A clean grill is essential to flavor, and cleaning the Weber is a fairly simple affair thanks to the ash catcher. I managed to get it all in the can every time—something I can’t say about the original plate-style weber portable grill catcher, with which I probably lost an average of about 40 percent of the ashes to the wind. A quality charcoal grill should be simple to set up, ideally requiring just one person and limited tools.
The Vortex can redirect the flow of heat up and around the meat which can turn your kettle into a true indirect ‘smoker’. Charcoal evangelists swear food cooked over coals tastes better. In the interest of avoiding controversy, let’s say different fuels have different characteristics. The merits of charcoal do lie in its smoky flavor and nostalgia-inducing scent.
But even if you have a gas grill or a pellet smoker (as I do), sometimes the charcoal option is simply superior. But once you factor in price, performance, and design, the Weber is the heavy hitter in the arena of charcoal grills. A high-end ceramic kamado grill, while a superior cooker thanks to its insulation, will run you $800 minimum. Barrel-style charcoal grills, while larger, can be more difficult to manage and harder to clean.
Dump the handy ash catcher and scrub the grates each time you cook. The materials—rustproof aluminum legs, porcelain-coated steel for the body, and a nickel-plated steel grill—are designed weber portable grill to last. And we appreciated details like convenient tool hooks on the side handles. Add to that its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and it’s hard to see a better value.
It’s easy to clean, too, with a push-button to empty ash into a catch below the kettle. Neither the coal grates nor cooking grates are adjustable, but that’s a check in the “pro” list for this not-too-complicated, high-performing grill. I decided to buy your kettle grill and will replace my 30+ year old Weber charcoal weber portable gas grill grill. I was a little disappointed with the quality control of some of the pieces. The probe port and smoke hole covers do not fit flush against the kettle so there is some air leaking through. The bottom 5 vent ash removal fins also do not fit flush to the kettle as well as the top vent on the cover.
Karl likes to spread the charcoal so that it covers about half of the kettle. We didn’t have a charcoal starter on hand this time around, so we used some firestarter gel from Hasty-Bake. It doesn’t evaporate quickly like traditional lighter fluid and doesn’t give your meat that gross lighter fluid taste.
This is located below the kettle or barrel of the grill, and many models include a handle that dumps the ash. Do not put hot ashes in a trash can, or scatter them over grass or in wooded areas until they are entirely cooled. The circular cooking surface area is relatively petite, with a 22-inch diameter, but testers noted that when set up as a smoker, it can still handle two to three racks of ribs. In our smoking test, the ribs had a quarter-inch pale pink smoke ring, and a nicely glossy, caramelized exterior. It produced a “very nicely cooked” steak without any sticking or flare-ups.