Charcoal Grills Reviews

This ConsumerSearch report covers charcoal grills. Gas BBQ grills are covered in our companion report.

Although Consumer Reports magazine includes an annual test of gas grills, editors mysteriously don't even mention charcoal as an option. That's interesting because according to the latest Weber GrillWatch survey, charcoal grilling is seeing an uptick in popularity. Instead of Consumer Reports, we found that the best expert review for charcoal grills comes from Cook's Illustrated's 2006 comparison of six full-size charcoal grills. This exhaustive hands-on comparison includes "the Turkey Test," where editors attempt to cook a 12-pound turkey on each charcoal grill. In a more casual comparison, Slate.com offers a well-written guide to portable grills from 2007, which includes three charcoal models. Grills are tested with different types of food and given scores for taste, convenience and performance.

About.com's Derrick Riches may be the most prolific grill reviewer (both charcoal and gas), with an array of articles and rankings that cover both full-size and portable charcoal grills. Riches provides detailed pros and cons for each grill, and he covers the widest range of models, producing an annual top-ten ranking of his favorite charcoal grills. The downside is that Riches doesn't explain the criteria he uses when judging grills, or say if he's using a standard procedure when evaluating each model. Other personal reviews for grills can be found at the Barbecue Grill & Smoker Source, where "avid outdoor cooker" Doug gives his personal opinion on five different charcoal grills, inviting readers to provide their own comments and reviews.

User reviews can be very useful in evaluating charcoal grills since users can give a wider picture of a grill's longer-term durability and overall usefulness. Amazon.com, Buzzillions.com and Epinions all have valuable comments sections, though most of the comments go to Weber grills and many of the charcoal grills featured on these websites are either outdated or discontinued.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Because it’s the most recognized name in grills, Weber tends to dominate most of the coverage given to charcoal grills. Often its grills are selected simply because they’re the most widely available. Its One-Touch Silver, Performer and Smokey Joe Silver models all receive two or more picks each. The Big Green Egg also gets two recommendations for its unique design and precise temperature control. Most lesser-known models only receive one pick, but for many grills, including the Bar-B-Chef and Cajun grill models, that top pick is very emphatic.