Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 Review: Is It Still the Best Charcoal Grill?

Charcoal Grill Review · Weber Kettle Series

Specifications & Key Specs at a Glance

Here’s the quick-reference rundown before we get into the details.

Who should buy it? If you’re grilling burgers and steaks most weekends but also want the option to smoke a rack of ribs or a pork shoulder without buying a second grill, this is your kettle. It’s the sweet spot between a bare-bones charcoal grill and Weber’s premium GBS lineup.

If you’re already deep into the charcoal hobby and want to run pizza stones, wok inserts, and sear grates without a workaround, keep reading — you might want to look at the Master-Touch instead.

What Makes the Premium Version Different?

Weber’s kettle lineup can be confusing because so many models look nearly identical from across the yard. Let me clear it up.

Standard Original Kettle vs. Premium

The base Original Kettle is a genuinely good, no-frills charcoal grill — I’ve cooked plenty of great meals on one. The Premium version adds a handful of upgrades that make daily use noticeably easier:

• One-Touch cleaning system — the base model has vents you adjust manually with no built-in ash-sweeping mechanism; the Premium’s One-Touch system sweeps ash into the catcher with one motion of the handle
• Enclosed ash catcher — the standard kettle’s ash pan is more exposed, so wind and rain become an issue; the Premium’s aluminum catcher is sealed and much tidier
• Hinged cooking grate — you can lift each side to add charcoal or wood chunks mid-cook without pulling your food off the grate
• Built-in lid thermometer — the standard kettle typically doesn’t include one at all

Is the Premium upgrade worth the extra money over the base model? In my experience, yes. The ash catcher alone saves you from the classic rookie mistake of dumping hot ash into a garbage bag (don’t do that, by the way).

Premium vs. Master-Touch: The Quick Breakdown

This is the comparison most people actually want answered, so here’s the short version before we go deeper later in this article.

The Master-Touch and the Premium share the same 22.5-inch footprint, the same 363 square inches of cooking space, and a nearly identical shell. Where they diverge:

• Gourmet BBQ System (GBS) grate — the Master-Touch includes Weber’s removable center-cutout grate, which accepts official inserts like a sear grate, pizza stone, wok, or griddle. The Premium’s grate is a standard hinged design with no center cutout, so it can’t take GBS accessories without a workaround.
• Tuck-Away lid holder — the Master-Touch’s lid hooks onto a hinged cradle built into the leg assembly, so it swings out of the way and stays put even in wind. The Premium only has an interior hook on the bowl, which works fine but isn’t quite as convenient one-handed.
• Stand height and leg design — the Master-Touch sits slightly taller with a sturdier tripod-style leg setup, which some people find more comfortable to cook at.

Everything else — cooking performance, build materials, capacity — is essentially the same grill underneath. That matters a lot for the buying decision, and I’ll come back to it.

Core Features & Build Quality

Porcelain-Enameled Finish & Weather Resistance

The bowl and lid are finished in porcelain enamel, which is the same coating Weber has used on kettles for decades because it works. It holds up to direct heat without warping, resists rust far better than raw or painted steel, and doesn’t fade or chalk the way cheaper powder coatings do after a couple of summers.

I keep mine outside under a cover year-round in a climate that swings from humid summers to freezing winters, and after years of use the finish still looks presentable. That’s not nothing — I’ve reviewed budget kettles that started rusting at the vents within a single season.

One-Touch Cleaning System & Enclosed Ash Catcher

This is one of my favorite features on any Weber kettle, Premium included. After a cook, you swing the bottom vent handle side to side, and the built-in dampers rake ash straight down into the catcher below. No scraping, no shop-vac, no mess on the patio.

The high-capacity aluminum ash catcher is a real upgrade over exposed ash pans you’ll find on cheaper kettles. It clips on securely, holds a full cook’s worth of ash without overflowing, and doesn’t blow embers around on a windy evening the way an open pan can.

