Here at BestReviews, our goal is help you make sense of your shopping choices. We work with industry experts to identify the most important features for the products we’re evaluating, and we then test out some of the top items to see firsthand how well they work. And because we buy our own products, you can trust that our recommendations are always completely unbiased. Efficient grill that has built-in side tables for small families or gatherings. Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product reviewer specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her four years as a product tester, she’s tested hundreds of items firsthand, and her work appears in publications such as Forbes, USA Today, The Spruce, Food52, and more.
Always preferred charcoal to gas but this grill makes lighting charcoal a breeze. Propane ignition lights charcoal in minutes, I have not had to use a chimney nor lighter fluid once. They utilize charcoal briquettes to fuel the cooking and add flavor to your meats, vegetables, and other foods. While using a charcoal grill tends to take longer, many traditionalists feel that the taste is so superior to other grill options that it’s worth the extra effort.
If you often grill after dark, look for a Weber model with lighted control knobs or lighted handles. These amenities make it much easier to see what you’re doing, so you can be sure weber gas grill that your food is grilled perfectly. The grill’s lid is secured on a convenient hinge that makes it easy to open, and the unit is mounted on a cart with four locking caster wheels.
While it’s on the small side with just 147 square inches of cooking area, this compact grill is an unbeatable value, especially considering its reliable performance. The kettle-style grill weighs less than 10 pounds, making it a top choice for camping or on-the-go grilling, and its porcelain-enameled lid and bowl provide impeccable heat retention. When shopping for a charcoal grill, there are numerous styles, including kettle, barrel, and kamado grills. Kettle grills have a relatively small circular cooking area, making them ideal for small families, but if you regularly cook for a crowd, barrel-style grills offer more space. Kamado grills have thick ceramic walls that provide excellent insulation and work well for grilling and smoking. Cooking over charcoal takes longer than cooking with a gas grill, and we typically need to add more fuel during cooking to keep our grills above 350 degrees F for the full duration.
This 18-inch ceramic grill has thick walls that lock in smoke and moisture, and you can use it to grill and smoke food thanks to its tower-style vent and built-in lid thermometer. Of course, there are several other benefits to charcoal grills. They’re typically more affordable than propane, natural gas, and pellet grills, and they also burn hotter, allowing you to get a beautiful crispy crust on your food. Plus, because charcoal grills typically have a simple design, they’re less likely to break down, and when they do have problems, repairs are usually straightforward. We tested the 22-inch weber portable grill in black, but Weber also offers an 18-inch version of its original kettle design. There are certainly fancier and more expensive grills to use for cooking, but for a balance of affordability and quality, you can’t go wrong with this classic.
They’re versatile too since they can use either traditional charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal as fuel. Our last test is grilling barbecued ribs, specifically baby back pork ribs. This style of cooking requires strict temperature control over a period of multiple hours. Ideally, a quality charcoal grill (or any smoker) will keep its fire humming along close to 225 degrees F for as long as possible. Lidless charcoal grills may be good for simple grilling, like cooking burgers and shrimp over direct heat, but you need a lid to successfully roast turkeys and smoke ribs. The average full-size grill is around 400 to 500 square inches—plenty of room to make enough food for a backyard gathering.
“For the money you cannot beat this grill.” Cook up the best ribs with these five grilling tools. When it comes to charcoal grills, sometimes workspace is limited. This deluxe charcoal grill from Weber changes that, with space for food prep along with storage space underneath. It features an electronic touch-and-go gas ignition system and removable LCD cook timer and built-in lid thermometer.