Weber Original Kettle Premium 22" Review

What it does well

Two dampers, one in the bowl and one in the lid, are the entire temperature control system, and they are enough. Bank the coals to one side and you have a two zone fire: a searing zone over the coals and a gentle 120°C (250°F) zone opposite. That single move covers roughly nine tenths of charcoal cooking. The Premium adds the hinged cooking grate, so you can top up coals mid cook without lifting hot food, and the One-Touch ash sweep with a removable aluminium catcher, which is the difference between cleaning up in twenty seconds and dreading it.

Where it falls short

The lid has no gasket, so at low and slow temperatures you leak some smoke and heat, and on a windy day you will be adjusting more than you would on a kamado. The built-in lid thermometer reads the air at the dome, not the grate, and the two can differ by -5°C (25°F) or more. Ignore it and use a probe at grate level. There is also no side shelf, so you are working off whatever you put beside it.

Who should buy it

Anyone starting out, and plenty of people who never need to move on. If your cooking is steaks, burgers, chicken, the occasional rack of ribs and a spatchcock bird, this does all of it. Spend the difference on a chimney starter, a decent instant read thermometer and better charcoal, which will improve your food more than a pricier grill.