A front door allows easy access to the charcoal during cooking and the double-lined hood is a nice feature to help hold in heat. The Professional Cart Grill has an interesting rotisserie design, too, that uses a special charcoal basket across the back for a dedicated rotisserie fire. We were underwhelmed with the performance of the Napoleon 22-inch grill, which is most likely a result of the grill needing 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.
Cart-style grills have a handle and wheels that make them easy to move around, and the Char-Griller Patio Pro BBQ Grill is a compact and budget-friendly option for your deck or patio. It features a modest 250 square inches of cooking space, but it has all the features you need to whip up a delicious meal. This portable charcoal grill can hold up to five hamburgers at a time, and the lid’s glass-reinforced nylon handle stays cool during use. Reviewers say this product is an unbeatable value, as it’s easy to tote around to various events and delivers the same caliber of high-quality food as full-size Weber grills.
Because of this, the Napoleon is definitely not a grill for charcoal beginners. The Char-Griller Super Pro is a versatile steel barrel charcoal grill with a whopping 850 square inches of total cooking area, if you count the top warming rack. The main grates are made of heavy-duty cast iron and resemble the grates of some of the best gas grills we tested this year. Like the Char-Griller Classic, the Super Pro can also be converted to a proper smoker by attaching an optional side fire box, and the enameled steel body does a great job of retaining heat.
That’s just one of the questions I’ll answer in this review of the OG of Weber grills. If you’ve ever found starting a grill to be a hassle, and even if you haven’t, this will make grilling so much easier. Is there a portable grill that weber charcoal grill works as well as a full-sized one? Meet the Kudu Open-Fire Grill, which allows for all the romance of this kind of cooking, with none of the hassle. All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors.
There’s no function for pushing the ashes into the catcher, either, so it has to be done manually with a grill brush or other tool. I also worry about longevity, mainly because the handles, ash catcher, and lid damper are identical to the same parts on the worst grill we tested. There’s nothing quite like the combo of enjoying the great outdoors while smelling the delectable aroma of fresh-grilled foods. A makes the perfect addition to tailgate parties, camping adventures and backyard entertaining. When purchasing a new charcoal grill or smoker, understanding the different styles of Weber charcoal grills and what each type can do is important.
For the indirect-cooking test, we cooked a whole chicken at as close to 500 °F as we could get (emulating Barbara Kafka’s famous oven-roasting method). We moved the remaining coals to one side of the coal grate and added half a chimney’s worth of freshly lit coals. In effect we were testing whether the grills could function as ovens—a really nice feature in the hot summer months, when you may not want to warm up your kitchen.
The first bite of tender, fall-off-the-bone meat makes taking it low-and-slow worth every moment. The Smokey Mountain Cooker™ smoker has two cooking grates for smoking multiple items at once, and easily adjustable dampers for precision heat control. Wake up and light the smoker, weber charcoal grill because succulent pulled pork and fall-off-the-bone ribs come to those who wait. The Smokey Mountain Cooker™ smoker has two cooking grates for smoking multiple items at once, and dampers that adjust easily so that you’re always in control of the heat—and your feast.
Clean the grates before or after each use by brushing them free of cooked-on gunk and wiping them with a wet rag. Oil the grates after heating them, before you cook anything—it’ll help keep food from sticking. After much discussion, we also decided not to insist on a built-in cart, with side tables, on our charcoal contenders. Most manufacturers offer them as an option, but they can tack on hundreds of dollars to the grill price. They’re handy, no doubt, but if your patio or deck already has a table or countertop, you’re paying for something you don’t need and giving up valuable living space, too.