Then he’d empty out the old ashes into a brown paper sack and hand me the cooking grate to go clean in the laundry room. When I got back, he’d pour a big pile of charcoal into the Weber’s shiny black bowl. Then came a spray with some lighter fluid, and the strike and toss of a match. The simple, circular shape naturally gathers charcoal evenly in the basin and makes for even heat distribution. Weber makes charcoal grills for every budget, ranging from around $50 to over $2,000.
I set up the grill in under 15 minutes, and three or four of those were spent taking it out of the box. It is an absurdly simple process that requires a hammer and a Phillips-head screwdriver. In the box, you’ll find 16 pieces including a plastic wrench only used to attach the handle to the lid. You can just brush the grates weber charcoal grill down with a grill brush if they have any debris on them. Additionally, oiling the grates can result in them becoming sticky once the oil has heated beyond its smoking point, which will inevitably happen. If you’re experiencing issues with your food sticking to your Weber grill, oil the food, not the grill grates.
When it came to assembly, the only direct comparison we could make was between the Weber and the Napoleon. Both models shared a similar overall design, but the Weber model was comprehensively superior. With simple instructions and a minimal need for tools or acrobatics, Weber has clearly refined its engineering to maximize simplicity. The legs and ash catcher slot effortlessly into built-in sockets and lock into place with idiot-proof spring pins—not a bolt or screw in sight.
Due to the issue above, one of the only modifications I’d make is adding a second thermometer to the lid at grate-level. To make this even simpler, you could buy another thermometer to upgrade the kettle and install it on the exhaust damper side at grate-level. The exhaust vent is placed over the food because you want to pull smoke over your meat. With that said, I really only have one problem with the Weber Kettle and it’s with the way Weber opted to setup their lid thermometer.
For over 15+ years I simply used the minion method or charcoal snake to smoke (pictured below) with and that still works perfectly fine. I mean I didn’t even have the fancy lid thermometer that I have now and did everything with a old meat probes hanging from exhaust vent near the portable bbq meat. A good example is the Slow N’ Sear deluxe (read my review here) – which is an add-on for kettle grills that essentially creates a quintessential two-zone fire (pictured below). This durability is due large in part to Weber using nearly the same exact design since 1952.
It’s the most-automated path to low-heat smoking possible while remaining perfectly capable of high-heat grilling. Functionally, it’s a turbo-charged hair dryer that speeds up lighting time significantly. It’ll get your fire going in just 10 minutes, and you can use it in a charcoal chimney, too. Once you factor in price, performance, and design, the Weber is the heavy hitter in the arena of charcoal grills. The lid sets this grill apart from a traditional Weber kettle, which features an unattached kettle top.