The Weber Spirit II E-210 is a smaller, two-burner version of our top pick; the materials and build are identical. The E-210 is 4 inches narrower, and its cooking area is 15% smaller, but it still provides enough space to snugly fit a cut-up whole chicken or six to eight burger patties.

The Spirit II E-210 is good for grilling foods that are best suited to intense direct heat, such as steaks, chops, and burgers—we don’t recommend it for indirectly cooking bigger items like whole chickens. The E-210 is a great first gas grill purchase, and it’s a good option for folks who have limited outdoor space.

Why you should trust us

Lesley Stockton, who designed and ran our tests for this guide, is a senior staff writer on Wirecutter’s kitchen team and has over a decade of experience in professional kitchens, much of it spent on the grill station. This guide also draws on the research and experience of senior staff writers Tim Heffernan, who originated this guide, and Michael Sullivan, who is also a kitchen team member and a seasoned culinary professional. Also participating in our testing was Sam Sifton, then the food editor of The New York Times.

In addition, we spoke with more than a dozen experts. Among them was Joe Salvaggio, who has run Big Apple BBQ, one of New York’s leading grill shops, for over 30 years. Salvaggio is an independent retailer who carries grills from many manufacturers, so he was able to speak freely about what he saw as the relative strengths and weaknesses of various models.

At the 2017 Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Expo, we interviewed senior product managers from almost every major grill maker in attendance. And in 2022 we surveyed over a thousand Wirecutter readers about their grill use.

How we tested

To determine our picks, we put most of the grills in this guide through a battery of tests:

Assembly

We assembled the grills alone and in teams of two, noting poor instructions, needlessly complicated screw or bolt sizes, or safety hazards such as sharp edges.

High-heat grilling

To test each grill’s ability to pump out uniform, high heat without creating an inferno, we heated them on high with their lids down for 15 minutes and then distributed 12 to 15 6-ounce beef patties across the cooking surface. We looked for flare-ups, excessive charring, or patties that were still unacceptably raw.

Low and slow grilling

We checked each grill’s ability to maintain a uniform, gentle cook by grilling a cut-up whole chicken over medium heat.

During the first 45 minutes, with each grill’s lid down, we occasionally checked for charring and redistributed pieces as needed. Then we flipped the chicken parts, slathered on a coating of barbecue sauce, and closed the lid for another 15 minutes. We monitored the grills’ temperatures throughout.

Indirect cooking

We also tested whether each grill could act like an oven—a nice feature in the hot summer months, when you don’t want to warm up your kitchen, or during the holidays, when oven space is at a premium.

We brought the grills to temperature with their two outer burners lit and the middle burner unlit. Then we placed a chicken weighing 3 to 4 pounds in the center of the grate and closed the lid. We monitored the grills’ temperature for the hour-long cook, and we noted the depth and evenness of browning at the end.