{"id":6761,"date":"2020-08-15T15:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-08-15T15:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/best-charcoal-grill-of-2020-weber-char-griller-and-more\/"},"modified":"2020-08-15T15:00:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-15T15:00:03","slug":"best-charcoal-grill-of-2020-weber-char-griller-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviancetechnologies.com\/blog\/best-charcoal-grill-of-2020-weber-char-griller-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Best charcoal grill of 2020: Weber, Char-Griller and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Best charcoal grill of 2020: Weber, Char-Griller and more<\/h2>\n

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A charcoal grill might lack the complexity and high-tech of a\u00a0gas model<\/span>, but the best charcoal grills absolutely compete when it comes to flavor and price.<\/p>\n

Charcoal grills are easier to set up than gas grills — all you really need is a bag of charcoal and your favorite ingredients in order to achieve a quick meal with true smoky flavor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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For more like this<\/h5>\n

Subscribe to the Smart Home newsletter, receive notifications and see related stories on CNET.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

From kettle-style to cart-style, feature-filled to bare minimum, we tested eight charcoal grills with steak, chicken, and ribs to find out which are the best bet for your next cookout.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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Tyler Lizenby\/CNET<\/span><\/p>\n

Weber’s $109 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 gave us tasty chicken too, with crispy chicken skin. The Weber can also smoke low and slow at rock-steady temperatures. That translated to seriously flavorful ribs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Simple construction means there aren’t too many parts to assemble or too many features to handle while cooking. A vent on the lid controls air flow and a well-designed ash tray beneath the grill facilitates easy cleanup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We tested the 22-inch model in black, but Weber also offers an 18-inch version of their original kettle design. There are certainly fancier and more expensive grills to use for cooking, but for a balance of affordability and quality, you can’t go wrong with this classic. This is the best charcoal grill overall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chris Monroe\/CNET<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’d prefer to find the best charcoal grill for cooking that is cart-style, the $99 Nexgrill Cart-Style Charcoal Grill proved a worthy challenger to the Weber in our tests. The cart design means you’ll get a helpful side tray and a little more cooking surface area, with 390 square inches of cooking space compared to Weber’s 363 square inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nexgrill definitely seared well, though the meat inside was a bit too done for our preferences. In our medium, indirect heat chicken cooking tests, Nexgrill delivered flavorful, juicy meat as a close second to Weber. Ribs were tender, juicy and done in about 4.5 hours. That said, the Weber had superior temperature control during these low and slow smoking sessions.<\/p>\n

Cart-style cooking and grilling isn’t for everyone. It’s bulkier with a more involved assembly and you’ll likely need more fuel to keep the larger space at a high temperature. However, our results were almost as good as the kettle-style Weber, so if you’re interested in a cart-style charcoal grill this is your best bet.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chris Monroe\/CNET<\/span><\/p>\n

At $279, the Napoleon charcoal grill is expensive. However, during our chicken cooking tests, it held its temperature better than any other charcoal grill. The resulting chicken was tasty, and the grill features really nice cast iron grates across its 365 square inches of cooking area. The lid houses a temperature gauge and a handy hinge that makes it easy to add charcoal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Napoleon delivered excellent cooking results in our ribs test. It prepared a tender and juicy rack in just 4 hours, 30 minutes. In our chicken test it held a high temperature for longer than any other grill in the lineup. The searing test was average, but satisfactory. This grill just feels really well built. It has three heights for your grates, so you can control just how much direct heat your food gets while cooking and grilling. If you’re looking for the fanciest kettle grill out there, this one might just be it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\tHow we test <\/h2>\n
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\n Tyler Lizenby\/CNET
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Testing charcoal grills means a lot of hands-on cooking experience. Depending on the season, and how your charcoal grill is set up, your experience cooking and grilling will likely be very different from ours. For example, a kettle-style charcoal grill left in the July sun all day will run a lot hotter than a grill in the cooler spring months.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

First, a note about grill thermometers. None of the hood thermometers built into these grills mirrored the temperatures recorded by our own thermocouples and data software. It’s not uncommon for grill thermometers to read high, so we recommend keeping an oven thermometer or Bluetooth thermometer handy while you’re grilling, either for your meat or for the grill’s temperature itself.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\tHigh-heat searing with steak <\/h3>\n

To test high heat, we seared two steaks on each grill. Charcoal was measured in a chimney by grams, and in a ratio for that grill’s specific surface area. We lit the charcoal inside the chimney, letting it burn until the smoke dissipated and the coals began to turn grayish white, then put the charcoal into the grill. Let the grill heat up for 10 minutes, and the steaks are ready to hit the grates.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

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