Weber Grills are the American standard by which all other brands are judged. Since 1952, Weber has been a leader in the outdoor cooking world, with innovative designs and incredible quality for the price. The Weber grilling system is designed for even cooking, consistent results and incredible flavor. Weber grill designs are created with the philosophy that nothing compares to food cooked outside in the fresh air with people you love. “With charcoal grilling, the cooking performance is largely dictated by how a fire is built and how the airflow to the flames is controlled,” says Larry Ciufo, CR’s test engineer in charge of grills.
To test the indirect heat, we cooked raw beer brats and bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. Cooking a variety of meats allowed us to observe grill marks, crispiness, and doneness. After the grills had fully cooled, we cleaned each, following the manufacturer’s instructions as closely as we could. The most exciting thing about this grill, however, weber genesis 2 is the crank handle that raises and lowers the charcoal tray. An access door on the front of the grill makes it easy to add or manipulate coals while cooking too. This grill hits the sweet spot size-wise too since it’s lightweight and fairly compact, but still has plenty of room to create both a high-heat and indirect-heat zone.
During our cooking tests on the Weber Original Premium Kettle Grill, hamburgers cooked to a medium rare temperature and our chicken ended up juicy, with a solid sear on the outside. Other grills we tested either ran hotter and overcooked the hamburgers, or they weren’t hot enough and barely seared or cooked the meat. The Blackjack Kettle Grill also features two air vents, and it was easy to control the grill temperature with them. The bottom vent functions like most kettle grills, but the top vent is styled more like a traditional smoker vent. You mainly control the temperature on this grill from the bottom vent.
Sam Sifton, editor for the Cooking section of The New York Times , joined us for these tests. These are just a small selection of things that I love to make on my . This grill makes me happy—it looks like a classic Weber grill (the core design—inspired by nautical buoys—is timeless) but has a few updates that earn big points for user-friendliness. The 26-inch Original Kettle® Premium is the charcoal grill you want at your next party. It’s large enough to grill an entire dinner during the week, or a bunch of burgers at your next barbecue. With premium features, such as a hinged cooking grate for easily adding charcoal while grilling, and the One-Touch™ cleaning system with high-capacity ash catcher.
The lid sets this grill apart from a traditional Weber kettle, which features an unattached kettle top. We enjoyed the ease of being able to hinge open the lid on the Blackjack for a quick flip of our meat during our tests. The 22-inch Weber Original Premium Kettle Grill lives up to Weber’s storied history. The has been around for nearly 70 years and, while the design of the kettle has barely changed, it’s easy to see why. Throughout the Weber’s 6-hour, 32-minute cook time, the grill’s internal heat levels never strayed beyond 25 degrees of our target, 225 degrees F.