A built-in thermometer on the lid allows you to monitor the grill’s temperature, while a hinged grill grate makes it easy to add coal or reposition embers for enhanced fire management. And when dinner’s done, an improved ash catcher makes cleaning up the charcoal mess even easier. Read on to see how well the Weber Original Kettle Premium 22-Inch Charcoal Grill performed under fire. 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 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 2023.
With the ultimate grilling machine, mastering the art of grilling for special occasions and creating delicious, everyday meals is as simple as lighting a fire on your charcoal grill. Its 686 square inches of cooking space sits upon porcelain enameled grill grates. This is a great addition considering the price of the grill, and helps to ensure good heat distribution weber genesis 2 and retention, while also reducing the risk of flare-ups or cold spots. At $139, Weber’s original, kettle-style charcoal grill continues to stand the test of time. In our high-heat searing tests, Weber delivered the best balance of seared exterior and medium-rare interior steak. The Weber kettle grill gave us tasty chicken too, with crispy chicken skin.
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. This grill gave both our burgers and chicken a really nice sear. During our testing, hamburgers cooked to medium, while it took the chicken about 32 minutes to come up to temperature.
All of our tests were designed and run by Wirecutter senior writer Lesley Stockton, who has over a decade of experience in professional kitchens, many of them spent on the grill station. Lesley conducted the testing with senior staff writer Tim Heffernan, who wrote this guide, and Michael Sullivan, weber genesis 2 a senior writer on the kitchen team. Sam Sifton, assistant managing editor at The New York Times, also joined in and added his extensive knowledge. The Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″ is a classic for good reason. Plus, you can get it in a few different color and size combinations.
Charcoal briquettes and lump charcoal are easier to ignite and keep lit than ordinary firewood. And if you plan to cook low and slow we suggest adding a few chunks of hardwood to your charcoal pile. This brings about more smoke flavor in barbecue meat like pork ribs, pork butt and beef brisket. Next, we light each grill’s snake at one end of the chain with five lit briquettes .
While this grill does come with an included cart, which added to setup time, we also found the instructions hard to follow, and the amount of hardware included felt a bit overwhelming. If you’re going to purchase this grill, then we’d advise looking into having your local hardware store build and deliver it to you. The 22-inch Weber Original Premium Kettle Grill lives up to Weber’s storied history. The Weber charcoal grill has been around for nearly 70 years and, while the design of the kettle has barely changed, it’s easy to see why. It has an inbuilt temperature gauge, although I do always recommend getting your own grill thermometer for the best and most accurate results. In any case, the gauge helps you monitor internal temperatures without having to lift the lid and disrupt the cooking temperatures in your grill chamber.
That said, this Weber takes under 10 minutes to set up and requires no hardware. Like the Weber Original Premium grill, hamburgers tested on this grill cooked up to a perfect medium rare. The chicken we grilled took four minutes of sear time and 25 additional minutes on indirect heat to come up to a safe internal temperature. If you’re looking for the best affordable charcoal grill under $100 that will cook your meat to a perfect temperature, then this Weber is for you.