Grill
A charcoal grill is controlled by airflow, which means a lid and vents are not accessories: they are the mechanism. Without them you have an open fire that chars the outside of everything. With them you have an oven. That single distinction matters more than size, price or brand.
Five kettles listed on Amazon.com, judged on control rather than size. All five are 22-inch kettles with a lid and adjustable dampers; what separates them is what they add.
Air goes in through the bottom vent and out through the top one. Open both and the coals burn hot and fast; close the bottom one partway and the fire slows. The lid turns the grill into an oven, which is what lets you cook a chicken through without burning the skin. A grill without both is limited to fast direct grilling.
Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 in. The kettle with the most built in for a beginner: a lid thermometer that tells you what a vent adjustment did, a hinged grate for adding charcoal mid-cook, and a removable high-capacity ash catcher.
Weber Original Kettle 22 in. The same porcelain-enameled bowl and lid and the One-Touch ash cleaning, without the thermometer and hinged grate. Weber gives it a ten-year limited warranty, the only warranty published among these five.
Weber Jumbo Joe Premium 22 in. Weber’s compact line, listed at 363 sq in of grate, with aluminum dampers and an ash catcher.
Megamaster 22 in. The cheapest kettle here with a porcelain-enameled lid and bowl, adjustable dampers and a removable ash catcher, with 354 sq in of grate.
Napoleon PRO22. The most adjustable: cast iron grids that set at three heights, probe doors and rotisserie ports, at 28 kg (61.7 lb).
Direct means food straight over the coals: burgers, sausages, steaks. Indirect means coals banked on one side, food on the other, lid down: chicken, ribs, a roast. A kettle does both, which is why it is the usual first charcoal grill.
A chimney starter and a pair of long tongs. The starter lights the coals without lighter fluid, which can leave a taste on the food, and the tongs keep your hand out of the heat over a full kettle.
Fast cooking straight over the coals, which is what most people start with.
Coals to one side and the lid on, which is what a kettle can do and a flat grill cannot.
Where a lid and vent control let you cook things that would burn over direct heat.
Where simplicity and storage matter more than any feature.
| The feature | Why it matters | The note |
|---|---|---|
| Lid and vents | Control and indirect cooking | Not optional |
| Modest size | Easier to control | Less fuel |
| Thick metal | Does not warp | Weight is a proxy |
| Ash catcher | Cleaning gets done | Otherwise it does not |
Charcoal grills are killed by ash and water. Ash left in the base holds moisture against the metal all winter and rusts it through, and a grill stored uncovered outdoors deteriorates far faster than one that is emptied and sheltered.
Charcoal carries specific and serious risks.
22 in charcoal kettle with a built-in lid thermometer, hinged cooking grate, One-Touch cleaning system with a removable high-capacity aluminized ash catcher, porcelain-enamelled lid and bowl, glass-reinforced nylon handles and an angled lid hook
The kettle that adds a lid thermometer and a hinged grate, which is what lets you roast and refuel.
Best for: Anyone who wants to roast and smoke as well as sear — the first kettle here that can
≈ $219
22 in charcoal kettle with a porcelain-enamelled lid and bowl, One-Touch cleaning system with an aluminized steel ash catcher, aluminum damper, angled lid hook, tool hooks and a 10 year limited warranty
The only kettle here with a warranty in its bullets — ten years limited — plus the One-Touch cleaning system.
Best for: The sensible middle of this shelf, with its warranty in plain view
≈ $149
22 in compact charcoal grill with 363 sq in of cooking surface, a porcelain-enamelled lid and bowl, plated steel grate, aluminum dampers and ash catcher, an angled lid hook and a heat-shielded lid handle
Three hundred and sixty-three square inches for ninety-eight dollars, with an angled lid hook and a heat-shielded handle.
Best for: The best capacity per dollar on this shelf, for anyone who cooks over one load of charcoal
≈ $98
22 in charcoal kettle with 354 sq in of cooking space, a porcelain-enamelled lid and bowl, adjustable air dampers, a removable ash catcher and a storage rack
A 22-inch porcelain-enamelled kettle with 354 published square inches, at twenty-seven cents a square inch.
Best for: The most cooking area per dollar on this shelf, if you can live without the lid hook
≈ $97
22 in charcoal kettle with hinged cast iron grids adjustable to three heights, a Vortex heat management system, a Smoke Stack Chimney, a stainless steel extension ring with rotisserie spit ports and temperature probe doors, an offset hinged lid and chrome-plated cooking grids
The only kettle here with grids at three heights, probe doors and rotisserie ports, at 28 kg (61.7 lb).
Best for: A charcoal cook who smokes with a probe, roasts on a spit, and wants to move the grid rather than the coals
≈ $389
Twenty-two inches is the standard size in the US and the one every kettle on this list shares. It cooks for a family and leaves room to bank coals on one side for indirect cooking. A larger grill burns more charcoal for the same meal.
For anything cooked with the lid down, such as a whole chicken, ribs or a roast, it helps a great deal: without one you are guessing. Of the kettles here, the Weber Original Kettle Premium lists a built-in lid thermometer; the plain Original Kettle does not. A probe thermometer in the meat is the other half of the answer.
With a chimney starter: charcoal in the top, crumpled paper or a fire starter cube underneath, and about fifteen to twenty minutes until the top coals show gray ash. Then pour them into the grill.
When they are covered in gray ash rather than still flaming. Cooking over flames burns the outside and leaves the inside raw.
Outdoors, on a stable, non-flammable surface, well clear of the house, deck railings, fences and anything that burns. Never in a garage, tent or any enclosed space: burning charcoal gives off carbon monoxide.
Empty the ash once it is completely cold, every time, and store the grill under a cover. Wet ash left in the bowl holds moisture against the metal and is what rusts a kettle through.
Good for: Anyone who wants to roast and smoke as well as sear — the first kettle here that can
What it does best: A built-in lid thermometer, which is what makes lid-down roasting possible rather than guesswork
What it does badly: No warranty in the bullets; the Amazon.com table lists: 10 year limited warranty
Good for: The sensible middle of this shelf, with its warranty in plain view
What it does best: A ten-year limited warranty in the bullets, where the $219, $289, $309 and $389 kettles list theirs only in the table
What it does badly: No thermometer, which is the single biggest reason to spend $70 more on the Premium
Good for: The best capacity per dollar on this shelf, for anyone who cooks over one load of charcoal
What it does best: Three hundred and sixty-three square inches — more than any other published figure here, including the $96.99 Megamaster
What it does badly: No thermometer, so lid temperature is guesswork until you spend $219
Good for: The most cooking area per dollar on this shelf, if you can live without the lid hook
What it does best: Twenty-three cents per published square inch, the cheapest cooking area on this shelf
What it does badly: No way to park a hot lid, where the $98 Weber Jumbo Joe has an angled hook
Good for: A charcoal cook who smokes with a probe, roasts on a spit, and wants to move the grid rather than the coals
What it does best: Cast iron grids at three heights — on a charcoal grill, distance from the coals is the only temperature control besides airflow
What it does badly: Three hundred and eighty-nine dollars, $80 above the most expensive Weber here
$149 – $289
3 models
Lids, handles and spares from the same aisle, at the price we read. Confirm they match the pan you choose before ordering: it turns on the diameter and the part number, which the product page gives.
Comparisons already online between two pans from this guide or this aisle.
The pans here are drawn from the catalog of this site. Specifications come from the maker and from the Amazon product page; prices are what Keepa recorded on the date below, and both move. Order is set by declared specifications, by stated strengths against stated limits, and by price. Nothing here has been cooked with by us, and no claim to the contrary is made.
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Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
