We put our gas grills through a battery of tests designed to demonstrate their qualities and highlight their differences. But those judgments would have to wait until we got our hands on the contenders. So after weeks of research, reporting, and discussion, we settled on four gas grills to test in our main $400 to $700 category, and two grills portable bbq around the $200 mark to test as budget options. Weber offers a rotisserie kit for purchase that is compatible with the Genesis II E-310. When you use this kit, you do not have to ignite the center burner; rather, you use the left and right burners for indirect heat. This keeps your chicken juicy while cooking it to the appropriate temperature.
The other grills also have easy-access grease traps—not much to ask for, really. But we found the Napoleon model’s wavy grills hard to clean because we couldn’t run the grill brush in long strokes. This brings us to the LX grill with the largest cooking surface, the six-burner Weber Genesis II LX S-640. It costs $2,000 and scores almost as well as the four-burner model above, although its temperature range wasn’t as wide. The two-burner Weber Genesis II LX S-240 is a small grill, and at $1,000, it’s one of the most expensive small grill in our tests.
This is probably the grill that is going to strike the sweetest middle ground for most people. It’s a good size grill for big families or gatherings and for many people there won’t be a lot of motivation to spend $200 – $300 extra on the 4-burner or larger models. Okay, those are the basics applicable to every grill in the series. You have your flavorizer bars, catching some of the grease drip and turning it into delicious smoke to really give your food that barbecued taste. Without going into too much generic background about the new series, let’s instead look specifically at what the new grills offer, and then dig down into some specific models.
Then we closed the lids for 45 minutes, occasionally checking for charring and redistributing the pieces as necessary (ideally, it wouldn’t be necessary at all). As the chicken cooked we monitored the grills’ temperatures according to their built-in thermometers; the goal was a steady hold at 375 °F with little or no burner adjustment. After 45 minutes, we flipped the chicken parts, weber genesis 2 slathered on a coating of barbecue sauce, and closed the lid for another five minutes. We repeated this step twice more, rounding out the cook time at an hour flat. Then we had a taste, paying special attention to the breast meat—a long cook can dry it out. The weber genesis features 768 square inches of total cooking space with 526 in direct and indirect heating capacity.
The new infinity igniters that come with a 10 year warranty promises to take care of those lighting up hassles almost for good. Handling the brass material on this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Combustion byproducts produced when using this product contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. This product can expose you to chemicals including nickel, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer. BBQGuys does more than test and sell grills — we show you how to use them, too.
With castor wheels on many designs you will find it easy to move them around the garden to the ideal spot. This stainless steel gas grill is sturdily built, with thick-gauge steel used in the firebox. The hood is covered with porcelain, which boosts the grill’s heat retention. The E-310 does not feel flimsy at all – the side shelves are sturdy, and there are three accessory hooks on each side for your grilling tools. The most important aspect of any gas grill is its ability to produce and retain heat. Its heat consistency means perfect caramelization without overcooking.
Previously, he was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York. He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade. Tim Heffernan is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter and a former writer-editor for The Atlantic, Esquire, and others. He has anchored our unequaled coverage of air purifiers and water filters since 2015. In 2018, he established Wirecutter’s ongoing collaboration with The New York Times’s Smarter Living. Finally, though we used them for comparison (and a sense of what’s possible in a grill, for a price), we did not test grills from high-end makers such as Hestan, Lynx/Sedona, and MHP.
After testing more than 90 tools from spatulas to tongs to grill gloves and more, we have recommendations for everything you need to have an amazing barbecue. Take the battery out of the igniter before you store the grill long-term. We haven’t long-term tested the Spirit II E-310, but we have every reason to believe it will last for years and keep working flawlessly. Weber constantly refines its designs, even on its classic kettle, which has been around for well over 60 years. And again, Weber warrants every part of the Spirit II for a full 10 years, so the company has a financial incentive to build it to last for years, too. Offering an unrivaled combination of performance, usability, versatility, durability, and value, this is the best grill for most people.
Our R&D department develops high-quality, fairly priced grilling equipment. After weeks of research and two days of testing on burgers, barbecue, and whole chickens, the Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill 22″ is our pick as the best charcoal grill for most people. A good gas grill should last a decade or more, provided you clean it after every use and protect it from the elements. Weber, which makes both of the grills we currently recommend, guarantees all parts for 10 years, so we expect our picks to hold up for at least that long.