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All Buyer's Guides
AmazingRibs.com does not make or sell anything, but we love toys and we are happy to share our opinions of them.
Smoker Reviews & Ratings
 How To Buy A Smoker Overview
Charcoal Smokers
Egg, Kamado, Ceramic Grills/Smokers
Large Capacity, Restaurant & Trailer Smokers
Electric Smokers
Gas Smokers
Pellet Grills/Smokers
Stovetop Smokers
Pig Roasters
Wood Burning Pizza Ovens
Grill Reviews & Ratings
How To Buy A Grill Overview
The Differences Between Charcoal & Gas Grills
Charcoal Grill Reviews & Ratings
Egg, Kamado, Ceramic Grills/Smokers
Pellet Grills/Smokers
Gas Grills
Tailgate Grills & Portable Grills
Grills Gone Wild
More Reviews & Ratings
Thermometers & Thermostats
Barbecue Accessories
Kitchen Tools
Outdoor Kitchen Planning
Cookbooks, Magazines, Videos
Barbecue Sauces
Bar Necessities
Corkscrews
Funny Aprons, Hats, T-shirts, Tschotschkes
Meathead's Favorite Ingredients
Photography Gear
How We Review Products
We purchase many products we review although occasionally suppliers send us samples. We make it clear in our reviews when we are working with a sample. Here's a key to our reviews.
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We have hands-on experience testing this product. We have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources.
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We have seen this product up close and we have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources.
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We have researched this product from afar by gathering info from the manufacturer, owners, and other reliable sources, with our BS meters on high.
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Reviewers
Many reviews are by Meathead, the author of most things on this website. In 2011 Scot Murphy and Gordon Hubbell joined him to help with the Buyer's Guides. The author of each product's review is named at the end of the writeup.
Best In BBQ Medals
 Best In BBQ Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals are given only to products that we highly recommend based on price. Awards are based on features, quality, and value. Price is an important factor. Rarely will a $400 Gold Medal be in the same league as an $800 Gold Medal, so it is important that you read the reviews. Rest assured that when we award a medal, it is because we are impressed by it for the price, not because someone has paid us to say so or because the company is an advertiser or sponsor. Manufacturers: Click here for permission to use these medals in ads and on packaging (there is no charge) and for info on how to get a high resolution version.
About Model Numbers
Manufacturers often make slight variations to their basic model exclusively for certain merchants. For example, a grill manufacturer might make their Firebrand Grill Model ABC123 with cast iron grates available only on Amazon. Meanwhile, the ABC125 is identical except it has stainless steel grates, and it is sold only at ACE Hardware. Of course the prices can differ.
Your Amazon Purchase Supports This Site
When a product is available on Amazon.com, we often provide a direct link. Amazon often has the best prices anywhere, even better than many manufacturers' websites because manufacturers know that if they undercut retailers like Amazon, they may drop the products. Amazon also offers fast delivery (often free), no sales tax (in most states), gift wrapping (on many items), and painless refund policies. Check out Amazon's Gift & Wish Registry .
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If you like all the info we give you for free and would like to help us buy charcoal, please copy the link below and save it. It takes you to Amazon.com and tags things you buy with the AmazingRibs code so we get that referral fee. It works on anything from grills to diapers and it has zero impact on the price you pay. http://tinyurl.com/3rlglce
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Seasoning and calibrating your grill or smoker with dry runs
The first thing to do after you assemble your new grill or smoker is to season it and calibrate it by doing a few dry runs without food. This will burn off any manufacturer's grease, and give you a sense for how to set it up to hit the two important target temps that almost all my recipes use: 225°F and 325°F.
Of course, in order to do this, you absolutely positively must have a good digital oven thermometer. I don't care how much you spent on your grill, the bi-metal dial thermometer that came with it is probably cheap and unreliable and likely to be off by as much as 50°F. Worse still, it is in the dome, and the temp down on the grate where the meat sits is much different. Like a musician, you must master your instrument to make great food.
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The most beautiful grills ever?
While wandering the side streets of Florence, Italy, in fall 2008, I stumbled across Giotti Ceramiche, a store selling beautiful ceramics, among them were several magnificent ceramic grills. These may be the most beautiful grills I've ever seen. They ship to the US.
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Reviews of Charcoal Grills
There are scores of charcoal grills on the market, and some manufacturers tweak their designs every year or two, so there's no way I can review them all. Below we have tried to discuss what we consider the most important models.
Before you make up your mind, make sure to read these articles:
When I look at a charcoal grill, in addition to the features discussed in How to Buy a Grill, the most important features are:
Temperature control. You cannot be a good cook unless you know your oven temp and can control it. Indoors, your oven can be set for a temp and it will stay pretty close to it. Outdoors? Good luck! Temperature control on charcoal grills depends on: A lid, dampers, and the ability to adjust the distance between the coals and the food.
Lid. You must have a lid to capture heat, and the tighter it fits, the better.
Dampers. Most charcoal grills have at least two dampers, one at the bottom and one on the top. You control the temperature with the bottom damper. That's how the oxygen gets in. Make sure the damper fits tightly so you can accurately choke off oxygen when you want to lower the temp. Most of the time you will leave the top damper wide open so smoke and gases can exhaust. Closing the exhaust damper can cause creosote to form on the food and that gives it a bitter taste. I close it only to extinguish the coals after the food is off.
Adjustable. The other way to control temp is by raising and lowering the charcoal. Temperature drops off rapidly as the coals drop down. I love to start cooking burgers and many other meats on a low temperature and then at the end, raise the coals and sear the surface to create the deep complex flavors that occur with the Maillard effect and caramelization.
