Best Charcoal Grills of 2022
These highly rated barrel- and kettle-style charcoal grills cook evenly and give you plenty of control
By Paul Hope
Charcoal imparts a unique taste on food while also offering the utmost in control when you employ it in your charcoal grill.
With charcoal, the more you add, the hotter the fire. If you know what you’re doing, you can control the cooking surface to masterfully grill anything from a quickly seared steak to a slow-smoked pork shoulder. (If you’re really serious about grilling and smoking, you might consider trading up to a kamado-style grill, which combines charcoal with an airtight design to give you even more control.)
Today, charcoal grills are the second most popular type of grill (after gas grills), far outpacing the sales of pellet grills or kamado grills. Not sure where to start? Check our grill buying guide for a rundown of all your options.
On a charcoal grill, everything from evenness to temperature range is largely controlled by the charcoal itself. That led us to heavily weigh design and convenience in our testing protocol. “The differences between charcoal grills are less pronounced than with gas grills, and far more depends upon how the user cooks with the grill,” says Cindy Fisher, CR’s lead grill test engineer.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t differences between models. Features like multiple air vents and adjustable grates play an important role in turning out great food, because they help you control the heat.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the very best charcoal grills, based on our latest tests. CR members can read on for those selections, in both barrel- and kettle-style grills, or jump right to our charcoal grill ratings.
Best Barrel-Style Charcoal Grills
Best Kettle-Style Charcoal Grills
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