Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: the American BBQ behemoth brings smart charcoal cooking to the masses

The Performer Premium Smart charcoal barbecue is Weber's attempt to drag traditional kettle-style charcoal cooking into the smart-barbecue age. By adding electronic temperature control, an electric fan, a sensor and app connectivity to its iconic kettle format, the Performer Premium Smart aims to take on the convenience offered by pellet grills, gravity-fed smokers and gas barbecues, while retaining the smoky flavour and alfresco theatre of cooking with real charcoal.

There was quite a delay in receiving this model, hence the later-than-expected publication of this T3 review. Now that the rain has arrived to dampen any fears of rural wild fires, it's time we evaluated this new kind of charcoal barbie and see if it really does help tame the cinders for a perfect charcoal-flavoured outdoor feast while the sun still shines.

Let's fire up the Weber Performer Premium Smart and see if it's a worthy contender for a spot in our guide to the best barbecues.

Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: price and availability

The Weber Performer Premium Smart charcoal barbecue is available in both the UK and the USA. In the UK, the official retail price is around £719, with many retailers offering discounts that bring the price down to between £560 and £645. Head to Weber direct or BBQ World (£645) and Wow BBQ (£560) for the best deals.

In the USA, the Performer Premium Smart is priced at approximately $799. Try Weber direct or Amazon where it's shifting for a very reasonable $549.

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Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: assembly

Assembly is arguably the Weber Performer Premium Smart charcoal barbecue's least appealing feature. Normally it takes me a leisurely 90 minutes to assemble a basic charcoal barbecue, up to two hours for a pellet grill and two hours or more for a gas BBQ (longer still if it has a side burner), but this one took a record five hours. In fact I had to finish it the following day.

Given that this is a more complicated cart variant, it came with more loose parts than anything I've faced before: screws galore and an insurmountable number of metal components including support trays, struts, flashings, cross members, mountings, wheels, not to mention the electronic temperature-control hardware.

In fact, by the time I finally got to the fan assembly, only to discover that I had to assemble it myself, I was pretty miffed I'll tell you. In fact, I still can't work out why the Weber factory couldn't have preassembled the fan in the first place. It's not like it would have taken up more space in the box.

The funny thing is that, about a third of the way through the build, I was praising Weber for making assembly such a pleasing experience because every screw aligned perfectly and it was all going swimmingly. But then I arrived at the thin flashing that surrounds the top of the unit and there was one area right at the front and within line of sight when grilling that simply refused to align correctly.

In frustration I attempted to drive in the screw at an angle but never managed to get it fully home. This section swallowed up about half an hour but, because I'm a bit OCD when it comes to perfection, I continued trying to drive home the screw until I finally succeeded by twisting the flashing till it fit. While this part of the flashing now looks a little bent under close scrutiny, it's a lot better than having a screw that sticks out askew right before your eyes.

Four hours later with the main carcass fully assembled, I looked at the remaining parts on the lawn and the heart sank as I started to fear the prospect of fitting the electronics, but against all odds – and the fact I had to assemble the fan myself – this part of the process turned out to be relatively pain free, though I found some of the hieroglyphic instructions almost impossible to decipher.

Once fully built, however, I will say that the construction felt reassuringly solid and the construction effort – which really was an effort – almost seemed somewhat justified.

Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: how it works

Smart electronically controlled barbecues are all the rage at the moment and we have the pellet grill smoker to thank for that. However, I still get a bit jumpy using smart barbecues that rely almost entirely on the reliability of a bunch of circuit boards, sensors, an electric fan and a regular supply of electricity.

There's just so much that can wrong, whether it's a power cut and you don't have a portable power station to hand or worse, a software glitch or major hardware failure just as you're preparing the barbecue for an alfresco party. How embarrassing that would be when you have to tell your guests you're going to be using the oven instead because the barbecue has stopped working.

Well here's another smart model to add to the ever expanding range but, in its favour, instead of being a smarts-filled model built from the ground up, it's essentially an electrically modified version of a standard kettle barbecue. And that means that if any electrical disasters occur before your guests arrive, you can still grill on it like any other kettle barbecue. This alone makes this model a very safe bet for those who want to enjoy the unquestionable practicality of an electronically-controlled barbecue without the fear of it suddenly dying on you and ruining the day.

The Weber Performer Premium Smart charcoal barbecue works by combining conventional charcoal cooking with an electronically controlled airflow system. Once the charcoal is lit, the vents are closed and the desired cooking temperature is selected, a temperature sensor continuously monitors the heat inside the kettle. A built-in fan mounted on the side of the kettle then adjusts the amount of air reaching the coals, increasing or reducing airflow to help maintain the chosen temperature. The principle is simple: more airflow makes the charcoal burn hotter, less airflow cools things down.