2-Zone or Indirect cooking capability. One of the most important techniques an outdoor cook must learn is how to set up and use a 2-Zone or Indirect cooking environment. This allows you to move the food off the flame into a cooler area where it roasts from convection and indirect heat. To do this you need to be able to push the coals to one side. So a good grill must have space to move the coals to one side.
Access to charcoal. It is important to be able to easily add more charcoal or move the charcoal around without removing the food or opening the lid and losing heat. Some grills have a door that allows you to add charcoal or move it around. This is a very nice idea for helping you keep temp under control.
Ash removal. It is nice to have a good ash removal system. Ash is a fine insulator, so if you don't remove it, it will absorb heat and reduce performance.
Thermometer. A rule of thumb: The dial thermometers in grills are worthless and can be off as much as 50°F. To make matters worse, they are usually located in the lid, well above the food. To have any chance of cooking great food you must get a good thermometer.
Other factors. Beyond these factors, a good charcoal grill must have the same assets as any other grill, including solid construction, etc., as discussed in my article How to Buy a Grill.
Below I have listed several popular or noteworthy grills alphabetically. Click the red links for current pricing and more info.
Brinkmann is a puzzlement. They market a wide range of cooking tools, some of which are among the best in their category, and some among the worst. In general they are inexpensive, clever designs, but not built to last. Brinkmann makes several cheap round grills. These grills are hard to make good food with and it is hard to review them and find much nice to say. - Meathead
Brinkmann Single Zone Charcoal Grill
 Home Depot is offering the Brinkmann Single Zone Charcoal Grill that, it seems, you can only get from their stores. My local Depot is selling it for $199. Standing nearly four feet tall and a little over five feet wide, it’s powder black, features 2 side tables, has 576 square inches of main cooking surface and 202 on the warming rack. That's enough main grill space for a large family dinner. It has some other good features: There are nice porcelain-coated cast-iron cooking grates, and the warming rack is porcelain-coated wire. There’s a cranking adjustable charcoal grate that is accessed through a front door. Crank adjustable charcoal racks mean better heat control and we are fond of them. Underneath is a storage cabinet, and inside it an ash catcher. Large vents are in the back of the lid, and a vent on each side has a front-facing slide with plastic knob. There's a temperature gauge that you can ignore. Please get your own, more accurate, digital grill thermometer.
People who've bought it seem to like it, especially the large cooking space. It gets merits for being easy to build, but the common complaint is that there are too many air gaps, or pieces being slightly bent before assembly. The ash catcher might be a little difficult, being recessed into the cabinet, but shouldn’t be much of a problem. The cover for it is extra, but you really should buy it: this isn’t tough enough to stand up to years of weather. - Scot Murphy
Brinkmann Dual Function Gas and Charcoal Grill
 When you see the Brinkmann Dual Function Gas and Charcoal Grill at Home Depot (we think it is available only there), you'll be tempted. It looks pretty and promises a lot. There's a three-burner propane gas grill on the left and a charcoal grill on the right, with 403 square inches primary cooking surface and 185 square inches on the warming rack of each barrel. That gives it the sort of cooking space you'll need for a big backyard party.
The three burners within are 12,000 BTU each, and it has a side shelf with an embedded 12,000 BTU burner. The grates are porcelain-coated cast iron and each lid has a so-called "thermometer". You’re already dreaming of getting the steaks done on gas with a quick trip over to the charcoal side to sear them, arfen't you? It’s only $299, and that means it’s a good buy. Right?
Not really. It has problems. The metal is thin and not well-fitted. The thermometers are useless, and only have 100 degree grades. As always, bring your own, more accurate digital grill thermometer. The vents on the charcoal side are spring-loaded to hold them closed and the vents on the floor is huge, so you're going to be fighting to maintain an even temp all through the cook. The charcoal grates are adjustable with clumsy pull-up handles. The warming racks are plated wire and protrude out over the left shelf, a shelf which is too small and flimsy for anything other than warming your (small) pot of homemade BBQ sauce. The gas ignition is piezoelectric. The handles are plastic. According to one owner, "sometimes grease gathers on the bottom sides and leaks through the grill. The grease trap in the middle fills up quick too... There is no shelf on the bottom to put an extra drip pan or your cooking tools."
At $299, this is overpriced. Using the Weber Equivalency, you could get three One-Touch Silvers and not only have almost 1200 total square inches cooking, you'll have three sturdier grills with better air control that will last a lot longer with less care. The Brinkmann Dual Gas and Charcoal Grill will impress you in the store when you see it, but don’t be tempted. - Scot Murphy
 There are three sizes of this heavy duty unit, 468 square inches of cooking surface, 714", and 1656". It can grill, and, because it is long and narrow, it can be easily set up for indirect cooking and smoke roasting. It has a V shaped trough in which the charcoal grate sits. The charcoal can be raised and lowered, but because of the V shape, the charcoal grate is narrower than the cooking grate, so much of the surface doesn't have coals beneath it, making for a big time hot spot in the center.
Also, there's no way to add charcoal without removing the food. There is a removable ash pan and two adjustable air intakes in the base on either side but no chimney. The smoke exits from under the lid. The grate is porcelain coated, something I like. You can order an optional water pan, rotisserie, and thermometer. Comes with a 5 year, warranty from defects in workmanship and materials. The coal tray has a 10 year warranty. Click here for more info and pricing: Cajun Grills. - Meathead
First of all, rest assured, there are no microwaves used in this beauty. The originals were home made wooden boxes for a splayed open pig. A sheet of metal was placed on top of the pig and coals poured on top of the metal. Al Simon's Cajon Microwaves (he pronounces it with a bayou twang SEE moan) are beautifully made of stainless steel and trimmed with gorgeous Louisiana Cypress.
