What is the best grill?

Our pick of the best grills is the Weber Spirit II E-310 . It has everything you need from a grill and nothing extraneous. We think the three burners are a good size for most families and would serve well at small-to-medium-sized gatherings.

Which type of grill is best?

The most conventional type of grill is a charcoal grill, which will slow-cook all manner of dishes for smoked meat or chargrilled vegetables. Gas grills are loved for their convenience. They are easy to ignite and you can work the burners independently, whether that is at different temperatures or for smaller servings without wasting gas. More popular in recent years is the smoker grill. Powered by pellets, they often feature intelligent temperature probes and auto-dosing burners to keep your grill cooking for hours on end, even when unattended. Charcoal grills Pros: Charcoal grills provide a phenomenal smoky flavor to food, which is especially tasty in meats. Cons: They take longer to heat up and the temperature can be somewhat harder to control. Even grills that have charcoal boxes that keep the ash contained require some time toward cleaning. Gas grills or liquid propane grills Pros: Gas grills are quick to heat, easy to adjust the temperature, and don’t require a lot of prep or clean-up time. Gas grills are best for those who are new to grilling. Cons: They may offer great sear and grill lines and have the capabilities to keep your meats juicy and tender, but unless the grill is outfitted with a built-in or separate wood box, you can’t achieve the same delicious smoky flavor that's provided with charcoal or wood pellet grills. Electric grills Pros: Some electric grills can be used indoors and others must be used outdoors. They heat quickly and don't require a lot of post-grilling maintenance. Cons: Indoor electric grills are small. If you have an outdoor grill that needs electricity, like a wood pellet grill, you’ll need an outdoor outlet, which may not be placed in the most ideal (or safe) grilling location. Wood pellet grills Pros: Meats come out juicy, tender, smoky, and fully-flavored with a wood pellet grill. Once you set the temperature on a wood pellet grill, the grill maintains that temperature for you, so your attention can be elsewhere. If you like cooking with wood, you'll love the best pizza ovens . Cons: These types of grills require electricity to function, so you’ll need a good outlet in a safe location outdoors.

Which type of grill is easiest to clean?

All grills need regular care and maintenance in order for them to be working at their best, so learning how to clean a grill and how to clean grill grates is essential. When it comes to looking at which type of grill is easiest to clean, stainless steel and gas grills often come out on top. Charcoal grills can get dirty very quickly, and require you to remove and dispose of the old ashes – always wait until they are completely cool. The best tools to use when cleaning a grill include: a wire brush with tough stainless steel bristles for the grills grates, a sponge or cloth for the other grill areas – and some have even learnt how to use an onion to clean a grill . For optimal food safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you ‘wash work surfaces, utensils, and the grill before and after cooking.’

Are gas grills better than charcoal?

They're better for ease of use, worse for flavor. Gas grills are incredibly simple and safe to use. Once you're hooked up to your propane, it's as easy as cooking on a gas range. However, that means there's little difference in flavor between a gas grill and a gas range. When you compare gas grills to charcoal grills, they're missing out on that classic smoky flavor. However, charcoal grills are much trickier to use. You need to learn the difference between direct and indirect heat and work out the precise window when the grill is at temperature for your ingredients. That can turn grilling from a tasty treat on a lazy afternoon into a tedious chore. If you aren't a hobbyist, I'd opt for gas. It's faster, simpler, and while it doesn't taste quite as good, the difference isn't big enough to bother with charcoal.

Are gas grills better than pellet grills?

For the average user, yes. For gourmands, absolutely not. Gas grills are smaller, simpler, and cheaper than pellet grills. There's nothing new to learn or extra equipment to buy. Most of us need a grill for a few burgers in the sun a couple of weekends a year. Gas grills do the job without breaking the bank. However, if cooking is your hobby, it's well worth considering a pellet grill. Unlike gas grills, pellet grills make it easy to smoke meat, and their capacity is much bigger than the average gas grill. For example, I made grilled vegetables, burgers, sausages, and chicken to test gas grills. To really put a smoker through its paces, our Head of Reviews and exceptionally good cook (trust me, I know first-hand) Millie Fender made a shoulder of lamb, ribs, steaks, chicken kebabs and flatbreads, all smoked, and some at the same time. However, there's a bit of a learning curve, and you need an outdoor outlet. If that doesn't sound like fun then a gas grill is the way to go.

