The 7 Very Best Charcoal Grills

Size: 924 square inches of cooking space (in a 199-pound body) | Material:  A double insulated body made of powder-coated steel | Geegaws: The Traeger app, connected to the Bluetooth-enabled grill, allows you to control temperature remotely and includes hundreds of easily searchable recipes

Like the best contraltos, the holy grail of grills is one that combines range and consistency. It can hit high notes. It can hit low notes. And it can sustain. Traeger’s Ironwood XL is, therefore, like the Marian Anderson of grills. Combining the flavor of charcoal with the convenience of a propane tank, the Traeger Ironwood XL relies on compressed wood pellets, fed in through an auger, to imbue its cargo with a smoky flavor. Aside from the enormous cooking surface — enough for four pork butts, four chickens, or eight rib racks — what really endears the thing to chefs like Tom Colicchio, who relied on one to slow smoke $1,000 of beef ribs for his Fourth of July celebration, is that the electric auger allows the temperature to remain constant with little oversight. “It’s the best ‘set it and forget it’ grill I’ve used,” said Colicchio. Tennessee-based chef Alex Belew loves the range too. “The temperature can get low enough for cold smoking and hot enough for grilling and searing while not having to worry about flare-ups since it’s indirect heat.” Another convenience: If you should want to adjust the heat, the Traeger app allows you to increase or decrease temperature even when you’re not in front of the grill, and it comes with scores of recipes.

Size: 363 square inches of cooking space (in a 91-pound body) | Material: Steel coated with porcelain enamel | Geegaws: A built-in thermometer, a touch-and-go ignition, and an ash-catcher

Like an apartment in a fancy building, this grill is a standard no-frills setup surrounded by a lot of amenities. In this case, the 22-inch kettle is nestled into a wheelable table that includes an ignition switch, expanded work space, an LCD timer, an ash catcher (which the original model also has) and a compartment to dispose coals. “I just use it as a trash can, but it’s great,” says Bret Lunsford. Formerly the executive chef at New York’s Blue Smoke, Lunsford grew up grilling with Webers (albeit simpler models) and now uses the Performer Deluxe at home. “It just has a lot of little improvements that make life a lot easier,” he says. He also notes that, like all things Weberian, this grill is sturdy. “You can kick it around a little bit. You shouldn’t, but it’ll be all right.”

Size: 424 square inches (in a 28-pound body) | Material: An anodized aluminum body with stainless steel grates | Geegaws: A built-in thermometer, ergonomic handles, very handsome

For the long history of man and fire, travel grills have sacrificed durability for the sake of portability. The impermanence of the classic Smokey Joe Weber, though an affordable picnic staple, is manifest at the end of the summer, as the discarded and broken kettles pile up like horseshoe crab shells by the trash cans of public parks. The Nomad grill, which looks like a very serious suitcase, is both a sturdy and moveable feast. Launched in 2020, the Nomad combines smart design (a baby-blue handle, a brushed-aluminum case), technology (rare earth magnets! Heatsinks!) and functionality (424 square inches of cooking in a 28-pound package). It’s also astonishingly versatile. According to Boston-based chef Ken Oringer, “It’s super-easy to operate as it doubles as a charcoal grill, an oven, and a smoker all in one. It’s my top pick for summer barbecues or when you go camping for a fun and reliable grill.”

Size: 108 square inches of cooking surface (in a 14-pound body) | Material: The body is handmade of diatomaceous clay, the cooking net from steel | Geegaws: Minimal, though I’d recommend purchasing the optional charcoal starter (from $12)

Binchotan charcoal comes from Japanese ubame oak, burns hotter and more consistently than its international counterparts, and imbues an ineffable and delicate smoky flavor to the protein its heat touches. The smokeless charcoal also happens to be very expensive. That’s one reason chefs tend to use small table-top grills called konro, yakitori, or hibachi grills when they use it. And they use it often. Chefs like Dominique Roy of Eleven Madison Park, Sam Clonts of 63 Clinton, and Diego Oka of La Mar are die-hard fans of konro grills made by Korin, better known as a manufacturer of Japanese knives. What sets the Korin konro grill apart is that it is made entirely by hand, of carved diatomaceous earth bricks, a method which allows the grill to withstand and retain heat. (The more insulation means the less charcoal needed, important when a five-pound bag costs $70 dollars). The results are worth it. Alex Raij, chef of Txikito, for instance, who uses her Korin for mar y montaña dishes like secreto iberico with squid and local peas, lauds the effect. “It’s smoky but clean,” she says. “It doesn’t taste like the inside of an ashtray.”

Size: 315 square inches of cooking space (in a 32-pound lay-flat body) | Material: The body is made with stainless steel; the grill itself is chrome-coated steel | Geegaws: Heavy-duty canvas carrying case, many available add-ons (from a charcoal tray to an entire table)

Rather than a stand-alone grill, the Snow Peak Takibi is the center of a modular grilling system. “You can literally customize it and build a table system that spans coast to coast,” says Mike Nicholas of the Brooklyn Caribbean vegan restaurant Aunts et Uncles. When Nicholas brought eight of his friends to St. Lucia last February, he brought along his Takibi, too. He turned local mushrooms, okra, asparagus, broccolini, and more into flavorful beachside feasts. The Fireplace Coal Bed brings the charcoal (or firewood) to a high even surface underneath the grill; the Jikaro table, the larger modular system of which the Takibi is a part, meanwhile, turns the Takibi into a centerpiece of a table. Lightweight and durable, the Takibi works as well on a Brooklyn rooftop as at Reduit beach at sunset.