2017 Weber Genesis II: First Impressions

With that said, the app requires you to purchase the iGrill 3 device separately, and it costs about $100. It may be worth the money, but your budget needs to bigger to afford the grill AND the device. With this model, you won’t need to make continuous trips into the house to get things because it has everything prepared for you. It is a handy machine that works hard to keep everything centralised to its location. It comes with well-placed tool hooks on the side of the grill.

weber genesis 2

Find out everything you need to know about one of the best Weber propane gas grills out there today. We give the lowdown on the backyard cooker’s BTU power, features and more with our Weber Genesis II S-435 review. Weber also made the warming rack expandable leading to a maximum cooking area of 787 square inches. The warming rack itself is over 100 square inches larger than the previous model, making it much more useful for cooking more food.

To measure how grills perform under high heat conditions, I subjected them to our burger test. This exercise shows how much raw power a grill can bring to the table. I ran three such tests of six 5.3-ounce burgers each pressed from the same hamburger press. I flipped all of the burners on high and gave the grill 10 minutes to preheat. To add smarts to the Genesis II you’ll need to purchase the iGrill 3 accessory separately, a $100 upgrade.

All of the various iGrill models link to the Weber mobile app, which lets you monitor the Genesis II wirelessly from a distance of 30 feet. The scope of the app is narrow compared to Char-Broil’s SmartChef application. It tracks propane levels, burner status and even tells you if the grill is cool enough to cover. Weber’s app just sticks to measuring temperatures of meat, fish and poultry as you cook. A component in Char-Broil’s “Tru-Infrared” grilling system, the plate is designed to absorb the heat from the burners, and use it to mimic the radiant heat you get from charcoal. The different cooking methods likely explain the results of my cooking tests, too.

They went all out for it, which is why it is understandable that it costs so much but that doesn’t mean most people easily afford it. Apart from that, the S-435 grill is compatible with the Weber iGrill 3 app. This app can take readings from up to 4 meat probes and allows you to monitor the grilling process remotely from start to finish. Straight out of the box, it’s clear that this grill means business. It comes with a presence right from the moment you meet it.

With 230 reviews on the Consumer Affairs website, they’ve got a 4-out-of-5 rating. Use a stainless steel brush or a wooden barbecue paddle, you’ll find some good options in our best grill cleaning tools roundup. Grease also helps to muck up the inside the lid; greasy vapors and smoke collect there and carbonize, hanging like black stalactites in a cave. Just knock off these flakes and scoop or vacuum them up to prevent them from getting onto your food. While you’re at it, use a plastic scraper to clean out the cook box. As you can see in the photos in the carousel above, I also manage to smoke roast with this grill.

It even has a fuel monitor that you can check at the display on the grill or in the Weber Connect app. One of the other bothersome things about this grill is that assembly is difficult compared to other grills, similar to the Stok Quattro. It comes with instructions, but you’ll definitely need a spare afternoon to assemble it properly.

This feature allows you to roast meat (a whole chicken, for example) very evenly, yielding a flavor that some people prefer to that of grilled food. While the EX-325s offers a lot in the way of connectivity, it does have some limits on storage. It still features six tool hooks for your grilling tools, but it does not come with the grill locker weber genesis 2 that some of the new Genesis models have. It does have the two side shelves, but that required sacrificing a side burner for additional cooking space. The Spirit SX-315 marks the first smart grill in the Spirit line. The CONNECT system will help guide you through the timing of when to flip your meat to achieve that perfect doneness.