Charcoal baskets are essential for grilling. They hold charcoal in the middle of the grill, making it easy to control temperature and airflow within the grill. Therefore, finding the best charcoal basket will aid in elevating your grilling experience. So, what is the best charcoal basket?
Here are the best charcoal baskets to get.
- Best overall: Weber Char-Basket Charcoal Holders
- Best charcoal basket for the gas grill: Kamado Joe Classic Joe Charcoal Basket
- Best barbecue charcoal basket: CHAR-PiT Universal Charcoal Grill Tray
- Best small charcoal basket: Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal Firebox Basket
- VORTEX CHARCOAL BASKET
- Kamado Joe BJ-MCC24 Charcoal Basket Grill
- Stainless Steel Charcoal Basket- BBQ Grilling
1. Best overall: Weber Char-Basket Charcoal Holders
If you’re considering buying charcoal holders for your grill, look no further than the Weber Char-Basket Charcoal Holders. These holders are the best overall choice for a reason, and here’s why you should make them your top pick:
- Exceptional Durability: Weber is a trusted name in grilling, known for its quality. The Char-Basket Charcoal Holders are built to last. Made from heavy-duty, plated steel, they can withstand the high heat of charcoal grilling for years to come.
- Efficient Charcoal Management: These holders are designed to keep your charcoal briquettes or lump charcoal in a concentrated area, allowing for precise temperature control. You can create heat zones on your grill easily, making it perfect for both direct and indirect grilling.
- Easy to Use: Placing and removing charcoal in these baskets is a breeze. They securely hold the charcoal in place, so you won’t have to worry about hot coals shifting around.
- Versatile: Whether you’re using a kettle grill, smoker, or even a gas grill for occasional charcoal cooking, these holders are versatile enough to fit your needs. They’re compatible with most grill models.
- Perfect for Indirect Cooking: If you love slow-cooked barbecue, these holders are a must-have. They allow you to set up a two-zone cooking system effortlessly, ensuring your meats are cooked to perfection.
- Space-Saving: The compact design of the Char-Basket Charcoal Holders means they won’t take up much space on your grill. You can use the remaining grill space for other grilling tasks.
- Weber Quality Assurance: Weber stands behind its products, and the Char-Basket Charcoal Holders are no exception. You’re investing in a product from a company that values customer satisfaction and provides excellent customer support.
2. Best charcoal basket for the gas grill: Kamado Joe Classic Joe Charcoal Basket
If you’re a grilling enthusiast who loves the flavor and convenience of charcoal but owns a gas grill, the Kamado Joe Classic Joe Charcoal Basket is a game-changer. This accessory transforms your gas grill into a versatile charcoal cooking machine, and here’s why it’s the best charcoal basket for gas grills.
- Exceptional Build Quality: Kamado Joe is renowned for its high-quality grilling equipment, and this charcoal basket is no exception. Crafted from durable stainless steel, it’s built to withstand high temperatures and the test of time. You can trust that it will serve you well for countless grilling sessions.
- Adaptable Design: The Classic Joe Charcoal Basket is designed to fit most gas grills, making it incredibly versatile. Whether you have a small portable grill or a large backyard behemoth, this basket can be adjusted to fit your specific grill’s dimensions.
- Easy Conversion: Converting your gas grill to charcoal couldn’t be simpler. Just place the basket on top of your grill’s burners, add your charcoal, and you’re ready to go. No need for complex modifications or tools.
- Two-Zone Cooking: One of the standout features of this basket is its ability to create two-zone cooking. This means you can have direct high-heat cooking on one side and indirect low-heat cooking on the other.
- Enhanced Flavor: Charcoal grilling imparts a smoky flavor that’s hard to replicate with gas alone. With the Classic Joe Charcoal Basket, you get the best of both worlds – the convenience of gas and the flavor of charcoal.
- Efficient Charcoal Use: This basket promotes efficient charcoal use. It allows for easy shaking and spreading of the coals, so you can control the cooking temperature precisely. You’ll use less charcoal while achieving excellent results.
