Reviewers say the quality of this product is great and that the grill will undoubtedly serve you well for years to come. Grilling purists will tell you that charcoal cooking is the only way to go, and seasoned grillers I’ve spoken to maintain that a Weber kettle is the best charcoal grill you can buy. It’s hard to argue with the first part because propane simply won’t give you the same smoky flavor you get from charcoal. It’s a bold claim, even given Weber’s reputation for manufacturing high-quality charcoal and gas grills. To see for myself, I filled my yard with highly rated grills and enlisted the help of a year-round charcoal grillmaster who also happens to be a Weber enthusiast . With open minds and lots of raw meat, we tested seven promising charcoal grills under $500.
Though you only have to endure setup one time, build time is definitely relevant if you’re picking up a charcoal grill for a last-minute barbecue. The Weber Original Premium Grill took 15 minutes to assemble, while the Weber Original Grill took only 10 minutes. The Weber grills were the only grills that didn’t come with a hardware pack. You can easily set up either Weber grill by yourself and it only requires you to use a hammer or screwdriver for attaching the handle and wheels. The rest ranged in setup time from 27 minutes to over an hour, with varying levels of difficulty and number of persons needed to complete the task.
It even has a built-in wooden side shelf where you can keep tools and serving dishes. The handle on the lid stays cool to the touch, and there’s an adjustable air vent on the side of the unit to help you regulate temperature. The whole grill is powder-coated for durability, and when it’s time to clean up, simply remove and dump the ash pan. This portable charcoal grill can hold up to five hamburgers at a time, and the lid’s glass-reinforced nylon handle stays cool during use. Reviewers say this product is an unbeatable value, as it’s easy to tote around to various events and delivers the same caliber of high-quality food as full-size Weber grills. Looking for a charcoal grill that you can bring to the big game or on your next outdoor adventure?
Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive. Max Good – Max Good, AmazingRibs.com’s Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame, is the man in charge of finding the best products weber q for the AmazingRibs.com Equipment Reviews section. Max bottles his own barbecue sauce recipes and now sells them around the country. Webers are not cheap, but when you consider that they last decades, the price is easy to justify.
With more than 800 square inches of cooking space, a stainless steel smokestack, and a heavy-duty matte-black body, the Char-Griller Classic will make you feel like a true grillmaster at your next cookout. Under the lid it looks more like a gas grill than a charcoal grill thanks to 549 square inches of porcelain-coated cast-iron grates plus a secondary steel rack for warming or indirect cooking. This grill has enough room for a three-zone charcoal fire—and a handful of beer-can chickens, multiple racks of ribs, or 20 burgers.
Then you should consider the Weber Smokey Joe portable charcoal grill. Just like full-size models from the brand, this 14-inch grill has a porcelain-enameled lid and bowl, as well as steel grates and an ash catcher down below. The premium version of the original kettle measures 22 inches wide and comes in three colors. The premium version also includes Weber’s One-Touch cleaning system, meaning that it comes with a large enclosed ash weber genesis 2 pan for easy cleanup, and it also boasts a built-in thermometer and lid hook. While we found both Weber grills to cook flawlessly, the upgrades on the premium model make the Weber Original Premium Kettle Grill our top charcoal grill of 2022. Cleaning this grill is easy thanks to Weber’s One-Touch cleaning system—a lever-controlled tool that forces ashes down into the ash pan or catcher for easy cleanup—and the enclosed ash catcher.