Meat from the Nexgrill was delicious, with just a bit more flavor than the Weber. Between them, I’d say it largely depends on your budget and what style of grill you prefer for other meats like burgers or steak. For our tests, each grill gets a full chimney of lit charcoal and a 6-pound chicken opposite the coals for indirect heat. For this review, I focused on the top-rated Gold and Platinum weber gas grill Medal winning models from the AmazingRibs.com database of almost 600 searchable equipment reviews. The list below spans a range of features and prices, including both newer models and well-established leaders in the field. Weber provides the dimensions of a grill’s primary cooking area, secondary cooking area, (including side burners and warming trays), and total cooking area.
Although cooking on charcoal requires a little more skill and labor, you don’t need a PhD to start the fire. Yes, you do have to remove ash but, unlike with gas grills, most of the grease that drips off food will burn up on the weber charcoal grill hot coals, rather than collect at the bottom. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good gas grill—in fact, you can read about my favorite gas grills right here—but I’ll take cleaning a charcoal grill over a gasser any day of the week.
It has 406 square inches of total cooking space and a built-in thermometer, along with side shelves for storage. I have had over 50 grills—from a Weber gas grill to a Traeger pellet grill. In my search for the best grill, I have found it,” said one buyer.
Always preferred charcoal to gas but this grill makes lighting charcoal a breeze. Propane ignition lights charcoal in minutes, I have not had to use a chimney nor lighter fluid once. They utilize charcoal briquettes to fuel the cooking and add flavor to your meats, vegetables, and other foods. While using a charcoal grill tends to take longer, many traditionalists feel that the taste is so superior to other grill options that it’s worth the extra effort.
So far I’ve grilled salmon, chicken breast, burgers and hot dogs on it and they’ve all cooked evenly and browned very well. Because of its smaller size, charcoal usage is reduced but it still gets plenty hot enough to do an effective job,” noted one buyer. With 360 square inches of primary cooking surface, the grill box is larger than the 300 square-inch Classic model, but retains PK’s characteristic flat bottom and rectangular shape. There’s also a unique configuration of bottom left and right adjustable air intake dampers and corresponding top left and right exhaust dampers. The wide flat bottom makes it easy to push charcoal to one side and create two very distinct direct and indirect zones.