In terms of performance, it reached baking temperatures in just eight and a half minutes and took only slightly longer to reach searing temperatures. It retained heat well, dropping a maximum of 30 degrees after we opened it and recovering its temperature in one to two minutes. The Original Kettle still holds a place of honor in the grill world. The secret to heat control with this grill is the top and bottom dampers that form convection during cooking. That control and responsiveness, combined with its heat-retaining design, results in intense, high heat for searing or a low-and-slow smoke.
She’s done firsthand testing of the Weber Q2200, Masterbuilt Bluetooth Digital Electric Smoker, and more. Whether you’re replacing a well-loved grill or buying your very first one, you can’t go wrong with the Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill. This thoughtfully-designed grill is quite affordable and takes less than 15 minutes to put together.
With a push of a button, the coals are lit, and the essence of BBQ fills the air. The Performer® Deluxe charcoal grill performs from beginning to end. Light weber charcoal grill coals with the Touch-N-Go gas ignition, prep food on the large work table, and know that cleanup will be easy with the One-Touch™ cleaning system.
We were able to keep it within a 10-degree range during an hours-long test smoking baby back ribs and didn’t observe any extreme fluctuations when opening or closing the lid. That said, we found the built-in thermometer ran a little high, making it necessary to rely on our secondary grill thermometer. The Performer adds a prep table, cooking timer and gas-fired charcoal starter to the standard kettle grill. It comes in a standard, premium and deluxe set up, the difference being a slightly larger prep table, the addition of a charcoal storage chamber and, at the highest level, an electric charcoal starter. The limited-edition 70th Anniversary Kettle is a high-quality Weber kettle you’ve come to expect combined with nostalgic and modern features. Nods to different eras of Weber’s history can be found throughout its thoughtfully detailed exterior.
And, of course, since this is a charcoal grill, the food came out with plenty of smoky flavor. With a price tag well below $100, this is also the kind of grill you could have shipped to a vacation destination and wouldn’t have to feel bad leaving behind. Due to their comparably simple construction, they tend to cost less than a similarly sized gas or pellet grill. Another powerful draw of these grills is the intense smoky flavor they create in the food they cook. They’re versatile too since they can use either traditional charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal as fuel. Testing charcoal grills requires a lot of hands-on cooking, and your results will obviously vary based on your technique and ingredients, among other factors.
I made the mistake of putting too much charcoal in the kettle on my first cooking attempt and ended up with more heat than I—or the food–could handle. The grill became so hot that I could hardly bear getting close enough to flip my burger patties. weber portable grill I tested Weber’s Premium kettle grill to see for myself whether it lives up to its pedigree. I found this improved version of a design that dates back to the 1950s is still one of the best, if not the best, all-around charcoal grills you can buy.
Weber makes charcoal grills for every budget, ranging from around $50 to over $2,000. The most popular Weber charcoal grill, the Original Kettle, can be found for between $100 and $450, with the differences coming in diameter, ash management, colors, and cooking grates. The classic kettle-style charcoal grill is the granddaddy of backyard barbecues. In fact, you might be tempted to break out a nice pair of loafers and light up a pipe standing in front of one. Other features you’ll find only on the 22- and 26-inch Premium include a heat shield for the lid handle and a built-in thermometer. We assembled each grill according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Unless you purchase the Weber Kettle grill prebuilt from a big-box store, you’ll need to put it together. Weber uses the third-party Bilt app, which gives you animated, 3D, step-by-step instructions. The Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill is characterized by the bulbous shape of its cook box and lid. The kettle sits on top of a base equipped weber portable grill with two wheels for maneuvering the grill short distances around a deck, patio, or yard. Upon extinguishing the coal and allowing the grill to cool down, you can clean the grates using a scraper or wire grill brush. If needed, you can take the grates off and soak them in soapy water for a few hours to loosen up burnt-on food and grease.
There’s a learning curve, of course, when it comes to controlling heat on a charcoal grill, but once learned, it’s plain sailing from there. Grilling for a large family or a crowd of guests is no problem. We love this grill, and it always appears highly in our roundup of the best charcoal grills available. While the cooking surface on the Premium is limited to just 363 square inches, it’s large enough to feed a family of four or even for a small gathering on holidays.
This does not
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speed (Priority Freight) and are, therefore,
unable to be expedited further. Outstanding Customer Service- Weber is well known in the BBQ industry for having excellent customer service. They go the extra mile to ensure that every purchaser of a Weber charcoal grill finds a solution to any problem they encounter, and always feels satisfied with their grill. All of our tests were designed and ran by Wirecutter senior staff writer Lesley Stockton, who has over a decade of experience in professional kitchens, many of them spent on the grill station.