What can I make on a grill?

You can make pretty much anything on a grill. You're only limited by your skill and imagination. Using only examples of what we've assessed in our tests, you can make burgers, sausages, grilled chicken, ribs, salmon, steak, vegetable skewers, whole shoulders of lamb, shawarma meat, and in one incredibly inventive move in our Ninja Woodfire grill review , cinnamon rolls. If you cook it with heat, you can cook it on a grill.

What's a side burner?

Side burners are an extra gas burner that's great for cooking with a skillet. I've found that they're especially great for steak, and are just the thing for caramelising onions for burgers and hot dogs.

What's a warming rack?

Warming racks - unsurprisingly - keep your food warm. They sit high above the grill, so they keep food warm rather than cook it. If you're cooking for a big gathering, you can keep the first round of burgers or sausages ready while you make the next. In my experience, they're the perfect place for heating up sides like through corn on the cob.

Which grills are American-made?

Most grills on the market are made abroad. If this is important to you, watch out for 'Made in the USA' claims, as these may be shorthand for 'made in the USA with globally sourced parts', which is not wholly American made. Weber, for instance, assembles a lot of its grills in the States but the parts are manufactured in China. American Made Grills is your best bet.

Best grills 2023: tested smoker, charcoal, and gas grills

One of the best grills, the Weber Spirit II E-310, in a modern yard

(Image credit: Weber)

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By Alex David

last updated 2 November 2023

Contributions from

Alex Temblador, Millie Fender

Quick Menu

Cooking burgers, brats, chicken, peppers, and other vegetables on a Char-Broil Gas2Coal grill

1. The list in brief ↴
2. Best grill you can buy: Weber Spirit II E-310
3. Best premium grill: Weber Genesis II E-335
4. Best electric grill: Ninja Woodfire
5. Best large grill: Weber Genesis SPX-435
5. Best charcoal grill: Napoleon Pro 22K
6. Best smoker: Traeger Ironwood 650
7. Best big smoker: Weber SmokeFire EPX6
8. Best kamado: Kamado Joe II
9. Best looking grill: Everdure Force
10. Best gas/charcoal hybrid: Charbroil Gas2Coal
11. Best electric charcoal grill: Everdure Fusion
12. Best portable grill: Weber Traveler
13. How we test
14. FAQs

No family gathering is complete without a good grill sizzling away in the background. But while they're a home entertaining essential, it can be hard to find the best grills. There's lot of unhelpful marketing jargon, so if you don't know your smokers from your side burners it's easy to get lost. Grills can cost a lot, too, so if you aren't sure what you're looking for it can be daunting to take the plunge.

That's why we've tried and tested the best grills on the market. After tracking down the top grills from market leaders like Weber, Traeger, and Kamado Joe, we spent days ranking the very best. Our expert consumer journalists - with backgrounds covering kitchen appliances, gardens, and design - weighed in to find the very best.

We've covered charcoal grills for that unmistakable smoky flavour, smokers for succulent slow-cooked joints of meat, and gas grills for speed and ease of use. The best grills will let you cook almost anything, look great in your garden, and be simple to operate. They should also be affordable, easy to store and quick to assemble.

Our favorite, and the best example of all of these qualities, is the Weber Spirit II E-310. We assessed all of this and more in our examination of the best grills on the market, so that you can get to grilling.

Best grill deals

To get the fairest prices on the best grills, I recommend reading the whole article. But if you're tight on time and money, you should take advantage of these deep discounts on the best grills.

The Quick List

Best overall

1. Weber Spirit II E-310

Best overall

This is the best gas grill on the market. It's easy to use and made the best food in our rounds of testing, perfect for the average outdoor cook.