It still has no significant backstop for the grates, however, and no bottom tray for catching ash—which means it just kind of pours out on the ground. And at $750 at the time of writing, it was beyond our price consideration. From burgers to chicken to slow-smoked ribs, this Weber model’s time-tested design produces great results—at a terrific price. The vents in the grill’s bowl and lid allow you to control the airflow into your grill.
Though a bit of an investment, the gas grill pays off with its convenience. It’s easy to start, easy to use, and heats up quickly and powerfully, delivering 12,000 BTUs of heat per hour. The 280-square-inch cooking area consists of porcelain-enameled cast-iron cooking grates, which should be enough to serve three to four people (pretty good for a portable model). 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. It was the fastest pellet grill to reach 500 degrees, achieving it in under 10 minutes.
In this setup, the lid thermometer is measuring the temperature of the hot zone (above the coals) rather than the cool zone (where the food is place). The biggest piece of meat that people will smoke is a brisket and the 22″ kettle can fit a lb brisket no problem. The hinged grates also make adding charcoal or wood chunks much easier. The last Weber kettle I owned was given to me by my father and lasted 10+ years; The grill is so old that it doesn’t have newer features like a lid thermometer, handle heat shield, or lid hanger. Cooking with a Weber Kettle Grill certainly takes more time and attention than using a gas grill. But as with all things in life, that effort transforms the task into more of an experience.
Meat from the Nexgrill was delicious, with just a bit more flavor than the Weber. Between them, I’d say it largely depends on your budget and what style of grill you prefer for other meats like burgers or steak. None of the hood thermometers built into these grills mirrored the temperatures recorded by our own thermocouples and data software.
Clean the cooking grate as you would any other grate — use a good grill cleaning tool to remove food debris (when it’s still warm), but don’t use anything metal. You may want to occasionally wash it with warm water and perhaps a mild soap. Similarly, you’ll probably have to scrape stuff off the lower charcoal grate, though possibly not after each use. To clean the grates, build a fire, heat up the grill, and then take a bristle-free wire brush (metal bristles can fall out and end up in your food, and you don’t want that) and scrape.
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. Cooking over charcoal takes longer than cooking with a gas grill, and we typically need to add more fuel during weber q cooking to keep our grills above 350 degrees F for the full duration. Our favorite bird from this batch was the one cooked on the Weber, though it was a tough call. The bird cooked on the Nexgrill cart-style grill came in right behind, a close second in terms of flavor and texture. The Nexgrill Cart-Style Charcoal Grill is a compelling alternative to the Weber, especially if you prefer a cart-style backyard cooker.
Its ultra-durable, porcelain-enameled lid and bowl retain heat, while the dampers can be easily adjusted for precise temperature control. For the low-and-slow, whole-grate test, we let the same batch of coals burn down to the white-ash stage with the lid open, which took about 20 minutes. We then reoiled the grates and distributed a whole cut-up chicken—two each of breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings—skin side down. 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, using the built-in thermometer where available and a probe thermometer where not.