Hinged Plated Steel Grate & Vent Airflow Control

The hinged grate is a small feature that makes a bigger difference than you’d expect. Lift either side and you can add fresh charcoal or a wood chunk mid-cook without disturbing whatever’s already on the grill. If you’ve ever had to pull a half-cooked rack of ribs off a grate just to refuel, you’ll appreciate this immediately.

Airflow comes from two adjustable vents — one in the bowl, one in the lid — and they’re what actually control your cooking temperature. We’ll get into using them properly in the performance section below, because this is where most beginners struggle.

Cooking & Smoking Performance

This is the section that actually matters, so let’s talk about how this thing cooks.

Direct High-Heat Searing: Steaks, Burgers, and Weeknight Grilling

Loaded with a full chimney of charcoal, the Premium gets plenty hot for a proper sear. I’ve thrown ribeyes on this kettle and gotten a hard, dark crust in a couple of minutes per side — the kind of crust you just don’t get from most gas grills. If steak night is your main event, we’ve also ranked the best charcoal grills for steaks separately.

For everyday grilling, the 363-square-inch cooking area handles a realistic backyard cookout comfortably. As a rough guide:

• 6–8 burger patties at once
• 4–6 bone-in chicken thighs
• 4 steaks with room to spare
• A full tray of vegetables alongside your protein

If you’re regularly cooking for a bigger crowd — a dozen-plus burgers in one go — you’ll be doing it in batches, which isn’t a dealbreaker, just something to plan around.

Low-and-Slow Smoking & Airflow Control: Ribs, Pork Shoulder, Brisket

Yes, you can genuinely smoke on this kettle, and it’s one of the reasons I recommend it over a basic grill for anyone who wants to eventually try low-and-slow cooking without buying a dedicated smoker.

The trick is setting up a two-zone fire: banking your charcoal to one side (or using a snake/minion-style ring around the perimeter) and cooking your meat over the empty side with the lid closed. Add a small water pan opposite the coals and you’ve got a passable makeshift smoker. If you’re new to fire management, our charcoal grilling tips cover the fundamentals.

For fuel consumption, expect to babysit and add charcoal every 45–60 minutes on a long cook like a pork shoulder or brisket, since the smaller firebox of a kettle burns through fuel faster than a dedicated offset smoker. Ribs (3–5 hours) and a pork butt (8+ hours) are both realistic on this grill; I wouldn’t attempt a full packer brisket unless you’re comfortable tending the fire closely, since kettle capacity and burn time make marathon cooks more hands-on — our guide to how to smoke a brisket walks through the whole process.

If you want to push the smoking side of things further, a third-party accessory like the Slow ‘N Sear is worth knowing about — it’s a charcoal basket insert designed specifically for kettles like this one, and it noticeably extends burn time and improves heat separation for long cooks. It’s not a Weber product, but it’s a popular upgrade among kettle owners for exactly this reason.

Temperature Management & Lid Thermometer Accuracy

Your two vents are your entire temperature control system: bottom vent controls fuel burn rate, top vent controls airflow and smoke exhaust. More open on both means hotter and faster; closing them down means lower and slower. If you want the full walkthrough, our guide on how to use charcoal grill vents breaks it down vent by vent.

The kettle responds to vent adjustments within 10–15 minutes, so the biggest beginner mistake I see is overcorrecting — cranking a vent shut because the temp spiked, then wondering why the fire nearly dies twenty minutes later. Make small adjustments and give the grill time to catch up before adjusting again. (Not sure where your vents should sit? Start with our primer on whether grill vents should be open or closed.)

The built-in lid thermometer is genuinely useful for a rough read on ambient grill temperature, but I wouldn’t treat it as gospel. Like most built-in dome thermometers, it reads the air near the lid rather than at grate level, so it can run 10–20 degrees off from what’s actually happening where your food sits. For anything you’re serious about — especially meat doneness — pair it with a separate digital thermometer. More on that in the accessories section below.

Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 vs. Master-Touch: Which Should You Buy?

Now for the comparison most readers came here for.

The Premium and Master-Touch share the same core grill — the real differences are the grate, the lid holder, and the stand.

Is the Master-Touch Worth the Extra Money?

