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 seven decades of continuous refinement, it’s the most versatile, most user-friendly, and best-performing charcoal grill we’ve tested. The built-in lid thermometer displays the internal temperature of your grill so that you know when to adjust the heat. If you love cooking with charcoal, you’ll love what you can do with the Vortex. Once you factor in price, performance, and design, the Weber is the heavy hitter in the arena of charcoal grills. After you’re done grilling (and things have cooled down), you should always empty your ash tray.
One other trick to note during assembly is that you will have to apply a little bit of tension to the legs when installing the wheels. I found that just pushing the leg in a little and then tapping the wheel covers on with a hammer (ball-peen, claw, or even a rubber mallet) worked. I set up the grill in under 15 minutes, and three or four of those were spent taking it out of the box. It is an absurdly simple process that requires a hammer and a Phillips-head screwdriver. In the box, you’ll find 16 pieces including a plastic wrench only used to attach the handle to the lid.
It performed well in our cooking tests, though not quite as well as the Weber model. And its unique heat-diffusing plate—a shallow metal dome that sits in the middle of the coal bed—was less effective than we’d hoped. However, its grates sit a full 7 inches higher than the Weber model’s, so it was less tiring to work on. The Napoleon grill’s four legs, versus the Weber grill’s three, make this grill more stable and allow for a nice, big shelf underneath. The Weber kettle is round, so you can spin the grate to adjust heat exposure. Without having to move your food around, you can expose burgers, chicken, or whatever else you’re cooking to higher or lower heat.
By contrast, other grills we tested had cumbersome assembly processes. Hinged sections on opposite sides of the grate let you access the entire charcoal bed below. The Napoleon grill we tested had hinges on opposite sides of the grate, too. But the PK Grill had a hinge on only one side, which proved inconvenient.
The exhaust vent is placed over the food because you want to pull smoke over your meat. The lid thermometer and the exhaust damper are placed on opposite sides. At the time of purchase, the Green Weber Kettle Premium was $194.00; However, the prices of grills changes regularly as seasons change. The only problem I had with assembly is with the legs and getting them installed correctly. This is sort of hard to explain without you physically setting up the grill. While there are a number of different Kettle grills these days – it’s hard to beat the price of the Weber kettle.
The authenticity of charcoal grilling started with the Original Kettle® Series grills, invented by Weber? His idea was that the rounded cooking bowl with a lid was the key to success. The ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl are uniquely designed to retain the charcoal’s weber portable gas grill heat, while dampers are easily adjusted for precise temperature control. It’s the grill made for everyone and loved around the world. Stay true to the modern version of the kettle that started it all”the Original KettleΩ, invented by Weber™s founder, and loved around the world.
Look at kettle grills, portable grills and more to find one that is perfect for your style of cooking and grilling. An outdoor charcoal grill is great since the cooking space is larger giving you the freedom to use it as you want. Browse through Target.com to select the next charcoal grill for your home. The only real learning curve to cooking on a charcoal grill is fire management, but the built-in thermometer makes that easier.