I ran three such tests of six 5.3-ounce burgers each pressed from the same hamburger press. I flipped all of the burners on high and gave the grill 10 minutes to preheat. The Genesis II range also includes optional iGrill 3 Weber thermometer compatibility, which allows wireless heat monitoring from up to 30 feet away. What’s more, you can also measure weber charcoal grill the temperature of the ingredients as they cook, helping to ensure perfectly tender results every time. I love cooking outdoors over live fire and smoke whatever the weather, using various grills, smokers, and wood-fired ovens to produce epic food. My goal with this site is to help as many people as possible enjoy and be good at doing the same.
One huge advantage of Weber’s Genesis II grill design is it’s a snap to clean. They’re also spaced out well so pulling the machine apart for maintenance is easy. Weber also built an elegant grease management system at the heart of the cooker. Any juices and drippings that make it past the burners are funneled towards weber q a waiting disposable drip tray for collection. A component in Char-Broil’s “Tru-Infrared” grilling system, the plate is designed to absorb the heat from the burners, and use it to mimic the radiant heat you get from charcoal. The different cooking methods likely explain the results of my cooking tests, too.
The porcelain-enameled Weber Genesis II E-310 features three stainless steel high-performance burners that produce 39,000 BTUs of power. The Tuck-Away warming rack provides an additional 156 square-inches for a generous 669 square-inches of total cooking area. The Genesis II grills come equipped with a Grease Management System that makes clean-up as easy as possible.
All eight scored a very good overall in our tests, and one scored high enough to make our recommended list. We can’t speak to the reliability of the Genesis II grills just yet, because they’re new to the market. But Weber has been a solid brand, according to our reader survey of nearly 16,000 grill owners. The new E2i electronic ignition system is more durable and more reliable compared to previous incarnations. We believe that the E2i system is the most superior ignition system Weber has ever created. Below is an up-close picture taken after we dismantled one of the Weber II grills to its most basic components.
Weber has used high-quality materials throughout like porcelain-enameled cast iron, and stainless steel. With this grill, Weber has taken all the features people love about gas grills and ‘premiumized’ them. The grill is also “iGrill 3 Ready,” which is to say, you can buy an iGrill 3—a type of remote thermometer—and stick it in the spot where the LED gas gauge goes. That means if you’re weber charcoal grill standing in front of the grill, you’d have to open an app just to read the temperature on the thermometer directly under your nose. Apps and Bluetooth connections can be great additions to cooking hardware, but in cases like this, they also get in the way. The iGrill 2 has an easy-to-read LED on its base that displays temperature; having no readout on the iGrill 3 is straight-up dumb.
Grill companies are starting to get the hang of better searing capabilities, even adding little “sear burners” for the task. Weber’s leaning in that general direction with High+, but the burners are almost six inches from the top of the grill grate, which is simply too far away to get a hard sear. I could get a better, more even sear in my cast-iron pan sitting on the grill’s side burner. I found a sweet spot after a few minutes with half power on the left burner and a trickle in the center, which seemed acceptable considering the wind. I nudged up the heat, trying to get up to a steady 325 degrees on the indirect side, but it needed constant adjustment to get anywhere close to consistent temperature.
The cooking surfaces will spread heat evenly, while the body of the grill will retain heat – especially with the lid closed. Similar to how this Weber grill treated burgers, the Genesis II pumped out more heat than was necessary. On both the 3 hour and the 3 hour 30 minute runs, the ribs were good but too crisp and dry for my taste. The solution lies with some different combination of cooking time and temperature, but within the confines of the time allotted for this review, I had to stop there.