We also needed to turn up the heat to produce a distinct char. In the end, these issues were minor, as the E-325s topped our list of the best gas grills. The 26-inch Original Kettle® Premium is the charcoal grill you want at your next party. It’s large enough to grill an entire dinner during the week, or a bunch of burgers at your next barbecue. With premium features, such as a hinged cooking grate for easily adding charcoal while grilling, and the One-Touch™ cleaning system with high-capacity ash catcher. Toast to the authenticity of charcoal grilling, classic design, and taste loved around the world—the Original Kettle.
Because the grills we tested include gas, charcoal, and electric models, we put them through separate testing scenarios. We scored each area on a scale of one to five, with performance weighted to account for 50% of the final score, then averaged the results to arrive at our highest and lowest performers. It’s a portable grill with full-size performance, thanks to its enamel cast iron grates and a single, circular burner that ensures even heating across the cooking area. It stood out in multiple rounds of tests for excellent heat retention and quick recovery time after we opened the lid. There were also minimal flare-ups and no excessive charring or undercooked spots during cooking tests. The Performer also has Original’s top and bottom damper arrangement, which allows high-heat cooking and serves as an excellent smoker in low-heat applications.
It was also impressively easy to assemble, and the built-in cart and shelves (there’s no cartless option) would be welcome on a patio that doesn’t have a worktable of its own. Superior Heating and Temperature Control- The circular shape of Weber Grills creates a convection heating system which cooks evenly and consistently. Hot and cold spots are a relic of the past with the charcoal grills Weber offers today.
Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). All you need is a Phillips screwdriver to attach the side handles, and a hammer (or even just a chunk weber bbq of firewood) to tap the end caps of the wheel axle into place. One person can have the grill up and running within minutes of opening the box. By contrast, other grills we tested had cumbersome assembly processes.
Since then they have continued to expand their indoor showroom and outdoor patio. Weber sells one for its 22-inch kettle, usually for about $40. The Weber grill has three legs—an inherently stable design, weber charcoal grill because having three points of contact means the legs will automatically “find their level,” even on bumpy ground. The Weber grill has a smaller, triangular shelf, which is far less useful.
There’s no function for pushing the ashes into the catcher, either, so it has to be done manually with a grill brush or other tool. I also worry about longevity, mainly because the handles, ash catcher, and lid damper are identical to the same parts on the worst grill we tested. Cart-style charcoal grills allow you to have a larger cooking surface than kettle grills, but they usually take more skill to control since the vents are harder to adjust.