can be weber portable grill lifted off of the grill for access to the charcoal tray—which has holes big enough to brush ash through. Below, a slide-out ash tray/shelf/drawer runs the entire width of the grill.
No other grill in this group could match the rock-solid temperature control of this iconic cooker. Readings from our own thermocouples, plus a digital pit thermometer, confirmed this. Throughout the Weber’s 6-hour, 32-minute cook time, the grill’s internal heat levels never strayed beyond 25 degrees of our target, 225 degrees F. In fact, most of the time the temperature hovered between 220 degrees F and 230 degrees F. As a result, ribs cooked in the Weber came out tender, juicy and full of smoky flavor. The most exciting thing about this grill, however, is the crank handle that raises and lowers the charcoal tray.