Once the grills were sufficiently hot, we tested the high heat grilling capabilities by cooking lamb chops and marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts. To test the indirect heat, we cooked raw beer brats and bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Cooking a variety of meats allowed us to observe grill marks, crispiness, and doneness.
Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd. Up top, the Weber weber charcoal grill model’s lid vent is a simple disc of aluminum; you just flick it left or right to open or close the vent holes. Unlike the lower vents, this gets hot, so make sure to use a spatula or your tongs. Unless it was not an option (like with the PK Grill model), we opted to test versions of these grills without built-in carts or side tables.
Weber’s original kettle remains its most popular grill today, but in the 70 years since its invention, the company has expanded. The Weber name is stamped on propane gas grills, smokers, electric grills and portable grills. There are sub-products under each category, each at different price points, and all with different features. Here’s everything you need to know about the most famous name in grilling.
With inbuilt ash catchers and temperature gauges, these grills are easy and convenient to use. You can smoke meat with the dedicated smoker feature so that it adds to the taste of your finished dishes. Charcoal grills often have porcelain-coated plates or porcelain-enameled burners so that the grill will last long and cook your veggies as intended for longer. 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.
When you consider that the Napoleon grill costs about $50 more than the Weber kettle that it emulates, the Weber model’s superiority is even starker. 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.
We also have three other colors in the limited edition 70th anniversary kettle grills, along with a range of other grills. Visit the Best Fire showroom or call us for more information. Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions.
If you’re someone who doesn’t smoke meat and has no interest in doing so, I wouldn’t even consider buying the SNS Kettle. The Tel-Tru then threads in the hole and secured via a locking nut. The enamel is baked on at 1,500F – which is enough to hold up to any heat you throw at the grill as well as potential rust and burn through problems. Typically, prices drop in the Winter months when demand is low and increases in the Summer when demand is high – If you’re in the market for a new grill, always wait till Winter. The only thing extra that you need for assembly is a mallet or hammer to tap the wheel hub caps on. Everything else that you need to assemble the grill comes packaged.
We were able to easily position the vents into place, and, unlike some of our kettle grills, we could leave them alone during most of our testing. The enormous capacity of the Ranch® kettle charcoal grill sets the tone for a party that lasts until tomorrow. With more than 1,000 square inches of grilling space and a stainless steel hinged cooking grate for easily adding charcoal, you’re set up to grill for the masses. Spark your passion for charcoal grilling with the Kettle that started it all. Whether they were charcoal or propane, stationary or portable, all of our favorite Weber grills had some things in common.
Grilling purists will tell you that charcoal cooking is the only way to go, and seasoned grillers I’ve spoken to maintain that a Weber kettle is the best charcoal grill you can buy. It’s hard to argue with the first part because propane simply won’t give you the same smoky flavor you get from weber charcoal grill charcoal. It’s a bold claim, even given Weber’s reputation for manufacturing high-quality charcoal and gas grills. With open minds and lots of raw meat, we tested seven promising charcoal grills under $500. And to learn more about how we tested and what we looked for, scroll to the bottom.