Equipped with a Tuck-Away™ lid holder for convenient lid placement, taller legs, and Char-Basket™ fuel holders. Stay true to the modern version of the kettle that started it all—the Original Kettle®, invented by Weber’s founder, and loved around the world. Its ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl retain heat, while the dampers easily adjust for precise temperature control.
Like most electric grills, its temperature drops quickly with the lid open, but its a great option for people living in apartments and condos with rules against gas and charcoal grills. You might think of the Weber Kettle as one of the most basic charcoal grills you can buy. It can cook low and slow as a barbecue smoker — and when set up properly, it roasts poultry like a champ too.
Burgers for my kids—no cheese, please, and not too pink in the center or else I’ll will have to bring them back to the grill for a little extra cooking. I do wish they had given this premium model bigger, better wheels. After enjoying the sound of a newly birthed charcoal fire, we’d stand around the grill and watch the flame slowly get smaller and smaller, and the charcoal get whiter weber charcoal grill and whiter. When it comes to BBQ-ing around here, I’ve been using a gas grill during the 10 years I’ve lived in my house. The Go-Anywhere Charcoal follows suit with its gas counterpart; the uneven heat distribution from evenly-layered charcoal gave a mixed bag of results, from overdone to pale and unimpressive. This grill is the Genesis EX-325s with an intelligent upgrade.
When it was time to cook, we filled a charcoal chimney starter with Kingsford Professional Competition Briquettes. When coals were ready we dumped the coals to cover exactly half of each grill’s charcoal grate (using grilling tongs to adjust if necessary). We replaced or unfolded the cooking grate, depending on the grill, put the lid on, and let each grill warm up for 15 minutes. But we also encountered a few traits on the PK Grill that we considered dealbreakers. Even before testing, we were concerned that the short distance between the grate and the top of the grill meant food could go flying.
Throughout, we also tested accessories such as spatulas, tongs, grill brushes, and sheet pans, and picked our favorites. Doing so also helped us identify a few design strengths and flaws of the grills. We also spoke with more than a dozen experts, backing up our reporting with comprehensive research and hands-on time with the grills.
It comes with prep tables, side hooks and all-terrain wheels. Plus, you can get it in a few different color and size combinations, and several (pricier) models are WiFi-connected smart grills. We monitored the grills’ temperatures using the built-in thermometer where available and a probe thermometer where not, and adjusted the vents as necessary. After 45 minutes, we flipped the chicken parts and applied barbecue sauce every five minutes until the cook time reached an hour flat.
All of these concerns made it difficult to justify this grill’s cost, which is double that of the Weber kettle. We liked the original version of the PK Grill & Smoker that we tested. The thick cast-aluminum body holds and reflects weber charcoal grill heat efficiently, and it’s extremely sturdy and inherently rustproof. The shallow rectangular shape keeps the coals close to the grates, and its flat base works better for indirect grilling than sloped, round grills.