They come in four sizes. There are two RV units, 14" x 14" x 14" to take to the LSU games and big enough for a pork butt, beef roast, or several chickens. The Small is 18" x 18" x 14" deep. The medium is 18" wide x 34" long x 14" deep and will hold a small hog. The Large is 22" wide x 46" long x 14" deep, and can hold a whole Arkansas Razorback.
The improvements Al has made over the original are substantial. There is a large stainless steel box wrapped with insulation and boxed in with cyprus. You can even have the wood laser etched with your team logo, company logo, wife's picture, whatever. To cook, you place the food in square stainless steel pots that are lowered into the box, and then there is a stainless tray that holds the coal that goes on top of the pots of food. That's right, the heat radiates down from the coals into the enclosed box. It's like a giant Dutch oven designed to produce tender and juicy food.
Each unit comes with a DVD with video instructions and recipes. They offer a chicken pot that is a clever improvement on the beercan chicken concept, a turkey pot, a side shelf, a grill that can be placed on top of the coals, or a solid griddle with a grease trap, a rotisserie, a firepit attachment, and it can even be converted into an ice chest. Click here for more info and pricing: Cajun Microwave. - Meathead
 Char-Broil CB940X
Char-Broil make several charcoal grills in a range of sizes, prices, and qualities. My favorite is the Char-Broil CB940X (right). I has a nice large 540 square inch cooking surface with pre-seasoned cast iron cooking grates, adjustable height charcoal grate, a front door for easy fire tending, two adjustable dampers, removable ash tray, and two handy removable wooden side boards that double as carving and serving boards. At this time it is available only on the Char-Broil website. - Meathead
Char-Broil Santa Fe
The cheaper Char-Broil Santa Fe is similar in concept, but not in execution. Made of painted steel, it feels flimsy. It has 491 square inches cooking surface with porcelain coated grates, and side shelves. The Santa Fe is in wide distribution. Click here for more info and pricing: Char-Broil. - Meathead
 The Char-Broil American Gourmet is an entry-level barrel shaped charcoal grill. With an optional offset firebox. There are three models/sizes: 300, 600, and 800. They are all barrel shaped, painted steel, with a side shelf and a removable ash pan. The 600 and 800 also feature a folding front shelf (a plus if you’re like me and have the BBQ Belly) and a swing-away secondary cooking shelf (essentially, a warming rack). The 300 has 225 square inches of cooking area, which works for the small apartment patio or balcony. The 600 has 435 square inches primary cooking and 188 inches on the secondary shelf, and the 800 has 580 square inches primary and 270 square inches secondary.
Temperature control can be a problem because the metal is thin and doesn’t insulate well, and the lid doesn’t fit tightly. They all come with what the parts list calls a "heat indicator," and it may only be useful enough to indicate that there is heat inside. As usual, we strongly recommend that you get a quality digital oven thermometer. I am told they are easy to assemble, making grilling the same day you buy it a breeze. But so is the Weber Kettle (described below) at about the same price as the 300, and it has a tight fitting lid, something we think is important for a grill.
If you are considering buying this and the offset firebox for use as a smoker, please read the article on offset smokers here.
The American Gourmet series is also a good choice if your budget is really tight, or if you are a tinkerer who wants to spend time modifying it to make it perform better. Just don’t expect it to last very long unless you take good care of it. Using it one year will probably give you to the dread upgrade virus, anyway! - Scot Murphy
 This is a great concept, a capacious gas and charcoal grill in one unit, and you can add an optional offset charcoal firebox to make it a smoker, too. Unfortunately the quality is reflected in their price. Cheap.
The gas side on the left produces 40,800 BTU with 3 burners. A side burner puts out 12,000 BTUs. There is no natural gas optional hookup. The barrel on the right is a charcoal grill, and it boasts 876 square inches in the "main grill area" and a total of 1,260 including the upper rack. It has an adjustable charcoal grate, though it’s not well-designed: the grate, which is of narrow-gauge steel, has a handle on left and right that is connected by eye-hooks. That means that when you raise or lower it, it can swing left and right; it also means that to do that, you have to lean over the grill somewhat.
There is an electronic 3-in-one starter, porcelain-enameled cast iron grates, a 5-year burner warranty, and a 1-year warranty on all other parts. On the left of the grill is a shelf with a trap door, under which is the electronic ignition for the gas grill. The shelf converts into a side gas burner, too. It has hooks for utensils on the side shelf, which is handy, but they're a little low for me.
But the metal is thin, the lids don’t seal, the thermometers are cheap and useless, some handles are plastic, the side shelves are small, and the warming racks can't be removed. One buyer on Amazon wrote "When the lids are open, the warming racks go up/back right over the lid. Anything that drips off the warming rack goes right down the lid and onto the ground behind the grill. I found this out the hard way after an afternoon of cooking burgers. What a mess! There are no bumpers around the grilling perimeter. One bad spatula or tong move and your meat will slide right off in any direction! They should have at least put a bumper in the back. The joints aren't tight. Any grease that drips down on the propane side in the corners between the bottom and side pieces of the grill goes right between the two pieces of metal and drips on the propane tank." There are complaints about the grates themselves: it’s been reported that the porcelain coating pops off. Char-Griller replaced the gates in that case.
The price is right for do-it-yourselfers who like to modify their cookers. One popular mod is to use the charcoal tray from the optional firebox as a heat diffuser on the left gas grill, where some have used other means such as a soapstone slab or “tuning plates” that can be moved from right to left a couple inches each to distribute the heat more toward one area or another. Some people have inserted gaskets to improve the seals to produce more even airflow, or have added a metal duct hose inside to bring the exhaust pipe closer to the grates, important on a windy day when it would ordinarily lose a lot of heat. Others have put water heater blankets on them for insulation, which is not expensive.
