A water pan helps smooth out temperature swings while apple smoke wood adds extra flavor. A wax fire starter works well for this, but you can also use a few lit briquettes. The charcoal snake method is a very effective way to cook low and slow on your Weber weber genesis 2 Kettle. Place the probe clip right on the grill at food level, on the opposite side of the fire. And remember that the affordable backyard cooker has been around for decades, which means you can find plenty of useful aftermarket accessories for it.
Michael Sullivan has been a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter since 2016. Previously, he was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York. He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade. Add the extra money you pay for the Napoleon grill over the Weber kettle that it emulates, and the Weber model’s superiority is even starker.
Grilling with charcoal takes a little more time and attention than grilling with gas, but the payoff is that delicious smokey flavor you just can’t get from a propane flame. After spending two days cooking 40 pounds of burgers, BBQ, and whole chickens, we recommend the Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″. Thanks to more than six decades of continuous refinement, it’s the most versatile, most user-friendly, and best-performing charcoal grill we’ve tested. No matter what you slap on it, the Weber can cook it—hot and fast or low and slow. 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.
We were underwhelmed with the performance of the Napoleon 22-inch grill, which is most likely a result of the grill needing more briquettes to really work well. The kettle on this model is pretty deep and you can adjust the cooking grate to two different levels. We wouldn’t advise cooking with the grate at the highest level if you’re looking for a nice sear since it’s too far off the heat. The grill grate on a Napoleon is made of a thicker and flatter cast iron, which is an upgrade from the usual lightweight, stainless steel grates you see on most charcoal grills. However, it takes longer to heat up and is a different cooking experience from traditional charcoal grills. During our tests, we were only able to get our hamburgers to cook to rare, and our chicken did not sear and crisp up as well as it did on all the other grills.
Stack your charcoal briquettes in two rows of two deep along the inner wall of the grill. In no time you’ll be reaping the rewards of an easy meal with true smoky flavor. Wirecutter is the portable bbq product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.