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3. Best barbecue charcoal basket: CHAR-PiT Universal Charcoal Grill Tray
The CHAR-PiT Universal Charcoal Grill Tray is undeniably the best barbecue charcoal basket for enthusiasts seeking precision and convenience in their grilling experience. Here are the key facts that set it apart:
- Universal Fit: This charcoal tray is designed to fit most charcoal grills on the market, ensuring wide compatibility. Whether you own a kettle grill, smoker, or another type, chances are it will fit seamlessly.
- Durable Construction: Crafted from heavy-gauge stainless steel, it’s built to endure high heat and the test of time. You can trust it for years of reliable use.
- Adjustable Height: The tray’s adjustable height feature allows you to fine-tune the distance between the charcoal and your cooking grate. This level of control is crucial for achieving the perfect sear or low-and-slow smoking.
- Efficient Charcoal Use: The tray’s perforated design promotes optimal airflow around the charcoal, resulting in more efficient burning and less wastage. You’ll use less charcoal while achieving consistent heat.
- Easy Cleanup: Once you’re done grilling, the ash and leftover charcoal are easily removed, making cleanup a hassle-free task.
- Enhanced Flavor: The CHAR-PiT tray enhances the flavor of your food by allowing you to add wood chunks or chips directly to the tray for that authentic smoky taste.
4. Best small charcoal basket: Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal Firebox Basket
The Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal Firebox Basket stands out as the best small charcoal basket, offering a compact yet highly effective solution for your grilling needs. Here are the essential facts that make it an exceptional choice:
- Optimized Size: Designed to fit snugly in smaller grills or fireboxes, this basket doesn’t compromise on capacity. It holds enough charcoal for extended grilling sessions.
- Sturdy Construction: Crafted from heavy-duty steel, it’s built to withstand the rigors of high-heat grilling. It won’t warp or lose its shape over time.
- Ample Airflow: The basket’s perforated design ensures excellent airflow, promoting efficient combustion and even heat distribution. This leads to consistent cooking results.
- Easy Cleanup: Once you’re done grilling, removing ash and leftover charcoal is a breeze, thanks to its well-thought-out design.
- Enhanced Control: It allows you to easily manage the charcoal placement and heat intensity, giving you more control over your grilling experience.
- Compatibility: While designed for Oklahoma Joe’s grills, it can also be used with other smaller grills or fireboxes.
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5. VORTEX CHARCOAL BASKET
The Vortex Charcoal Basket is a versatile and innovative grilling accessory designed to take your barbecue game to the next level. Here are the key characteristics about this unique charcoal basket:
- Multi-Functionality: The Vortex Charcoal Basket is not just a charcoal holder; it’s a multi-purpose tool. Its distinctive shape allows you to use it in various configurations for different grilling styles. You can set it up for direct grilling, indirect grilling, searing, smoking, and more.
- Optimal Heat Control: Its vortex design creates a tornado-like airflow pattern inside your grill. This ensures even heat distribution and superior temperature control. You can sear steaks at high temperatures or slow-smoke ribs with ease.
- Durable Construction: Crafted from high-quality, heavy-gauge steel, this basket is built to last. It can withstand high heat and won’t warp or rust over time.
- Easy to Use: Setting up the Vortex Charcoal Basket is straightforward. Whether you’re a seasoned pitmaster or a beginner, you’ll find it user-friendly. It works with a variety of grill sizes and types.
- Versatile Grilling: With this basket, you can experiment with different grilling techniques, expanding your culinary horizons and impressing your guests with a wide range of delicious dishes.
- Wide Compatibility: While initially designed for use with the Weber kettle grill, many grilling enthusiasts have successfully used it with other grill brands as well, making it a versatile choice.
6. Kamado Joe BJ-MCC24 Charcoal Basket Grill
The Kamado Joe BJ-MCC24 Charcoal Basket Grill is a high-quality accessory designed to enhance your grilling experience with a Kamado-style grill. Here is why it is worthy of your consideration:
- Durable Construction: This charcoal basket is built to last. It’s constructed from heavy-duty stainless steel, ensuring longevity and resistance to rust and corrosion.
- Optimized Airflow: The basket’s design promotes excellent airflow, allowing for efficient charcoal combustion and temperature control. This ensures that your grill reaches and maintains the desired cooking temperature.
