13 Accessories to Hack Your Weber Kettle Charcoal Grill

Add its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and the Weber Kettle Premium Grill is the best value going. No matter what your preferred style of backyard BBQ cooking is, we offer several different Weber lines like the classic Kettle, Spirit, Genesis, Summit and SmokeFire models. Westlake Ace Hardware stocks a complete line of electric, gas, charcoal and portable grills and an extensive line of Weber accessories and fuels made to help you get the most of your cookouts.

We have several recommendations for charcoal grills, at a host of price points. However, for under $200, we think a lot grillers will be happy with the Weber Original 22-Inch Kettle Grill, which performs incredibly well and will last forever. From Weber to Napoleon, we’ve tested gas grills that cost less than $100 up to grills that cost more than a used car. The most boring product on this list may be the most necessary. With the 18-inch Weber Original Kettle Grill, you can still get the full Weber charcoal grilling experience for under $100.

Its ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl retain heat, while the dampers easily adjust for precise temperature control. 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.

weber charcoal grill

One look at this grill, and you know you’re dealing with a classic. This is a straight-up charcoal grill that would be right at home in a Norman Rockwell painting. The thick wire handle of the ash catcher can be a little hard to move at first, but it does loosen up with use. Just make a habit of emptying it every time you clean the grill and you’ll be fine.

Ribs cooked on the Nexgrill had lots of bark but were juicy and tender inside. Ribs cooked on the Napoleon grill came out tasty, though with bark that was a little dry. Stack your charcoal briquettes in two rows of two deep along the inner wall of the grill. Indirect grilling weber genesis 2 can produce a great roasted chicken—the Weber’s is a textbook example. Sign up to receive new product news, exclusive offers, grilling tips & recipes, and more from Weber and its affiliates / subsidiaries! To learn how we use your information, see our privacy policy.

Another option is to use an electric charcoal lighter, which you put on the grill along with charcoal to bring the coals up to temperature. If you’re looking for an affordable, all-around great charcoal grill, the Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill should be your go-to choice. If you want to spend a little less, you can downsize to Weber’s 18-Inch Kettle Grill and still experience the brand’s quality.

The resulting chicken was tasty, and the grill features really well-made cast-iron grates across its 365 square inches of cooking area. The lid houses a temperature gauge and a handy hinge that makes it easy to add charcoal. This grill can hold up to nine burgers on its plated steel cooking grate, and it features an enameled porcelain lid and bowl, lid hook, and easy-to-adjust dampers. It has durable wheels for easy transport, and you can clean up quickly using the one-touch cleaning system, which sweeps ash and debris into the rust-resistant ash catcher. In our testing, the Weber Premium was hands down the easiest grill to control temperature on, with the flames inside the kettle responding expertly to any tap of the vents.

It also includes a thermometer that measures the temperature inside the barrel and wheels for transport. Flimsy charcoal grills with loose, warped lids and rickety moving parts make temperature control a nightmare. Charcoal grills don’t need to be tanks made of heavy, quarter inch-thick steel, but they shouldn’t be tin cans that lack structural integrity. There’s nothing quite like the smell and taste of a charcoal grill in the summer. Charcoal grilling takes a bit more time and attention to get things just right, so when you choose to use a charcoal grill for a barbecue, everyone knows you mean business. Due to their comparably simple construction, they tend to cost less than a similarly sized gas or pellet grill.

What features should you look for amongst dozens of seemingly great grills online? What’s ideal for one grill master’s backyard might not be for another — especially given that grills come in several different styles, including pellet grills, charcoal grills and gas grills. With charcoal grills, I test for effective air control by smoking low and slow at 225°F, roasting in the mid-range around 350°F, and letting ‘er rip with a blazing, red hot fire. Leaky grills are harder to control and get rated accordingly.