For the tinker with a tight budget, the Char-Griller Duo can be a bounty of weekend projects. But for the cook who strives for great outdoor meals, it leaves a lot to be desired. - Scot Murphy
 It had to happen. The first celebrity-named grill. No, the George Foreman electric pseudo-grill does not count. New in 2011 is the Chef Emeril Lagasse-badged grill which is clearly aimed at competing with the ubiquitous, but aging Weber kettle design. There don't seem to be any brick & mortar stores carrying the Emeril yet, so we have had to gather our info on the internet.
Clearly positioned to compete with the Weber One-Touch Gold, this new design one-ups the competition with several improvements. The looks are certainly more contemporary: A porcelain-coated metallic-gray fire box, a powder-coated "heavy gauge" steel lid, and four fat tubular legs as opposed to the Weber's three legs. Its 24" diameter grate with 424 square inches of primary cooking area is larger than the Weber's 397 square inches. The grate is made of electroplated steel wire, which likely means it is nickel coated. That's how most low-cost small grill grates, including the Weber's, are plated.
The standard grate is hinged in the center for adding more coals, a big plus and an extra cost option on the Weber. The lid is hinged, so you don't have to put it on the ground and trip on it as with the Weber. At the base of the four legs is a wire shelf, a good place to stow your bag of charcoal. The wire shelf on the Weber base is not very useful. The ash removal system looks pretty easy. The handle you use to move it doubles as a towel rack. It also features the obligatory hood temperature indicator, which measures the air next to the thermometer, not on the grill. As always we suggest you supply your own digital grill thermometer.
The prices on the internet are about $200, about $50 more than the Weber One-Touch Gold and about $100 less than the Weber Performer, which has a work table, charcoal storage bin, and gas ignition. Of the four reviews we found by owners, one had problems with it and returned it, and two mentioned that it needs a large, oblong cover for its odd proportions. One reviewer accidentally pointed out how tight the seal is when the lid is closed: when opening the lid, the reviewer got a fireball that "singed the hairs on my arms". That's what happens when a smoldering fire, starved of oxygen, suddenly gets a rush of it. While I'm guessing that owner had his vents closed shut, it’s still a good indication that the seal on the closed lid is nice and tight, good for cooking, bad for arm hair. The upper damper, a dial-type with 6 apertures, is not on the top of the lid, as you'd expect, but on the left side. This helps the user control air and smoke flow somewhat.
Viking has a brand name cachet, but not in barbecue and smoker equipment, where their expensive smoker has been heavily criticized. But this looks like a winner. It has a good warranty: 2 years on the cooking grate, 5 years on the steel parts, and 5 years on all the plastic handles and parts. The painted surfaces carry a 90-day warranty. Made in China. - Scot Murphy
Talk about objects of lust! Fire Magic is the manufacturer of some of the most beautiful and expensive patio cooking equipment out there. They make two sizes of all stainless steel charcoal grills starting with the Custom I with 18 x 24" (432 square inches) cooking surface and a removable warming rack above the cooking surface. The Regal I has a 18 x 30" (540 square inches) cooking surface. Both come with standard roll-top lids, or an optional "smoker hood".
They have a front door for loading charcoal into the "unique Air-Flow charcoal pan", and a crank that allows you to raise and lower the charcoal. This important feature lets you move the heat right below steaks that you wish to sear with high heat or drop it down for low and slow cooking things like ribs. The ash pan is easy to remove but does not have much capacity. All models and sizes are available as cart mounted stand-alone or they can be built into a counter. Also available is a nifty cradle rotisserie that encloses your food in a basket rather than placing it on an unbalanced skewer or piercing it with a heat conducting skewer. - Scot Murphy
 Bottom line: I have never worked with a finer charcoal grill. They may be out there, but I've never encountered them.
Please do not confuse this superb cooker with the Easy-Bake Oven toy for kids! This is a real grownup serious charcoal cooker. There is nothing you can't do with this grill and it deserves a place in the back yard of every serious outdoor cook. A friend calls it the Swiss Army knife of grills.
 Founded in Tulsa, OK, by Grant "Hasty" Hastings in 1948, 15 years before the unfortunately named kids' toy and three years before the Weber Kettle were invented, the Hasty-Bake was probably the first home grill with a hood, and it incorporated innovations that are just being rediscovered by other grill makers today.
The manufacturers sent me their top of the line, the Gourmet model (shown at right), to test in July 2010. It has 522.5 square inches of main grate cooking surface, and 283.5 square inches on an upper grate. My favorite feature is the adjustable height charcoal grate (#1 in the illustration below). It moves up and down with a crank allowing me to lower the coal grate, push the coals to the right side, fire them up, start a big hunk of beef like a rib roast on the left side of the food grate, then, when I get the meat's interior temp to say 115°F, I can slide it over the coals, crank them up to right below the meat, and brown the exterior as the interior rises to 125°F. This lets it work like a Santa Maria grill, perfect for Tri-Tip, or a closed convection roaster perfect for turkey or chicken. It is very easy to set up for 2-Zone or Indirect cooking and smoke roasting or you can just crank it all the way up to sear a steak in a hurry. Remember the heat diminishes rapidly the further the food is from the coals. This system gives you very good temp control.
