Best Weber Charcoal Grills for 2021

To test the indirect heat, we cooked raw beer brats and bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Cooking a variety of meats allowed us to observe grill marks, crispiness, and doneness. After the grills had fully cooled, we cleaned each, following the manufacturer’s instructions as closely as we could. The most exciting thing about this grill, however, portable bbq is the crank handle that raises and lowers the charcoal tray. An access door on the front of the grill makes it easy to add or manipulate coals while cooking too. This grill hits the sweet spot size-wise too since it’s lightweight and fairly compact, but still has plenty of room to create both a high-heat and indirect-heat zone.

You can spread the briquettes out across the bottom once they’ve transformed into hot coals. A few twists of the knobs, and I can have a high-heat zone, medium-heat zone, and low-heat zone at the ready. In 2004 the family decided to create a home heating oil division to help offset the stagnant winter sales of outdoor products. They began to provide heating oil at fair prices to the entire Lehigh Valley. It’s difficult to fit many racks of ribs on a standard 22-inch Weber.

Start by lighting your coals and letting your grill heat up for about 10 minutes. This should heat the grates enough that any crusted-on food can be easily removed with a grill brush. After you clean the grates, oil them using a paper towel dipped in oil and held in tongs. Finally, make sure to empty your ashes, and keep that grill covered when not in use. The 357 PRO wouldn’t be a Hasty-Bake without their classic adjustable-height charcoal tray that can be raised and lowered with a crank. The coals can move from 14.5 inches to 2.5 inches away from the cooking surface for serious direct infrared searing, a lot like a classic Santa Maria-style grill.

Some of the ash will fall through to the ash catcher a few inches below the bowl. For the rest, Weber has equipped the Original Kettle with its “One-touch” ash removal system. It’s a rotating weber genesis 2 group of three blades you turn with a handle projecting from near the bottom of the bowl. There are several ways to light a charcoal grill, but the best option is to use a chimney starter.

weber charcoal grill

The wood does impart flavor to the meat, like charcoal, and you can substitute different types of wood to adjust the taste — but the flavor level is “medium to light,” according to Horsman. While this grill is more budget friendly, it is still a high performer, according to Consumer Reports, which gave the grill “Very Good” ratings in all of their cooking tests. It has a main cooking space that’s 391 square inches, and a charcoal pan that can adjust to six different height levels and hold up to 4.5 pounds of charcoal. To add more coals, you can use the charcoal door instead of opening the lid. Enjoy the great outdoors and barbecue to your heart’s content with charcoal grills from the brands you trust like Masterbuilt, Char-Broil, and Weber.

Consumer Reports also pointed out the ash catcher, cleaning system and dampers that help control airflow as key features. If you’re committed to charcoal, but envious of your neighbor’s shiny gasser, the Napoleon Charcoal Professional Cart Grill may be the answer. Only a few premium and luxury BBQ brands offer stainless steel charcoal grills. Napoleon’s Professional is one of the more beautiful models we’ve seen in this price range. This stainless steel charcoal burner feels right at home in a shiny outdoor kitchen ensemble. It has 605 square inches of cooking surface, with an adjustable-height charcoal grate that has several notched height positions to place the heat closer to or further from the cook surface.

An outdoor charcoal grill is great since the cooking space is larger giving you the freedom to use it as you want. Browse through Target.com to select the next charcoal grill for your home. Weber’s scaled-up version of their classic two-wheel kettle is crafted of premium-grade steel and clad in heavy-gauge, rust-resistant porcelain enamel in slate blue. Features include a spacious cooking surface, convenient hinged cooking grate, painted metal worktable, lid holder, removable LCD cook timer and built-in thermometer.