I've Tested Grills for Over a Decade—These Are the Best Charcoal Grills

My Takeaway

The classic Weber Original Kettle 22-Inch Charcoal Grill is still one of the best charcoal grills around and continues to be my personal favorite. The barrel-style Char-Griller Patio Pro Charcoal Grill and Smoker is also a great grill that's on the inexpensive side.

How to Pick the Right Charcoal Grill

To help sort through the technical aspects of grilling, I asked Jay Ducote for some help. If the name is familiar, it’s because he’s a Food Network personality who won on “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Superchef Grudge Match,” plus he’s appeared on other shows as well. He’s participated in competitive barbecue for years, but these days bills himself as "chef, traveler, speaker, storyteller, and cultural gastronomist." 

Style

When it comes to shape, Ducote says that the main options are a kettle, kamado, Santa Maria, and a rectangular or barrel-style grill with a lid. “Kettles are nice for entry-level grilling and portability for tailgates or wheeling them around the backyard,” he says. They offer good airflow for hot and fast grilling and can be used for short-term smoking, but the lack of insulation requires a lot of refueling for longer cooks.

Kamado grills are usually egg-shaped and made of heavy, well-insulated ceramic. They offer very precise airflow controls, which helps hold heat exceptionally well for smoking and longer cooks. This means you won't need to add additional coals during an all-day smoking session.

Santa Maria-style grills are open-air grills, with no lid. They can only be used with high-heat grilling and you can't capture any heat retention or smoke, but Jay says they can be a lot of fun to cook on.

Barrel-style charcoal pits have less airflow control and burn hot, which is great for grilling, but unlike the Santa Maria style, they do have a lid to assist you with some convection cooking. You can cook with indirect heat on larger versions, but doing a true long smoke is difficult.

Construction

Ducote says construction materials are one of the most important things to consider when buying a grill. “Aluminum is cheaper and lighter, which is great for taking it to a park or a tailgate.” Stainless steel is more expensive and heavier but is more durable than aluminum. Ceramic grills get really heavy, but they will last a lifetime and retain heat well. 

Grill grates are a big consideration as well. Some materials will rust and need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Stainless steel grates are nice for longevity. Heavy cast-aluminum grates are also nice for heat and durability. 

“Grates with hinges are often lighter (lower gauge) and cheaper construction,” explains Ducote, “so they aren't my favorites. The hinges could be one of the first parts to rust out.”

Cooking Space

Since Ducote comes from a world of competition and commercial cooking, he’s used to working with very large grills. He says that smaller grills, under 26 inches in diameter or width are “good for personal use, cooking for a couple, or for a very small family. There usually isn't room for multiple slabs of meat or excess side items.” Smaller grills are also more difficult to set up for indirect cooking, but a portable grill might be your best bit if you're looking for some adaptability.

“A medium grill, in the range of 600-900 square inches, or up to 33 inches in diameter or grill width, is nice to feed a family of five,” says Ducote. With that much space, there’s enough room for both mains and sides, and it’s easier to set up different temperature zones. 

A large pit, “anything with 1000 square inches or more of cooking area,” will be a cooking machine. You'll be able to cook for backyard barbecues, larger family gatherings, and more. This is what you want if you're regularly trying to feed groups of 20 or more. You'll be able to use a pit like this in a lot of ways, but you'll lose portability.

Common Questions 

How long should charcoal burn before grilling?

“I like to use a charcoal chimney to light my coals, and it usually takes around 10 minutes for them to all get white and fully lit,” says Ducote. “At that point I dump them into my grill and get to cooking!” I’ve learned that without a chimney it could take 15-20 minutes for the coals to get ready and they may burn unevenly.

How do you maintain the temperature and smoke in a charcoal grill?

“This is always a difficult task,” he says, “and in my opinion is more of an art than science. It is all about your coal bed and airflow, and a magnificent manipulation of the two. Get it right, and you can cook for days. Get it wrong and you'll have a frozen Han Solo in carbonite, or on the other extreme, act like you couldn't start a forest fire with Smokey the bear's back turned to you.”

To control the heat, you need to consider the coal. Charcoal briquettes can reach up to 1000°F, with some lump charcoal reaching up to 1400°F. Keep in mind that is the temperature of the coals themselves, and not the air temperature for cooking. If you’re cooking steaks and burgers, you’ll want to start cooking when the coals have a light coat of ash. For longer cooks, you may need to add more coal during cooking to keep the fire consistent. 

For adding smoke, wood chips will burn faster than large wood chunks. It’s often best to soak chips in water first, so they produce more smoke than fire. They can also be wrapped in aluminum foil with holes poked to let the smoke out, or placed in a smoker box. Large chunks of wood though might be placed directly on coals. Some smoking setups include a water pan to create steam in addition to the smoke, but each grill should have instructions on what configuration is best.

Next, airflow is critical. Most charcoal grills have top and bottom vents that bring air through the bottom to feed the fire before exiting the top vent. Some grills, like several kamados I’ve used, give instructions on how open each vent should be for different cooking temperatures. For other grills, it can be a matter of trial and error to find the perfect vent settings. In general, the grill burns hotter and faster when the vents are fully open, and burns slower and cooler when the vents are more closed. Since smoke travels with that venting air, keeping the top vent less open is best when smoking foods.

When cooking is done, closing both the top and bottom vents will deprive the coals of oxygen and the fire will go out before the charcoal is fully burned.

How should you take care of a charcoal grill? 

“Proper cleaning and ash management is the key to a charcoal pit’s lifespan,” says Ducote. Ashes left in the bottom of your grill will quickly corrode metal, and it is even worse if left in the weather and the ashes get wet. 

“An ash basket or drawer at the bottom of the pit that can be pulled out or removed from the grill for emptying ashes is a nice touch.” Slide-out ash pans are very helpful, but Jay says if there’s no easy access to clear out the ash, “avoid it and go with something else.”

Why Take Our Word For It?

Donna Currie is a cookbook author and cooking gadget fiend. She has been writing about cooking gear for over a decade and has collected cooking equipment for much, much longer.