Weber even supplies a simple plastic tool to help you attach the thermometer without digging out a wrench. All you need is a Phillips screwdriver to attach the side handles, and something dense (a hammer, or even just a chunk of firewood) to tap the end caps of the wheel axle into place. One person can have the grill up and running within minutes of opening the box. 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.
Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time). Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things weber charcoal grill cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart.
We carry the best brands at the best price, including Traeger Wood Pellet Grills, Weber Grills, Big Green Egg, Blaze, Napoleon, RCS, and many more. While the Weber is a very basic cooker, it does have a few helpful features. There’s the elevated ash portable bbq catcher, which makes dumping the remnants easier than with the original model (see the Ease of Cleaning section). The lightweight construction and wheels on two of the three legs made the Weber reasonably easy to move or reposition on pavement.
Lid thermometers are seldom accurate, and they tell you the temperature at the top of the dome when you really need to know what’s going on at the grate. Down below is the steel charcoal grate upon which you place your fuel. You should avoid this if you’re using it, because water entering the cook box will make the fire go out. Weber grills are weatherproof, meaning they can be left out on your patio year-round when not turned on. However, they will last longer and hold up better if you put a cover on them.
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 portable bbq 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.
Your mileage may vary, but with proper care and maintenance you can expect your Weber grill to last for many years. Easy to Clean- With the patented One-Touch Cleaning System in Weber Grills, charcoal ash can be removed quickly with one hand. The porcelain-enamel blast-fired coating allows for effortless removal of soot with just some soapy water. Beginners will quickly be able to learn the correct damper positions in order to achieve a consistent temperature, as we did.