 There's a large, easy to remove, ash pan for rapid cleanup, a large side door (3) that allows you access to the charcoal during the cook, a removable heat deflector (5) that goes between the coals and the cooking grates for better indirect cooking, a removable stainless steel work table that runs the full length of the front, and vents down low on the sides (3), not on the hood. The cooking grates (4) are angled towards the center, and a V-shaped channel (2) ducts much of the grease to a disposable cup on the outside. The Gourmet model has an upper rack for cooking or keeping food warm, and a glass window so you can see your food without lifting the bi-fold door on the fixed hood.
In addition to fine searing and indirect convection cooking, the Hasty-Bake is a good smoker. It does a fine job of circulating smoke. In fact, it is almost too good. You will need much less wood than you think and if you don't cut back, you could easily oversmoke. Yes, it does leak a lot of smoke, but it also retains and circulates a lot, so you need very little wood.
So far my only criticisms are relatively minor. I have had problems getting it down under 250°F to 225°F my favorite smoke roasting temp, but with practice and precise measuring of coals, it can be done. As with every grill that uses a bimetal thermometer, this one is wildly inaccurate according to benchmark tests I have done with a thermocouple. So make sure you get a good digital grill thermometer to get the most out of this otherwise fine cooker. Also, the bi-fold door on the Gourmet will knock plates and wine glasses off the front shelf if you're not careful opening and closing it. Maybe this is just a personal problem?
You will need the optional cover because rain can get in, and you should also get heavy duty gloves because the knob on the side door gets hot. The best way to light the coals is with the charcoal tray and the ash tray sticking out the side door, and you will need gloves or a stick to push it back into position. You will not need a chimney to start coals. You can mound the coals in the charcoal tray and ignite them from below.
Otherwise, fit and finish are very good on the Gourmet. I have not tested the others, so I cannot speak for them. All models have a 5 year warranty on workmanship and parts, a 1 year warranty on finish, and a 10 year warranty on stainless steel components. Some models are available in all stainless, and some are both stainless and black powder coated. A rotisserie is available, and, get this, the Gourmet can run two rotisseries at once! Click here for more info and pricing: Hasty Bake. - Meathead
Hasty Bake Continental
This is a smaller version of the Gourmet (above). There are 289 square inches of primary cooking area and an upper grate that adds another 215 square inches. Overall dimensions are 23" wide x 16" deep x 43" high and weighs 110 pounds. The base is sturdy 20 gauge powder-coated steel, and the galvanized lift and fire box are 18 and 12 gauge. The manufacturer includes a generous 10 year warranty on parts and workmanship. - Meathead
Kingsford is a trusted brand for charcoal, so it is natural that they would want to get mileage out of it by attaching it to charcoal grills, even if they don't build them.
Kingsford Charcoal Wagon Grill
 Guess what, Virginia: Sometimes, great bargains do exist. The Charcoal Wagon Grill (model #BB02231G), a Wal-Mart exclusive, is good bang for your buck. It’s nice to be able to spend less than $100 and get a grill with 381 square inches of cooking space and a 202 square inch warming rack. That's large enough to push the coals to one side and cook indirect on the other. There's a crank-adjustable charcoal grate that brings it about an inch or two under the cooking grate, a foldable shelf with utensil hooks, a front charcoal door, an easy-to-remove ash pan, and even a bottle opener. The cooking grate is porcelain-coated wire. It has the obligatory built-in thermometer that doesn’t work well, too. As we suggest often, use your own, more accurate digital grill thermometer. Throw in a two-year warranty on manufacturer’s defects for all parts, and you have a bargain.
Better still, it’s solid. The metal is a little thin, but not any thinner than some of its big brothers. It’s well designed for airflow, having vents on the left and right of the charcoal chamber as well as on the hood. Put together properly, you shouldn’t have any stray drafts playing havoc with temperatures. Yet it’s not a beast, weighing in at only 67.3 pounds. It’s easy to move because there’s no flex or wobble to it. It’s compact. The side shelf is held sturdily with thick screws. In a nice touch, the handles are shiny steel. One part you can do without is the glue-on rubber feet for the lid: it makes a non-sealing lid worse. It uses a 60" grill cover, highly recommended.
All it needs for assembly is a flathead screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, and an adjustable wrench. Wal-Mart will even assemble it for you; contact your local one for details. Owners have given it high marks. While they report assembly times of 2 to 3 hours as compared to the manufacturer’s estimate of one hour, they rate it highly for being easy to clean, for the adjustable charcoal grate, and for the spacious cooking surface. One owner reported paint melting off, and one wished it sealed well enough to extinguish the coals when closed. Most were very happy with it. Well taken care of, this cooker could last years. - Scot Murphy
Kingsford Premium Charcoal Grill
 Made by Master-Built the Kingsford Premium Charcoal Grill (model #GR1008-015054), a big, attractive hunk of spacious grilling. For less than $200, it offers a large 773 total square inches of cooking between the heavy, porcelain-coated cast iron grates and the upper warming rack, two folding side shelves, utensil hooks, crank-adjusting dual charcoal grates, a removable ash pan, and locking casters. There are two storage sections, a tilt-out charcoal bin on the left and storage on the right, and the obligatory built-in thermometer (as always, we recommend you get an accurate digital grill thermometer). It weighs in at 61 pounds and comes with a 2-year defects warranty. Dial vents are on both left and right and on both the base and the lid. There’s no smokestack. The doors and handles are of shining steel that, if you care about such things, you may find yourself forever keeping clean.
