For the indirect-cooking test, we cooked a whole chicken at as close to 500 °F as we could get (emulating Barbara Kafka’s famous oven-roasting method). We moved the remaining coals to one side of the coal grate and added half a chimney’s worth of freshly lit coals. In effect we were testing whether the grills could function as ovens—a really nice feature in the hot summer months, when you may not want to warm up your kitchen. Because of its dominance, the Weber kettle has spawned a lot of copycats.
It’s about waist level in height for almost everyone, so it’s quite comfortable to cook on. The 363-square-inch cooking area can easily handle a pair of whole chickens or about 10 to 13 burgers, depending on how large you make your patties. portable bbq Any more than that and the grill can get overloaded, making it difficult to cook everything evenly and to flip the patties. The Performer adds a prep table, cooking timer and gas-fired charcoal starter to the standard kettle grill.
Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right . The Weber grill has three legs—an inherently stable design, because having three points of contact means the legs will automatically “find their level” even on bumpy ground. That said, the Napoleon model’s four legs felt just as stable, and more stiff, on a garden-variety concrete patio—and also allowed Napoleon to install a big, square shelf underneath the grill. The Weber grill has a smaller, triangular shelf, but it’s far less useful. Sign up to receive new product news, exclusive offers, grilling tips & recipes, and more from Weber and its affiliates / subsidiaries!
For example, the SmartFire uses a motorized fan to control air flow through the Kettle. It also lets you monitor pit temperature and set a target temperature for your cook. Additionally it comes with two food probes to keep an eye on what your cooking. You’ll do that through an app on your phone that you can use anywhere you have Wi-Fi. Start by stacking one layer of briquettes in pairs along the edge of the charcoal grate.
Our favorite bird from this batch was the one cooked on the Weber, though it was a tough call. The bird cooked on the Nexgrill cart-style grill came in right behind, a close second in terms of flavor and texture. The best charcoal grill for steak searing in our lineup was the Weber Classic Kettle. The steak had nice grill marks while keeping a medium doneness on the inside. The worst was our Tacklife review unit, which didn’t hold much heat and didn’t sear while cooking. The steak on that grill needed an additional five minutes to get to a temperature of 135 F, the minimum for medium rare.
This grill ran red-hot and was nearly impossible to slow down the temperature on no matter what we did to make airflow adjustments. The Char-Griller has a noticeably deeper kettle — the deepest of the entire pool we tested. Despite the distance from the heat, meat still seared well on this grill because it ran so hot. It took over an hour to get this grill from 400 degrees Fahrenheit to the 300-degree range. The Napoleon Freestanding Charcoal Kettle Grill took the longest to set up, clocking in at an hour and five minutes of build time.
If you want a charcoal grill to last decades, then this is the brand for you. Depending on the size of your bird, total cooking time should be between 60 and 90 minutes. The best approach is to use an instant read thermometer to confirm that the thickest part of each breast is 160 to 165 degrees F.
Bringing the delicious taste of BBQ, without the city limitations. The Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill is a classic backyard cooker that’s inexpensive, versatile, and nearly impossible to break. Gear Patrol participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Welcome to Brand Breakdown, a series of comprehensive yet easy-to-digest guides to your favorite companies, with insights and information you won’t find on the average About page. From the Smokey Joe to the brand-new Genesis range, here’s everything you need to know about Weber, America’s favorite grill makers.
Just like a lot of modern charcoal grills, it has an ashtray to help speed up cleaning. It’s big enough to take on quite a lot, so you shouldn’t have to empty it too frequently. What really sets the Kettle apart from the rest through is its vents. Also called dampers, these vents sit both at the bottom and the top of the grill chamber.
The main difference between the standard and more premium models is a home for the lid; the premium model (about $10 more expensive) has a hinge that holds the lid when not in use. For more grill content, check out our guides to the best charcoal grills, pellet grills and gas grills. You can create an indirect heat zone by placing briquettes, or lump charcoal if you prefer, only on one side of the charcoal grate. You leave the other side empty then cook food above the cool spot. The trouble is that it’s tricky to control the grill’s heat level this way. It’s harder to do that with a Weber Kettle, at least without lots of practice.