This story is part of our Summer Gear Guide issue, covering everything from cold brew to grill hacks to the perfect outdoor projector. For the full list of stories, click here.
Sixty years ago, Weber Brothers Metal Works, later called Weber-Stephen Products, used to make mailboxes, fireplace equipment and a number of various other metal-based products. George Stephen, Sr., a salesman at the company, then decided the grills of the day weren’t up to snuff. Now his solution is the most popular grill in America.
The Weber Kettle charcoal grill — complete with dome lid, ventilation, enameled steel and rust-resistant aluminum — is the most stable, consistent grill money can buy. “We initially considered designing a grill that could work with multiple fuel sources,” Jeff Broadrick, senior product engineer behind Spider Grills new wood-pellet Weber attachment, “but you are fighting an uphill battle if you set out to design a grill as simple, trusted, and elegant as the Weber Kettle.”
Broadrick says that consistency has elevated the grill into something more. “At this point, the Weber Kettle is more of a platform than a stand-alone product,” he says. Out of dozens of community-driven updates and upgrades, these are the best Weber Kettle add-ons money can buy.
Unknown BBQ Upgraded Hinges
The most boring product on this list may be the most necessary. The kettle’s lid is either all the way off or fitted around the grill — the hinge allows you to keep the lid slightly ajar and, more helpfully, not have to find a place in your backyard for a flaming-hot lid whenever you take food off it.
Slow ‘N Sear 2.0
By far the easiest way to smoke meat on your Weber. The Slow ‘N Sear splits your grill in half — one side full of hot coals, the other an open cooking area. Put food in the latter for six to eight hours and you’ve got barbeque, put it over the coals and you still have a perfectly good high-heat grill. Plus, the veteran grill gear testers at Amazing Ribs call the Slow ‘N Sear the “single best accessory for the Weber Kettle ever.”
Rib-O-Lator
It’s difficult to fit many ribs on a standard 22-inch Weber. The Rib-O-Lator solves this and acts as a horizontal rotisserie for whatever you’re cooking. Best used on low-and-slow cooks.
GrillGrates Upgrade
Made of anodized, rust-resistant aluminum, GrillGrates feel like a product Weber would offer themselves. Grates are elevated over a heavy base that’s lined with holes. As the fire heats the base, an even heat flows through the holes, creating both the ideal cross-hatch and a more consistently cooked meal.
KettlePizza Basic
The pizza-making insert lifts the lid of your Weber up, allowing greater air circulation and creating a gap large enough to slide a pizza in and out of while still maintaining temperatures requisite to making a pizza. The basic kit comes with an aluminum pizza tray, but we recommend using a classic pizza stone for a crispier foundation.
BBQube Tempmaster Pro
BBQube’s tiny, pricy black box is not an amp. It’s a four-probe temperature tracker and ventilation control system that feeds all the grilling data you could want to your phone. If your fire is gaining too much heat on a low-and-slow pork shoulder, the Tempmaster will cut back air flow to cut the heat down. Plus, it’s operated with a very satisfying knob.
Pella Kettle Pellet Adapter
Spider Grills Pella manages to make the charcoal-fueld Weber a wood-pellet grill in an elegant and weirdly easy way. It just snaps on to the side of the thing. Why would you want to grill with pellets? It’s the most-automated path to low-heat smoking possible while remaining perfectly capable of high-heat grilling. Pella’s adapter operates from 175 to 500 degrees.
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