This one is a mixed bag. It does have great features. The dual charcoal grates let you cook at different temps, which can be a great plus, though we'd like to see the coals get just a little higher. Each side has its own charcoal door, but they’re both smaller than we'd like for easy access. The metal’s pretty thin, and the charcoal bin is even thinner and flimsier. The cooking grates are solid and heat-holding, and the seals, while not airtight, aren’t so loose that you’ll lose noticeable heat. The ashpan is also flimsier than on the Charcoal Wagon Grill, making for potential messes. On the whole, it looks very attractive, but the feel of it is underwhelming. Combining this sort of cooking space with the materials and workmanship to make it inexpensive results in compromises, which is what the Premium Charcoal Grill feels like: a compromise. - Scot Murphy
 Kingsford Rectangle Charcoal Grill
Kingsford has also put its badge on the 23 inch Rectangle Charcoal Grill (model #CBC1132W). Like many others, it’s a competitor to the Weber One-Touch line. This one has 406 square inches of cooking area with a 190 square inch warming rack, a folding side shelf, utensil hooks, an adjustable charcoal grate, a porcelain-coated wire cooking grate, and it comes with a 2-year defects warranty. This package is currently well under $100, and Wal-Mart says that they will assemble them for free, though that varies from store to store.
This grill is no bargain. You’d do better to pay a few bucks more for the Charcoal Wagon Grill. The metal is flimsier than a Weber. The side shelf won’t hold much weight, and the utensil hooks are molded plastic that look like the won’t accommodate many utensils. The charcoal grate is raised by a wide knob that you turn like a dial, rather than by simple levers. Getting it to move evenly is difficult. The ash pan is rickety. The legs are lightweight and easily bent, and the bottom rack is useless. We don't think it will last, and we think it is overpriced. Leave this one alone. - Scot Murphy
Landmann USA manufactures a variety of fire-related products, including outdoor fireplaces, grills, and smokers. Its Black Dog 28 charcoal grill looks like a sturdy contender for your backyard needs. It features a spacious 506 square inches of cooking area. The steel base and frame range from 0.08 to 1.0 mm thick and the lid is 1.2 mm thick. The clearance between cooking surface and lid is 19 inches, meaning you should have no problems putting your turkey in easily, and the charcoal grate can be cranked up and down 12" giving you good temperature control. There are big front doors for adding charcoal, a large easy to remove ash pan, vents for air exhaust but not for air intake, and one side shelf. The grates are porcelain coated, which is very nice, but it has two built-in thermometers that aren't actually close to the cooking action. Much better that you use your own meat thermometer and oven thermometer. - Scot Murphy
It is a real treat in a disposable world to see products this well built. Especially at these prices.
All Meadow Creek grills, smokers, and grill/smoker combos are made by Amish craftsmen in New Holland, PA, as they have been since the company was founded in 1980. As you might expect, their designs are simple, well thought out, their build is solid and the products are long lasting. Most metal is seriously heavy 13 gauge steel, grates are 304 stainless steel expanded metal mesh, and handles are stainless steel coils that never get too hot and are easy on the hands. Meadow Creeks are favorites among the competition crowd for quality as well as price. That metal will stand up to nature's fury, and as long as you have them covered and keep them clean, you should be handing these down to your kids. If they've been good.
Below we discuss their backyard and tailgate grills, smokers, and grill/smoker combos. On our page about big rigs we discuss their TS tank smoker series, which includes one suitable for the backyard cook.
The Pig Roaster Series
PR36
 Although it can handle a small hog, Meadow Creek's PR36 does much more. This is one versatile cooker. There is a deep trough and a tall lid with a sold strong hinge. A tray for charcoal hangs inside the trough 6" below the grate. Load it up any you can bring coal very close to the food for a quick hot sear. Or, if you wish, coals can be placed right on the bottom of the trough. You can then place the empty coal tray above coals for indirect cooking, or even fill the tray with water for steaming. Push the coals to one side and you have a fine 2-zone setup and put wood on the coals and you can smoke as well as any offset smoker. The coal tray lifts out easily so ash disposal is a snap.
There is an inverted V shape bar that runs the length of the bottom of the coal tray and it has large holes in it. It can be used to divide the charcoal bed and improve airflow to the embers. One can even lay unlit coals in a C or U shape and put hot coals on one end and it will burn slowly around the bend like a fuse, ideal for low and slow cooking.
The cooking grate is 15 x 35" for a whopping 525 square inches of primary cooking surface. It comes with a duplicate second grate that can be placed above the main grate, doubling you cooking capacity.
There are six simple flap covered vent holes, two on each side of the bottom, and one on each side of the lid. They don't seal perfectly nor does the lid, but a perfect seal is overrated. Temp control and airflow are more important. The large inflatable tires make it fairly easy to roll it on uneven surfaces such as grass, dirt, and even sand. It is painted with heat resistant black enamel. Powder coated would have been better. The seriously large dial thermometer in the hood is one of the few I've seen that actually works well.
 SQ36
This is a PR36 with a large offset firebox on the right, a chimney properly located at the base of the cooker on the left, and a clever duct system with holes that helps move the smoke across the bottom of the smoke chamber, distributing it more evenly. The firebox has a flat top that can be used as a sauce and side dish warmer, but it does not open to do double duty as a grill.
PR42, PR60, PR72, PR60GT, PR72GT
These are pretty much the same design as the PR36 with minor changes. For example the lower vents are sliders not flaps. The PR42 has 20 x 42" grates and will hold a 100 pound hog. The PR60 has 24 x 58" grates for hogs up to 250 pounds. The PR72 has 24 x 70" grates and can handle a huge 325 pound hog. The -GT models are propane gas fired trailer units.
The BBQ Series
These babies are designed for fast and hot grilling. Great for chicken, steaks, chops, burgers, and more, caterers fondly call them "chicken cookers" because there is no better way to cook birds than with their double sided pivoting grates of expanded stainless steel. Meat is sandwiched between two grates that are on a center pivot. Time to turn? Pull the pin, turn the handle and the whole grate flips just like a jukebox turning over a record (yes, I am that old).
