We tested dozens of the best charcoal grills, and our favorites are from brands like Weber and Kamado Joe. Here are our top picks.
The smell of lit charcoal, the heat of a coal fire, the sizzle of meat getting perfectly charred: few cooking methods bring you as close to nature as charcoal grilling. To find the best charcoal grill, we tested dozens of grills firsthand and interviewed chef Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen, author Steven Raichlen, butcher Pat LaFrieda, executive chef Tobias Dorzon, and Hey Grill Hey founder Susie Bulloch.
Our top pick is the Weber Original Kettle 22″, a classic charcoal grill that is moderately priced and made to last. Plus, it comes in three sizes, and each has impressive heat distribution. If you want to splurge, the Kamado Joe Classic II is the best investment in charcoal grilling you can make.
Ultimately, the best charcoal grill for you (as with the best gas grill or the best BBQ smoker) should come down to size, budget, and material in that order, Olunloyo said. Read on for our picks for all sizes and budgets, and be sure to check out our guide to the best grills for our picks across every category.
Learn about how we test kitchen gear at Insider Reviews.Our top picks for the best charcoal grill
Best overall: Weber Original Kettle 22″ – See at Amazon
Best barrel: Char-Griller Grand Champ XD – See at The Home Depot
Best splurge: Kamado Joe Classic II – See at Amazon
Best self-feeding: Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 – See at Amazon
Best cart-style: PK300 Grill and Smoker – See at Amazon
Best portable: Weber Smokey Joe 14″ – See at Amazon
Best for entertaining: Nuke Delta 40-Inch Gaucho Grill – See at Nuke BBQBest overall
It’s hard not to love the design of the Weber Original Kettle 22-inch charcoal grill. It’s been around for decades with hardly any changes, and it probably belongs in the Museum of Modern Art.
The simple, circular shape naturally gathers charcoal evenly in the basin and makes for even heat distribution. Top and bottom vents allow heat control for direct and indirect cooking (as well as ash catchment on the bottom), and the basin is deep enough to add a pan of water to keep meats from drying out when you’re cooking low and slow.
It’s also a fairly weatherproof and highly mobile grill. The tripod leg design makes tilting and rolling a cinch (as does the handle), and because it’s such lightweight stainless steel, you can easily pick it up and place it in the bed of a pickup, or store it away for non-grilling season (if such a thing exists). We also love how effortless cleaning is; the three-blade ash sweeper and removable ash catcher make disposing of ash as easy as can be.
The Weber Original Kettle grill comes in three sizes — 18, 22, and 26 inches in diameter. We like the 22-inch model because it allows you to roast a whole brisket or pork shoulder, but you may want to size up or down depending on your needs. It’s also our pick for those on a budget. Save for grills made with painted galvanized steel (which, again, aren’t built to last), you’re not going to find a cheaper grill that will give you the years of the good use you’ll get out of a Weber.Best barrel
When it comes to true barbecuing, an offset barrel smoker that can handle burning wood as well as charcoal is in order. Professional-grade offset smokers are four-figure investments, but Char-Griller’s Grand Champ XD offers an impressive, 12-gauge (tenth-inch) thick steel barrel, expanded metal grates, oversized legs, and wheels fit for rugged terrain for a surprisingly capable package in the $500 range.
The top pick in our guide to the best barbecue smokers, the Grand Champ is also the best charcoal grill low-and-slow cooking. We kept this grill going at a steady 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 hours on three charcoal chimneys‘ worth of quality hardwood lump charcoal, smoking pork shoulders, briskets, and a mess of chicken wings and eggplant.
This assembly was fairly involved, but I had it together, lit, and seasoned in less than two hours. Offset smokers, we should add, tend to be difficult to assemble, largely because the offset firebox can be a challenge to line up and attach (especially alone). I didn’t struggle once with the Grand Champ.
Apart from handling a generous helping of wood, we like that the firebox comes with a charcoal basket that helps you contain and organize your coals (and hardwood). Whichever fuel you use, remember that offset smokers don’t cook evenly because one side abuts the firebox and stays much hotter than the other. Place your foods on the grate accordingly. If you buy this grill, know that to get to know it intimately, you’ll have to engage in some good, honest fun grilling ribs, shoulders, briskets, and more.Best splurge
As Olunloyo told us, if you have the money, a ceramic kamado grill — a design that originated about 3,000 years ago in Japan — is the best investment you can make in a charcoal grill. We like the Kamado Joe (KJ) Classic II because it makes few, if any, concessions in quality, but is priced well. Shockingly, you could find yourself paying much more for a grill of similar if not equal construction.
Unlike some of its competitors, the KJ Classic II comes with a robust frame, sturdy (if somewhat small) locking wheels, an adjustable grate, loads of features and multiple grate levels, an ash catchment system, and is virtually weatherproof (still, buy a cover).
The construction allows you to cook between 225 and 750 degrees Fahrenheit, and maintain a consistent heat, as it’s basically a giant ceramic oven. This also makes it unbelievably efficient, and you’ll be amazed to use only about half of what you normally would in a stainless-steel kettle grill.
When it comes to a Kamado-style grill, you won’t find much competition for the Kamado Joe Classic II, save for the Big Green Egg, which we also like.Best self-feeding
While charcoal is both notoriously difficult to light and regulate, Masterbuilt makes it easy. Masterbuilt’s Gravity Series charcoal grills work similarly to how an electric-powered pellet grill works, minus the auger that pulverizes the fuel ahead of it hitting the firebox.
You may be wondering, why not just use a pellet grill that regulates heat much better? As much as we at Insider Reviews adore pellet grills and the flavor they offer, they just don’t stack up to good old-fashioned charcoal.
