Charcoal is easy to pick up at just about every grocery store, home improvement store, or gas station, so you won’t need to make a special trip. But you’ll need to have a charcoal starter on hand, will have to wait for everything to cool down before you can dispose of it, and need to deal with the messy ash afterward. To help find the right Weber grill for you, we tested popular models for weeks and rated each one weber portable grill on setup, heat retention, heat control, size, versatility, and overall value. Many steaks, burgers, veggies, and more were grilled to make sure these Weber grills are truly the best. You can just brush the grates down with a grill brush if they have any debris on them. Additionally, oiling the grates can result in them becoming sticky once the oil has heated beyond its smoking point, which will inevitably happen.
We observed off readings and ended up relying on a secondary thermometer. Spirit grills are the perfect entree to spark a love for outdoor entertaining and every-day family meals.
It was the fastest pellet grill to reach 500 degrees, achieving it in under 10 minutes. It was also one of the better pellet grills when it came to searing steaks. The grates are made of cast iron, but they are coated in porcelain. The porcelain coating prevents food from sticking, so the grates don’t need seasoning. Only very old models of Weber grills would require seasoning, and because they are very old, that surely happened a long time ago. If you purchase a new Weber grill, you don’t need to worry about seasoning it.
For that reason, Weber offers generous warranties; years for the cookbox on almost all their full-sized models. Other grill parts, like the knobs, grates, and burner tubes have slightly shorter warranties, ranging from three to 10 years. Yes, you can smoke meat on a Weber charcoal grill, also known as a kettle grill. The simplest way to use your kettle grill as a smoker is to place all of your charcoal briquettes on one side of the grill and your meat on the other. Adding a few small chips of wood to the charcoal will give your meat a more traditionally smoked flavor.
We experienced even heating and few flare-ups during our testing, with our home tester claiming that it’s “worth the splurge.” We’ve long recommended Weber’s charcoal kettle grill to anyone looking for a phenomenal cooker at a reasonable price point. But our recent gas grill testing proved Weber is a powerhouse in that department, too (four out of six of our winners in our gas grill test were Webers). If you’re looking to buy on a budget, and/or favor a smoky flavor and scent while grilling, consider Weber’s charcoal grill options. If efficiency is on your list of grilling must-haves, consider a gas grill, which takes less time to heat up.
Weber’s Genesis line offers high-quality grills without super-premium prices, and its EX-325S is designed for easy grilling so you can enjoy each and every party. We tested the smart and more basic model, and while both gave us an impressive performance, the addition of the app gave us a more modern experience. Both times we tested it, we found the grill was really easy to use, as it’s easy to light, has immaculate temperature regulation, and practically operates itself.
Lastly, you need to make sure your grill fits your allotted space, and/or is able to move, should you need to store it or bring it on a roadtrip. Whether you regularly cook for a crowd or simply cook for one, you need the right size grill. Too big and you’ll be wasting fuel, too small and you’ll be eating dinner last.
You’ll want to make sure you have a second thermometer on-hand and be prepared for a small learning curve. The Spruce Eats Editor Siobhan Wallace compiled testing data from our official Lab as well as insights from our home testers’ full product reviews to compile this roundup. Jason Horn, The Spruce Eats commerce writer, also contributed to this roundup. Raised in Chicago, he knows that hot dogs should never be topped with ketchup. Beginners will quickly be able to learn the correct damper positions in order to achieve a consistent temperature, as we did. One thing to note is the inaccurate temperature on the built-in dial.