Here’s my honest take: cooking performance between these two kettles is nearly identical. Same bowl, same cooking area, same heat retention, same fundamentals. You are not paying for a better grill — you’re paying for two specific conveniences.

For most people reading this, the Premium is the smarter buy. Save the difference and put it toward a good digital thermometer or a bag of quality lump charcoal instead.

Must-Have Accessories for the Kettle

I’m not going to hand you a giant shopping list — most kettle accessories are unnecessary. These are the ones that actually improve your cooking experience.

1. Charcoal Chimney Starter — Skip lighter fluid entirely. A chimney starter gets your coals evenly lit in about 15 minutes and keeps that chemical taste off your food. This is the single most useful accessory you can own with any charcoal grill. Andy’s pick: the Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter (also available direct from Weber) — and our guide to the best charcoal chimney starters has more options.
2. Digital Meat Thermometer — As I mentioned above, don’t rely solely on the lid thermometer for doneness. A cheap instant-read or leave-in probe thermometer will save you from overcooked chicken and undercooked pork more reliably than guesswork. Andy’s pick: the ThermoPro TP19H is the budget workhorse; the ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE is the premium splurge.
3. Charcoal Baskets or a Slow ‘N Sear — Either option makes two-zone setups faster and more consistent, and the Slow ‘N Sear specifically extends your burn time for longer smokes. Andy’s pick: the Slow ‘N Sear for 22″ kettles is the upgrade kettle owners rave about most.
4. Kettle Cover — Since this kettle doesn’t have a gasket and lives outdoors, a proper cover is cheap insurance against rust and weather damage, especially if you’re storing it uncovered through rain or snow. Andy’s pick: the Weber Premium Grill Cover (also at Weber.com) — our guide to the best grill covers has budget alternatives too.
5. Wood Chunks and a Drip Pan — For smoking days, a few wood chunks (hickory, apple, or oak are solid starting points — our wood smoking flavor chart maps out which is which) and a simple drip pan under your meat make a real difference in flavor and cleanup. Andy’s pick: Weber Premium Wood Chunks (also at Walmart).

Cleaning, Maintenance & Assembly

Assembly: Out of the box, expect about 20–30 minutes to put the Premium together — attaching the legs, wheels, and ash catcher to the bowl. It’s a two-person job if you want it done quickly, though one person can manage it alone without too much trouble. The legs and wheels are sturdy once assembled; just make sure every bolt is fully tightened, since a wobbly leg is almost always a loose-assembly issue rather than a product defect. Once it’s built, our guide on how to season a new grill gets it ready for its first cook.

Emptying the ashes: Let ash cool completely (ideally overnight), then swing the One-Touch handle to sweep it into the catcher, unclip the catcher, and dump it into a metal container — never a plastic bag, even a full day later, since embers can smolder longer than you’d expect.

Cleaning the cooking grate: A stiff grill brush after each cook, plus an occasional deeper scrub with warm soapy water, keeps the grate performing well and food from sticking.

Cleaning the bowl and lid: Wipe down the interior periodically to prevent heavy grease buildup, which can affect airflow and flavor over time. The exterior porcelain just needs a damp cloth.

Cleaning the One-Touch system: Every so often, brush out the vent mechanism itself so ash doesn’t build up and restrict airflow — this directly affects your temperature control.

Preventing rust: Keep it covered when not in use, avoid leaving wet ash sitting in the catcher for days, and touch up any chips in the porcelain with high-heat paint if they occur.

Outdoor storage: A cover is non-negotiable if this grill lives outside year-round. Given the lack of a lid gasket, moisture can find its way in more easily than on sealed grills, so a snug-fitting cover matters more here than on some other charcoal grills.

Weber Original Kettle Premium 22 Pros & Cons

Final Verdict & Scorecard

Is it worth buying over the Master-Touch? For most people, yes — you’re getting nearly identical cooking performance for less money. The Master-Touch only earns its higher price if GBS accessory compatibility and the Tuck-Away lid holder genuinely matter to how you plan to cook.

Frequently Asked Questions