The main barrel features a 474-square-inch grilling grate and loads of room for charcoal. A lid-mounted warming rack adds an extra cooking surface for roasting vegetables or toasting buns. Keep serving platters and tools handy on the side-mounted portable bbq platform and hooks. Coated metal and easy-access doors make this grill easy to cook with, clean, and maintain. The adjustable charcoal tray can be raised or lowered to put the right amount of air between your food and the hot coals.
Our experiments ran the gamut from grilling burgers to smoking . All of our tests were designed and run by Wirecutter senior writer Lesley Stockton, who has over a decade of experience in professional kitchens, many of them spent on the grill station. Lesley conducted the testing with senior staff writer Tim Heffernan, who wrote this guide, and Michael Sullivan, a senior writer on the kitchen team. Sam Sifton, assistant managing editor at The New York Times, also joined in and added his extensive knowledge.
After you pop the cooking grate over the red-hot briquettes, you’re ready to start cooking. If you have a family to feed or enjoy having company over for dinner, it’s worth stepping up to something like the Char-Griller Outlaw. There are two sizes available, but we recommend the larger option, especially at these prices. The grate is roughly double the size of conventional, round charcoal grills.
In the mid-1950s, his father told him that he had to make a choice, says Kempster, either he sells grills or he works at the metal company; he couldn’t do both. So without much financial backing, Stephen took a chance, struck out on his own and began to grow his burgeoning business. Stephen marketed this first grill as “George’s Barbecue Kettle.” It sold for $29.95—the equivalent of around $270 today. He used the grill frequently to cook for family and friends and sold a few of them, but it took several years and many grill iterations later for the business to take off. At the time, Weber Brothers Metal Works was filling orders for metal buoys for both the Coast Guard and the Chicago Yacht Club. So Stephen took two of the half spheres for the buoys and created a grill.
Its durable construction will withstand the elements while the One-Touch cleaning system provides easy ash removal. Karl likes to spread the charcoal so that it covers about half of the kettle. You can’t go wrong with the standard Kingsford briquettes. Then, I called my friend and resident AoM meat-cooking consultant, Karl Engel, and asked him to show me the ropes on how to cook with it. 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 and whiter. Our outdoor kitchen design experts have helped thousands of customers transform their backyards at no extra cost.
Weber charcoal grills are tough, built to withstand years of outdoor cooking. The original circular design of the Weber Kettle Grill has been adopted by many other charcoal grill brands due to its superior heating ability. When it comes to charcoal grills, Weber offers a cooking experience that is unmatched by any other brand. For more than 50 years, Weber charcoal grills have been one of the top sellers in the BBQ industry. Their kettle style grills are one of the most popular charcoal grills of all time, and this is due to Weber’s solid performance and dependable quality. Weber charcoal grills are portable, lightweight, and our huge selection includes all the sizes and colors available from Weber.
The grill grate on a Napoleon is made of a thicker and flatter cast iron, which is an upgrade from the usual lightweight, stainless steel grates you see on most charcoal grills. However, it takes longer to heat up and is a different cooking experience from traditional charcoal grills. During our tests, we were only able to get our hamburgers to cook to rare, and our chicken did not sear and crisp up as well as it did on all the other grills. Because of this, the Napoleon is definitely not a grill for charcoal beginners. Grillmasters with high-end taste and a tight budget will love this option from Royal Gourmet.
However, unless you’re closely watching the grill at all times, your food can easily burn or overcook. According to McManus, you absolutely want a charcoal grill that comes with a lid as you greatly limit what you can make without one. Also look for ones that leave plenty of room underneath for cooking taller foods when closed, like a 14-pound turkey. Ceramic cookers offer some of the best insulation on the market and result in rock steady temperature control, according to Lilly.
If you’re looking for the best affordable charcoal grill under $100 that will cook your meat to a perfect temperature, then this Weber is for you. We were underwhelmed with the performance of the Napoleon 22-inch grill, which is most likely a result of the grill needing weber charcoal grill more briquettes to really work well. The kettle on this model is pretty deep and you can adjust the cooking grate to two different levels. We wouldn’t advise cooking with the grate at the highest level if you’re looking for a nice sear since it’s too far off the heat.