With the 18-inch Weber Original Kettle Grill, you can still get the full portable bbqing experience for under $100. But the biggest problem is that the instructions completely overlook what we found to be a potentially dangerous design flaw. The Napoleon’s vent assembly consists of two metal collars, one inside the other.
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. If you have minimal outdoor space, this electric cutie is just right. The porcelain-coated cooking grates are rust-resistant and easy to clean.
A trap door lets you empty ash easily and without making a mess. The adjustable vent on the lid allows you to fine-tune airflow to the flame to control cooking temperatures. There’s even a place to hang the lid when you’re flipping burgers. The true original Weber grill, the Weber Original Kettle Grill, can be purchased for under $100, making it our top pick for best budget grill.
One downside to this grill is the ash pan, which can only be emptied by reaching into the grill and lifting it up and out of the kettle. The pan is not as deep as the Weber Premium’s pan, so it requires more frequent cleaning, which can only be done when the grill is entirely cooled off. 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.
Weber certainly had the superior sear in that category. We fired up models from Weber, Nexgrill, Napoleon, KitchenAid, Char-Griller and others to find out which charcoal grill is king of the cookout. The hint of warmth in the air has us practically squealing with glee to cozy up our patios and backyard spaces for the cookouts and summer-night hangouts that are just ahead.
“It reflects heat well, but we haven’t been able to prove it reflects heat any better than a square or a rectangle,” says Kempster, noting that the interior of kitchen ovens are rectangular. Grill efficiency lies in other design details, he explains, such as the positioning of the grates and air dampers. The durable, dual-walled insulated steel and unlimited potential of the Summit® Kamado S6 Charcoal Grill Center lands it in a class of its own. It quickly reaches desired temperatures, maintains heat for all-day smoking, and the gas ignition makes lighting charcoal as easy as pushing a button. With an extra-large 24” cooking area, Summit® Kamado is ready to handle any size feast. The innovative design and unlimited potential of the Summit® Charcoal Grill lands it in a class of its own.
Add that to its solid warranty and well-regarded customer service, and it’s hard to see a better value. Over the course of two days, we put three charcoal grills through a battery of tests. But those judgments would have to wait until we got our hands on the things. After weeks of research, reporting, and discussion, we settled on three charcoal grills to test.
A potential downside is that charcoal grills are a bit slower to get started. “You have to set up the chimney, start the coals and wait 20 to 30 minutes weber charcoal grill before you can cook,” she explained. And scrub the grates every time — otherwise your food will taste like soot and you will not get great grill marks.