- Flexible Grilling: With the Kamado Joe Charcoal Basket Grill, you have the flexibility to set up different heat zones within your grill. This is perfect for various cooking techniques, from searing at high temperatures to slow smoking at low and slow heat.
- Easy to Use: Installing and using this charcoal basket is a breeze. It fits seamlessly into your Kamado Joe grill, and its user-friendly design makes it suitable for both beginners and experienced grillers.
- Ample Capacity: The basket has a generous capacity, allowing you to load a sufficient amount of charcoal for longer cooking sessions without the need for frequent refills.
- Versatile Cooking: Whether you’re grilling, smoking, roasting, or baking, the Kamado Joe Charcoal Basket Grill provides the consistent heat you need for exceptional results.
- Compatibility: While designed for Kamado Joe grills, some users have successfully adapted it for use in other kamado-style grills, making it a versatile choice.
7. Stainless Steel Charcoal Basket- BBQ Grilling
The Stainless Steel Charcoal Basket for BBQ Grilling is a must-have accessory for charcoal grilling enthusiasts. Here are the key traits about this product:
- Durable Construction: This charcoal basket is constructed from high-quality stainless steel, making it incredibly durable and resistant to rust and corrosion. It’s designed to withstand the rigors of high-heat grilling.
- Efficient Charcoal Management: The basket’s design allows for efficient charcoal management. It holds charcoal in a concentrated area, making it easy to light and control the heat. This ensures that you can achieve the desired cooking temperature and maintain it throughout your grilling session.
- Improved Airflow: The basket features well-thought-out vents and openings that promote excellent airflow. This means that your charcoal will burn evenly and consistently, resulting in more even cooking and better flavor.
- Easy Cleanup: Grilling can get messy, but with this stainless steel charcoal basket, cleanup becomes a breeze. It contains the charcoal and ash, preventing them from scattering in your grill and making post-grilling cleanup much more straightforward.
- Versatility: Whether you’re grilling burgers, smoking ribs, or searing steaks, this charcoal basket can handle it all. It provides a stable and high-heat environment for searing as well as a low and slow setup for smoking.
- Compatibility: While it may be designed with specific grill models in mind, this stainless steel charcoal basket is versatile and can often be used with various grill types. Always check compatibility with your grill model before purchasing.
- Enhanced Grilling Experience: With improved charcoal management and heat control, this basket enhances your grilling experience, allowing you to achieve consistent and delicious results every time.
Are grill baskets worth it?
Grill baskets are worth it. They are as important as your grill.
Here is why a grill basket is a worth investment:
Makes it easy to manage heat
A charcoal basket gives your charcoal or chips a central location. This feature makes it easy for you to manage the heat from your smoker’s inner side.
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How do you do that? It is simple. You can easily remove or add briquettes or chips to the basket to get the right temperature you want to achieve. For instance, when you want the temperature to increase, you add more chips, and if it goes down, you remove some from the basket.
Efficient direct and indirect heat methods
The charcoal basket can hold the charcoal in the middle of the grill, at the edge, or in any other designated position.
For indirect heat, place the charcoal basket at the edge or a far distance from the middle of the grill, and for direct heat, just put it right in the middle of the grill. The direct heat method is perfect for searing while indirect heat is good for slow grilling.
Ensures even airflow
The basket is designed with grates on all its sides. This allows efficient airflow from the sides, above, and even underneath. This enables the smoke and air to flow easily around the smoker. Remember, when there is great airflow, there will be efficient cooking.
Steady grilling temperatures
You would not want temperatures fluctuating every moment you cook. This might lead to uneven cooking.
Locating the basket in the middle of the grill means providing a steady temperature for your cooking. The charcoal or chips burn steadier in this location, enabling heat to circulate consistently.
The heat steadiness not only makes your cooking great but also saves fuel and gives you full control of the temperature.
Easy cleaning
When using a charcoal basket, all the ashes fall in one place where you can easily collect them. Some of these baskets come with ashtrays.
Consistent cleaning is very important in this case because it allows efficient airflow and supports easier heat management.
How to use a charcoal basket?
