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GrillingSetup

Charcoal grills

Kettles and portables. Vent hardware and lid seal decide whether you can hold a low temperature for a long cook, and cooking area tells you almost nothing about that.

What actually decides this purchase

Vent hardware and how well the lid sits

Temperature on a charcoal grill is airflow. Vents that adjust precisely and a lid that sits close let you hold a low temperature for hours. Loose-fitting lids and crude vents mean the fire does what it wants. This is the difference between a grill that can smoke and one that can only grill, and neither the price nor the cooking area tells you which you are looking at.

How you get fuel in mid-cook

Any cook longer than about two hours needs more charcoal. A hinged grate or a removable section means adding it without lifting a grate covered in food. Without one, you are moving hot food to add fuel, and you will do it several times.

Ash handling

A sweep-and-collect system with an enclosed catcher is the difference between emptying a bin and chasing ash across the patio. It sounds trivial until it is windy, and it is the part of charcoal ownership that decides how often you can be bothered.

Check the rules where the grill will stand. Plenty of towns and most apartment leases restrict charcoal and open flame on a balcony, and no product page mentions it.

Coverage

What I am covering

Tracked, not yet reviewed. Prices checked .

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Common questions

Can you actually smoke on a kettle?
Yes. Bank the coals to one side, put the food on the other, and use the vents to hold the temperature. It works well and it is how a lot of people learn. What it costs you is attention, because a kettle will ask for a vent adjustment every forty minutes or so and will need refuelling on anything long. If you want to set a temperature and walk away, this is the wrong category.
Lump charcoal or briquettes?
Briquettes are uniform, burn predictably and hold a steady temperature for a long time, which is what you want for low and slow. Lump lights faster, burns hotter and less evenly, and leaves less ash, which suits high heat searing. Neither is better in general. Most people who cook both ways keep both.
How big a kettle do I need?
A 22 inch kettle suits most households and is the size with the widest accessory support. An 18 inch is enough for two or three people and noticeably harder to run a two-zone fire in, because the cool side gets small. Go bigger than 22 only if you routinely cook for a crowd, since a larger grill also needs more fuel to bring up to temperature.