If you’re committed to charcoal, but envious of your neighbor’s shiny gasser, the Napoleon Charcoal Professional Cart Grill may be the answer. Only a few premium and luxury BBQ brands offer stainless steel weber bbq charcoal grills. Napoleon’s Professional is one of the more beautiful models we’ve seen in this price range. This stainless steel charcoal burner feels right at home in a shiny outdoor kitchen ensemble.
After the grill was heated up for 10 minutes, the steaks were ready to hit the grill grate. They’re bulkier, the assembly is more involved and you’ll likely need more fuel to keep the larger space at a high temperature. Our results, however, were almost as good as with the kettle-style Weber, so if you’re interested in a cart-style charcoal BBQ, this is your weber portable grill best bet. In our medium, indirect-heat chicken tests, the Nexgrill delivered flavorful, juicy meat as a close second to the Weber. And this updated model, when we used the charcoal snake method, demonstrated temperature control almost as good as the Weber. Some Weber gas grills also have warming trays to keep cooked food warm while you finish grilling.
There are two side tables where you can keep plates, tools, and condiments within reach. Brad has thoroughly tested many of the grills we recommend, using his personal experience and brand familiarity to carefully vet grills we haven’t had the chance to test yet. All of these grills work well in a backyard or garage, but those looking for travel options should skew toward our lighter picks.
It also has an easy-to-remove ash pan, a professional temperature gauge, and large air dampeners for superior airflow control. The best charcoal grill for steak searing in our lineup was the Weber Classic Kettle. The steak had nice grill marks while keeping a medium doneness on the inside.
Their portable grills come in both charcoal and gas varieties, and all boast a compact, lightweight design. However, because of the smaller size, Weber portable grills don’t offer much cooking capacity. Otherwise, you’ll need to cook your food in several batches. The briquettes can be somewhat expensive, so operating a charcoal grill is often more expensive than running a gas grill.
If your favorite recipes require on-the-fly adjustments, like changing the grate height and temperature, find a charcoal grill with the features to accommodate. Next, we light each grill’s snake at one end of the chain with five lit briquettes (tumbleweed fire starters work, too). We set all air vents on each grill (top and bottom) to the halfway-open position. Lastly, we place one rack of ribs on each grill for indirect cooking, with the meat not sitting directly above the coals. Simple construction means there aren’t too many parts to assemble or too many features to handle while cooking. A vent on the lid controls airflow and a well-designed ash tray beneath the Weber grill facilitates easy cleanup.
You can get by grilling burgers and hot dogs with a compact, inexpensive charcoal grill. Interior temperatures had a greater swing, jumping up to 300 degrees F during periods of cooking. While its ribs came out tender and juicy overall, the exterior bark had a few burnt spots. None of the hood thermometers built into these grills mirrored the temperatures recorded by our own thermocouples and data software.
If you prefer meat that’s more well done, you can extend the cooking time, or sear and finish cooking in an oven. Weber grill cooking grates are made of stainless steel, plated steel, or porcelain-enameled cast iron. An updated version of the popular Spirit series that offers state-of-the-art components, including the Infinity ignition system that’s known for reliable starts. To ensure we included grills that are right for everyone, we broke down the grills by style—kettle, barrel, and kamado—and had portable and hybrid-fuel options. Our final picks are highly rated by grillers, and they all come from reputable brands that stand behind their products with solid customer service and warranties. More features can help with lavish fare, like seafood, steak, or brisket.