When most people buy charcoal baskets for the first time, they are still determining how they should use them. There are several ways to use your charcoal baskets based on how and what you are cooking.
Here are various steps on how to use a charcoal basket
- Fill your charcoal basket with ¾ of charcoal briquettes or chips. Leave an empty space where you can put lit charcoal to support burning.
- Open the dampers or airflow holes on your smoker to facilitate complete charcoal combustion.
- Give the charcoal briquettes some time to burn until they reach the desired temperature you aim to start cooking with.
- When the charcoal is completely burnt, close the airflow so the temperature can stabilise for you to start cooking.
- Place the basket in the relevant position based on the cooking method you want to use. If you want direct heating, then place it in the middle of the grill, and for indirect heating, put it at the edge of the grill.
- Put your meat or veggies in the basket and let them cook for the desired amount of time. If the temperature drops, you can add more coals, or if it goes higher than normal, you can remove some coals.
- Once your food is ready remove it from heat and separate ashes from leftover coals. You can do this by removing the ashtray or collecting the fallen ashes.
What is the best charcoal to use?
The type of charcoal one chooses to use in a charcoal basket is entirely based on taste and preferences. However, there are top picks that work best for a significant percentage of people.
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Here are some of the best charcoals to use
Royal Oak charcoals
The Royal Oak briquettes are 100% made from American oak and hickory to give your meat or veggies the best flavors ever. The best thing about this mixed charcoal is that they go well with any meat you choose to smoke with.
In addition, the charcoal is low ash and does not easily get in your hands. So you can be sure that cleaning up after cooking will be easier with these charcoal.
The charcoal has a unique shape that improves the airflow enhancing even and clean burning.
Duraflame cowboy briquettes
These briquettes are made from 100% natural products where 95% is hardwood while the other 5% is vegetable substances for proper binding. This means that they do not have chemicals or any filler that can interfere with the cooking smoke.
They burn clean and even thus it will be easier for you to control the temperature on your grill avoiding the hot or cold places on the grill.
These as well work well with many different types of veggies and meat. You do not have to worry whether they will be too strong for a particular food.
B&B Charcoal briquettes
Barbeque enthusiasts can tell how convenient briquettes are when it comes to grilling. They have regular shapes that enable them to burn evenly and in a predictable manner. Also, arranging them in your charcoal basket is one easy task.
B&B charcoal briquettes are 100% natural oak. Thus, you do not have to worry about chemicals affecting your health or the flavor of your food. The binders are also natural, posing no threat to your health and environment.
Oak is a great choice of flavor. It imparts a delicious smoky flavor to almost every type of meat from the tender poultry parts to the toughest steaks. Also, you can use small amounts but still give you nothing but the best flavor.
Another thing that makes the B&B great for your basket grilling is that it is made from renewable energy sources.
How long does a charcoal basket last?
A charcoal basket can last for about 6 to 8 hours. However, they can even last longer than this based on what you are cooking and the temperature. For instance, a temperature of 225 to 275 degrees F can last 6 to 8 hours.
Are charcoal beads better than heat?
Heat is much better than charcoal beads because they burn much longer than heat. Also, they are inexpensive and economical because you can save them.
Also, heat is cleaner than charcoal beads and less dusty. Therefore, you are safe and your surroundings as well when you use heat rather than charcoal.
Heat produces consistent burning and a steady temperature. You do not have to worry about adding or removing charcoal to control the temperature.
How long do charcoal beads last?
Charcoal beads can last for up to three hours in most barbeque applications. However, if you desire a longer burn time you can easily get this by adding more charcoal beads every time they go down to last you longer.
Sometimes this depends on the type of charcoal you use. Some hardwood charcoal may last longer than the stipulated time. So, it is always subject to change.
Final thoughts
Charcoal baskets are the perfect equipment to help you explore more about your grill. It is more beneficial because it ensures that small food materials especially veggies and seafood are well grilled without falling through the grates. They are designed with proper airflow features that provide complete and clean combustion.
Courtney is a professional grilling enthusiast who has spent a good portion of his life grilling and exploring different methods and techniques for preparing delicious meals. As he always says, creativity is key to preparing sumptuous meals.