If it spills over, you’ll be cleaning grease out of the inside of your grill for an hour. After years of testing grills, we can’t think of a better deal for a great grill than the Original Weber Kettle, which has been our favorite charcoal grill for almost 10 years. Cooking with charcoal is not as convenient as turning a dial and walking away, but we love a Weber kettle for its simplicity and durability.
Sam Sifton, then food editor of The New York Times, also joined in the testing and added his extensive knowledge. In 2018, we tested Weber’s new Spirit II E-310—successor to our previous pick, the first-gen Spirit E-310—against our upgrade pick for the best gas grill. Open your door to the world of grilling with the sleek Spirit II E-210 gas grill.
The temperature gauge is easy to use and is great for ensuring that you choose as precise of a setting as you desire. What I am impressed about here is the GS4 grilling system, of which, the infinity ignition system is a major function. Essentially, it ensures that the grill lights up faster and I have to say, this feature works like a charm.
This two burner grill is built to fit small spaces, and packed with features such as the powerful GS4 grilling system, iGrill capability, and convenient side tables for placing serving trays. While maintaining a few of the better features like an expansive grilling area, the Spirit II came out with an upgrade in a few features. The Spirit II models, for instance, come in a lighter design and use only 2 sturdy wheels, where their predecessors used to use 4. On top of this, these grills came with a few color options for the lid.
Clearance items may be exchanged for store credit within 5 days of purchase. The grease management system ensures that all the grease ends up in one place. As long as you make a point to Blackstone Adventure empty out regularly and remove the grease, cleanup should be a breeze. What’s more, the grease management system is easily accessible from the front, making it a breeze to get to it.
This grill also features a porecelain-enameled cast iron cooking grates, fold down left side shelf, tool hooks and LP tank gauge. Weber is no longer producing our former upgrade pick, the Weber Genesis II E-310. But this model is still available for purchase at big-box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s. For one thing, this grill has an externally weber spirit 2 mounted propane tank, which is easier to install and replace than traditional, under-grill tanks (like on our current upgrade pick). And this type of tank also frees up the area under the grill for storage of tools and other items. With the Genesis II E-310, we didn’t notice a significant upgrade in performance over that of the Spirit II E-310.
But we are saying that if you do, the warranty and customer service are absolutely worth the small premium you pay for Weber grills over cheaper brands. We wish the bars of the Spirit II E-310’s warming racks ran front to back, parallel to the main grates, like they do on our upgrade pick, the Genesis E-325s. That way, you could easily slide a spatula under stuff that’s warming. As it is, the warming-rack bars run edge to edge, and you have to awkwardly jimmy a spatula in there sideways. The gas tank mounts externally (see the top photo in this section), instead of in a cabinet underneath the grill, as is typical (such as on the previous-generation Spirit).
As far as BTUs go, the Weber Spirit II E 310 isn’t especially high up there. In fact, it is on the lower side, but I don’t really see that as a bad thing. Sure, higher temperatures are great for searing food, but most meats are cooked on mid to high temperatures and this gas grill is perfectly capable of doing that.
Cooking temp on the Spirit II is pretty even, with the back of the grill running slightly hotter than the front. On a cold day with ambient temperatures in the upper 30°F range and all three burners on the low setting, Spirit II registered temps of about 410°F in front and 440°F in back. With all burners on High, temps were about 600°F front and 680°F back. For 2018, Weber sticks to the basics with a revamped version of their popular, full-size, entry-level Spirit gas grill line.