BBQ26 & BBQ26S
 The BBQ26 looks like a giant Hibachi, with no lid, this boring black box is 32" long by 21" wide by 20.5" tall on heavy wire legs. It weighs a substantial 60 pounds. You'd be pardoned for thinking it is just another portable grill, but you'd be wrong. It is really a killer tailgater in disguise.
Its double sided 16" by 24" cooking grate covers 384 square inches means that you can load on a mess of food and flip it in all with one hand. Meadow Creek says that its will cook up to 15 chickens, needing only 10 to 15 pounds of charcoal. Buy the optional trailer hitch connection, and you're bound to have a winning season even if your team doesn't. There is also an optional charcoal pan that can place the coal just inches below the cooking grate.
Its legs are one drawback. They're short thick-gauge wire, designed to sit low to the ground, better for fitting in the trunk or on the truckbed than backyard.
The BBQ26S stands waist high on long legs made of pipes with non-locking casters and a vented lid. Designed for grilling, close the lid and you can pull off some small-scale rib, brisket, and pork shoulder smoking, but this is not the ideal configuration for 2-zone indirect cooking or smoking.
BBQ42
It's got the numbers: 39" high by 55.5" long by 30" wide, with a 22" by 40" double grate for a healthy 880 square inches of cooking surface that you can flip all at once with one hand. The bottom is 18" away but there is a charcoal tray that allows you to place the coals just below the cooking grate. Like Meadow Creek's other offerings, you'll find this one solid, weighing in at 250 pounds.
Designed for grilling large quantities of chicken, the manufacturer claims that its capacity is more than 40 pounds of cut up birds. It is large enough that it can be setup for 2-zone or indirect cooking and for smoking. The standard lid is not very tall, so you won't be able to get a turkey on, but an optional lid is 10" deep. It’s still a grill at heart, though.
You can also customize it with a pull-out ash tray, a trailer hitch. All in all, it looks like the muscle you need to take care of a decent-sized party or to start your catering biz.
BBQ-42C
Also in the BBQ line is the BBQ42C, a scaled-back version of the BBQ42 that's meant to be added to a trailer (or else never be moved). It is, very simply, a big black box, no lid, no handles, and a stainless steel chicken grate. The box metal is 13 gauge steel and the overall dimensions are 22 1/2" high, 55 1/2" long, and 28" wide. It had a 13 gauge bottom tray and 4 side pins; standard options include a charcoal pan, a cover, and a stainless steel flat grate (as opposed to the chicken basket grates). A 13-gauge lid is available as a custom option.
Large commercial and trailer mounted units
Meadow Creek has several very nice large professional units that are discussed on the page devoted to those smokers and grills.
Click here for more info and pricing about these Meadow Creek Grills, Smokers, & Grill/Smokers.
An inexpensive enamel painted square grill with a cooking grate that tilts so you can adjust the distance from the fire. The lid is hinged, and there are two side trays on some models. The grate surface is 21.5" on all sides or 342 square inches, just fine for indirect cooking. A real bargain. Click here for more info and pricing: Meco. - Meathead
This stainless steel unit has 605 square inches of cooking surface, with an adjustable height charcoal grate that has several positions, not infinitely adjustable. There is a front door for access to the charcoal during cooking, and the hood is double lined, a nice feature to help keep heat in. Comes with a lamp and a unique rotisserie design with a special vertical charcoal hopper at the rear just for the rotisserie. The cart has plenty of storage space, but air vents on the sides mean that it is not waterproof. Limited lifetime warranty. Click here for more info and pricing: Napoleon Mirage Charcoal Grill. - Meathead
I have never seen these up close, but they look good on the web. - Meathead
An elegant throwback design resurrected from 1952, this rustproof, cast aluminum charcoal grill has a flat bottom making it easy to push the coals to one side for smoking and indirect cooking. There are adjustable dampers in the lid and under the fire. The 306 square inch grate is hinged for adding coals, and the oven can be lifted off the cart for cleaning, camping, or tailgating. Click here for more info and pricing: Portable Kitchen (PK) Grill . - Meathead
A nice selection of Santa Maria style grills with cranks that raise and lower the food into the pit, but no lid.
Makes high quality side firebox charcoal and wood smokers as well as grills that have adjustable-height racks (a very useful feature). They also make some pretty nifty hybrid cookers that use propane, charcoal, wood, and have rotisseries, and just about any other feature you might want. Click the link for more info about them on my Buyers Guide to Charcoal Smokers page. - Meathead
The most popular grill in the world by far is the 22.5" Weber Kettle. This popular design hasn't made major changes in many years, and with good reason. It works. They now come in four sizes, the Smokey Joe with a 14.5" diameter grill surface, the 18.5" kettle, the 22.5" kettle, the 26.75" kettle, and the Weber Ranch Kettle which is 37.5" diameter.
As simple as they are, there are some clever design features. The paint is very hard to chip and it can sit in the rain and snow years on end and be no worse for the wear. The lids fit tightly so oxygen control, and therefore heat control, is very good. The one-touch models make ash removal easy. And they are cheap.
The problem I have with kettles, is that the bottom bowl is curved. While one can set up a 2-Zone or Indirect cooking environment, it is less than ideal because the sides are pushed in. The curve makes it hard to move the coals to one side on the two smaller models. Also there is no easy way to raise the coals so you can deliver more heat to meat surfaces for searing when needed, so I do it on my 22.5" unit by putting the coals on an extra grate I bought on top of some bricks. A bit of a kluge but it works. The three legged base is a bit flimsy, and the grates are thin chrome plated steel.
