Weber offers a great choice of charcoal barbecues, from portable 37cm diameter Smokey Joe's to 47, 57 and 67cm charcoal barbecues. Whilst there's no denying the available choice is great for the consumer, sometimes though it can be difficult to decide which model is right for you!

The Differences between the Weber 57cm Compact, Original, Premium and Master-Touch BBQ'...

Hopefully, this article will explain and highlight the differences between the 57cm Compact, Original, Original Premium and Master-Touch charcoal barbecues, showing you the progression of features to help you decide! Weber 57cm Compact BBQ Weber 57cm Compact Barbecue The Weber Compact 57cm barbecue may be recognised as one of Weber's entry-level barbecues; however, this doesn't mean that Weber's high quality and design features are compromised.

Weber 57cm Compact

The Compact barbecue is specifically designed with a 'shallower' bowl and lid, allowing it to become more 'compact' and therefore more portable for your convenience, so for people on the move or with limited space, it's perfect! The design shape also means the compact barbecue is ideal if you're mainly interested in grilling sausages, meat and burgers, though perhaps not so suitable if you want to extend your cooking skills to large roasting joints as the rounded shape of the Original, Premium & Master-Touch barbecues allows greater air circulation, which is ideal for roasting and baking techniques. All-in-all this is a great little barbecue and a starting point for beginners and the occasional barbecuer - for many people too, it's their second 'extra' barbecue for their caravan or holiday home!

Weber 57cm One Touch Original

Weber 57cm Original Kettle The next step up in Weber's charcoal range is the ‘Original Kettle’ (previously called the 'One-Touch Original') with three main feature differences from the formerly acknowledged Compact barbecue. Firstly, the shape of the barbecue is deeper and rounder, which as mentioned earlier allows for more air to circulate around the barbecue - the higher domed lid also allows more room when cooking larger joints of meat. Secondly, a lid thermometer has been added, which is great for baking and roasting, enabling you to keep an eye on the cooking temperature of your barbecue. Finally, the 'One Touch' cleaning system which is a unique feature from Weber allowing you to effectively sweep clean the ashes from the bottom of your barbecue simply by moving the leaver - ashes are collected in the bottom ash catcher for easy disposal. The Weber Original Kettle is without a doubt a great barbecue and offers the versatility of being able to apply a variety of cooking methods. It's worth mentioning too that both the Original Kettle and the Original Kettle Premium (previously called the One Touch Premium) barbecues are compatible with a far greater variety of Weber accessories than either the 47cm or Compacts. The 'Gourmet System' for example, is a unique cooking grate system with interchangeable centres such as the cast iron sear grate, stainless steel roaster, cast iron griddle pan or pizza stone, which can be used in conjunction with both the Weber 57cm Original Kettle or 57cm Kettle Premium BBQ and comes as standard in the Master-Touch.

Weber 57cm Original Kettle Premium

The 57cm Kettle Premium offers all the features of the Original and more! Following the popularity of the One-Touch cleaning system featured on the Original, the Premium barbecue moves it up a gear, offering a large capacity ash catching pan which means even less mess than ever before! The ash sweeps into the ash catcher which is easily removable allowing you to tip the ashes into the bin (remember to let them cool down first). It also prevents the ashes from being blown away on a windy day. There's an additional side handle too, with both side handles now incorporating hooks to hang up to four barbecue utensils and the triple plated hinged cooking grate permits both sides of the cooking grate to be raised making it easy to add more coals or Weber wood chips when needed. This is ideal for low and slow cooking during which you may need to add more charcoal. The Original Kettle Premium also stands taller than the original making it a little more comfortable when grilling. This is a superb model and has been one of the bestselling Kettles Weber have made. But the Weber Master-Touch offers even more as standard.

Weber Master-Touch 57cm

And finally, to the 'supreme charcoal barbecue' and quite possibly 'the' most popular of all charcoal barbecues available from Weber! The Master-Touch takes everything that the Kettle Premium has to offer and adds the Gourmet System Cooking Grate as standard, opening up a world of possibilities. You also get a pair of Charcoal Baskets included to pour your charcoal into, which allows you to easily change from direct to indirect cooking by moving them around as required. Finally, whereas the Kettle Premium has a hook inside the lid to hang it on the bowl when checking your food, the Master-Touch comes with a Tuck-Away lid holder which you can simply roll back the lid into for convenience. As your lid sits in the lid holder it also acts as a windbreak, especially handy when your lighting your charcoal and to prevent any dust flying around when checking the food. The Master-Touch also comes in a range of colour options to suit your taste. These are the popular Black, Crimson, Spring Green, Smokey Grey and Slate Blue.

Hopefully, this has explained the differences between the Compact, Original, Premium and Master-Touch 57cm kettle barbecues from Weber. If you need further information, the Weber Experts at the Riverside Garden Centre in Hertford are available to answer your questions... Call 01992 514 778 Email: sales@riversidegardencentre.co.uk or why not post a question on Facebook?