22″ Weber Original Kettle Premium Grill
A charcoal grill is one of those products where you end up paying more in the long run when you’re cheap. A charcoal grill that costs $50 will rust out after a couple of years because the cheap alloys cannot handle the heat cycles. The Weber brand is known for performance and longevity, while still being affordable. Weber has more or less kept the same design for more than 60 years. Simply put, this is America’s grill.
Just like their line of Smokey Mountain charcoal smokers, Weber offers this grill in three sizes: 18″, 22″, and 26″. The 22″ is probably the best choice for most people. I have two of the premium 22″ grills and have grilled 12 third-ounce burgers at once on mine. The 22″ version is large enough to set up separate heat zones with your briquets to cook burgers on high heat on one side and slowly warm up hot dogs on the other. This would be a little harder to do with the 18″.
There is a premium and standard version of their kettle grill – the premium includes an ash catcher for hassle-free cleanup and a temperature gauge in the lid. The convenience of the ash catcher alone is worth the approximate $50 added cost over the standard grill.
The porcelain-enameled lid is fairly scratch resistant and won’t peel over time if you keep it out of the weather. My two Weber kettles are 13 and 6 years-old respectively and they both still look almost like they did when they were new. This grill is currently available on Amazon in three colors: black (original), copper, and green.
The hinged cooking grate is one of my favorite features. If you have an original kettle grill, you can order the hinged grate by itself here. This lets you add charcoal while you’re cooking by simply flipping up the hinge with tongs. I use it for tossing in a few mesquite wood chips when I cook burgers to give them a hint of wood smoke.
This grill is a perfect gift for newlyweds and first-time homeowners. Unless they keep it out in the rain, there is no reason why they couldn’t be using your gift 20 years from now, only having to possibly replace the grate during that time.