Weber Accessories. Weber sells a wide range of accessories, many of which are among the best in class. My favorite is by a third party, the Smokenator, with which you can make your 22.5" Weber Kettle into a very capable smoker. Click here for more info on accessories.
 Weber One-Touch 22.5" Silver & Gold
The 22.5" Weber One-Touch Silver has about 397 square inches of cooking surface and sells for under $100. It is the basic unadorned low price Kettle, and a perfectly fine cooking tool just the same. I love mine. Ash is swept through the vent holes in the bottom by a lever into an aluminum bowl under the grill by a lever beneath the bowl and it drops into a pan. Simple.
The Weber One-Touch Gold (shown at right) is the same basic 22.5" kettle body as the One-Touch Silver but instead of just slots on the bottom through which ash falls onto an open tray, the Gold has an enclosed receptacle attached to the bottom to capture and hold ash so it cannot blow. It comes off quickly for easy disposal of ash. - Meathead
There's this thing I call the "ooh factor." When you see a device, if your first response is "Ooh!" then you’re halfway on your way to buying it! That’s the reaction a charcoal griller has to have when seeing the Weber 22.5" Performer. That is one well-though-out grill and cart combination. It’s got a spacious prep table on the side, a gas ignition system (but the fuel is still charcoal), a holder for the grill lid, hinged grate, a steel frame, an efficient ash-catcher, nice stainless steel hooks for your tools, a tip-out charcoal bin, a thermometer in the dome, and two charcoal holders that are useful for banking your coals. What’s not to like?
But wait a minute… what if your budget is tight? Is it worth it? It’s essentially the Weber One-Touch Gold with a really good cart and a gas ignition system. The price for the One-Touch Gold is under $150, but the Performer goes for almost $330. You’re paying $180 for that fancy cart. If you don’t want to mess around with a chimney full of hot coals, this can be a dandy work-saver (not to mention a foot-saver).
Owners praise the tough, spacious prep shelf, though one remarked that its textured surface and inset screws make it a little tough to clean. Assembly is easy, according to folks who’ve built it, and users generally feel they’ve gotten their money's worth. One owner mentioned how easy the lighting system is, and says it's great for scooping unlit coals into the center and relighting them. One drawback, though, is that you can’t really use the lighting system with the charcoal holders that push the coals to the side for indirect cooking. The coals have to be in the center to be lit. There's a thermometer in the lid, but as always, it’s best to bring your own digital grill thermometer. Dome temp and grate temp can vary significantly.
So is the ignition system and the cart worth the $180 more than just the One-Touch Gold? Ask yourself this: Is the "ooh!" worth it? - Scot Murphy
The Weber 26.75" One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill is my favorite size in the kettle lineup. It is pretty much the same as the 22.5" One Touch Gold (above) but the larger grate equals 508 square inches of cooking surface on a stainless steel hinged cooking grate, a removable ash catcher, lid mounted thermometer, two charcoal baskets for indirect grilling, and a lid holder.
Yoder
Yoder is very well respected for tube shaped offset smokers. They make a 32" long one for grilling that can also be used for smoking. It is reviewed on the page with the smoker reviews, here.
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Read this before posting a comment please:
1) If you are looking for info, please use the table of contents or the search box, at the top of every page.
2) Don't ask me any questions that involve temp or time unless you tell me that you are using a digital thermometer! Bi-metal dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F! If you are not using a good digital you have no idea what the temp really is so I can't help you. If you are still using a dial thermometer, please read this article about thermometers, then buy a good digital, and then, if the problem persists (chances are it won't), hit me with your questions. Then, please tell me everything I need to know to answer your question. Like the type of cooker you are using. Remember, I am not a mind reader.
3) Please don't ask me "What grill (or smoker) should I buy?" Read my Buyer's Guides and the buying checklists and follow the links. I've shared just about everything I know. Pay attention to the awards I have given my faves. I cannot pick the right cooker for you any more than I could pick the right car or spouse for you.
4) If you have problems posting with Internet Explorer, please read this. If problems persist, send me a note.
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Important Info About This Website
 AmazingRibs.com is all about the Zen of barbecue, grilling, and outdoor cooking, with great BBQ recipes and techniques: Barbecue baby back ribs, spareribs, pulled pork, beef brisket, steak, burgers, chicken, smoked turkey, lamb, barbecue sauces, burgers, steaks, rubs, and side dishes, with the world's best buying guide to barbecue smokers and grills. It is written, photographed, illustrated, and coded solely by Meathead.
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AmazingRibs.com Best in BBQ Gold Medal Winners
Here are three great products that have earned The AmazingRibs.com Best in BBQ Gold Medals. These are not ads!
GrillGrates Take You To The Infrared Zone
GrillGrates are the best new product I have tested in years and the best thing to happen to beef since salt and pepper. The base superheats, eliminates hot spots, and blocks flareups. This is the concept behind the expensive new infrared grills. A must for gas grills. Click here for more about GrillGrates.
The Smokenator: A Necessity For Weber Kettles
If you have a Weber Kettle, you need the amazing Smokenator and Hovergrill. The Smokenator turns your grill into a first class smoker, and the Hovergrill can add capacity or be used to create steakhouse steaks. Click here to read more.
ThermoWorks Pocket Thermometer - No More Guessing
A good thermometer is why I never serve overcooked or undercooked food. This one has a very thin tip with a tiny thermocouple so it gives an accurate reading in just six seconds. I cannot recommend it more highly. It will improve your cooking overnight and pay for itself in a hurry. And it is inexpensive. Click here for more about thermometers.
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