Aside from normal grilling and searing, this added tech makes the Performer Premium Smart suitable for long, slow cooks such as brisket and pulled pork, where maintaining a steady low temperature for several hours is traditionally one of the trickiest aspects of charcoal barbecue cooking.

Like all pellet grills and Masterbuilt's charcoal-based Series 600 gravity smoker, with this model you can set the barbecue to a specific temperature and let the electronics do most of the work, rather than having to continually adjust the vents yourself.

But there is a catch, specifically when it comes to low-and-slow smoking because the biggest difference between this model and pellet smokers – along with the aforementioned Masterbuilt Series 600 – is that pellet and gravity-based smokers use a side hopper to contain a huge amount of fuel that automatically feeds the fire, whether its wooden pellets or charcoal or briquettes, while the Weber Performer Premium Smart relies on a static bed of charcoal or briquettes.

Let’s concentrate on the Masterbuilt Series 600 since that’s this model’s nearest competitor. The Series 600 uses the indirect cooking method and comes with a very tall, narrow charcoal hopper that never runs out of charcoal because, as it burns below the pile of charcoal, more of it is fed from above. And if it’s running very low you can simply top it up yourself with more charcoal or briquettes.

Crucially, the whole fire system is set to the side of the grilling area and the heat is blown to the cooking section using a large fan. This means that the acrid smell of fresh burning charcoal doesn’t work it’s way into the cooking chamber.

As with any traditional charcoal BBQ, the hardest part is calculating the amount charcoal required for the task in hand and the same applies here. The easiest way to tell is to use Weber's chimney starter because you can more easily gauge the amount of briquettes required. Also, the chimney starter shaves off loads of time during the ignition process.

If you plan to sear some steaks, for instance, you will need an extreme temperature of 300˚C and above, and about 50 briquettes or three quarters of a chimney fire starter. The charcoal can be placed to one side or, if really pushing temperatures for a quick high sear, a full chimney's worth of briquettes spread across most of the grate will do the trick. If you don't use enough charcoal or briquettes, chances are that the BBQ will never reach optimum searing temperature.

For general grilling you can use about a quarter to a half of a chimney starter (25–50 briquettes) and arrange the coals to one side – the Performer Premium Smart comes with two edge dividers for containing the charcoal in one area.

Finally, for smoking with this Weber model, you’re advised to position the briquettes in a long snake around the edge of the bowl, and then light it on one side so the charcoal slowly burns to the tail end. According to Weber, the Performer Premium Smart is capable of running for between eight and 12 hours at a low temperature of around 110˚C, the most common region for low-and-slow smoking.

Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: design and features

The Weber Performer Premium Smart takes the company's traditional cart version of its world-famous kettle system and gives it a modern makeover by fitting a sophisticated temperature-control system designed to make the notoriously volatile charcoal cooking method considerably more predictable.

Naturally, this requires an electricity source which could be awkward if your nearest outdoor socket is more than five metres away. However, rather handily, this model accepts USB-C and that means you can simply run the Performer Premium Smart using a decent pocket-sized power bank which would easily keep the barbie running for an entire standard cook.

The Performer Premium Smart's generously sized 57cm (22”) stainless steel cooking grate provides 2,342cm² of meal estate, making it suitable for large families and smaller parties. The heavy-duty porcelain-enamelled bowl and lid, meanwhile, help retain heat and give the barbecue a reassuringly sturdy feel.

The porcelain enamel is also designed to resist rust and withstand the high temperatures generated during grilling, while the hinged cooking grate makes it possible to add charcoal or smoking wood without having to remove the entire grate.

However, I think this model would be even more 'premium' had it been equipped with a hinged lid instead of one that has to be lifted off and positioned to the side in its wire rack. The cart is finished off with a large preparation/storage shelf to the side and an open storage area below it.

The real party trick here, however, is the smart temperature management system. Rather than relying entirely on manually adjusting the vents, the Performer Premium Smart uses a computer processor and a small fan to regulate airflow and maintain the target cooking temperature.

A single temperature probe monitors temperatures inside the barbecue, with the front screen monitor providing information and alerts as you cook. The system can also monitor the food temperature using the included meat probe, while the Weber app provides live cooking information, alerts, recipes and general guidance.

For anyone accustomed to repeatedly lifting the lid (remember the adage 'if you're lookin', it ain't cookin''), fiddling with vents and wondering whether the temperature is going to settle at 180°C or shoot past 250°C, this 'smart' element is a potentially revolutionary and transformative feature.

Mind, it hasn't always been plain sailing because I read that earlier versions of this model reportedly suffered from temperature fluctuations, with the barbecue sometimes struggling to settle at the selected temperature. There were also reports of the fan continuing to run when it should have switched off, which would have introduced additional airflow, pushing temperatures higher than intended.

Thankfully, it appears that Weber has subsequently refined the system because in my tests the temperatures have remained very stable. That said, it's worth keeping an eye on the temperature at least during the first few cooks, rather than blindly assuming the electronics will do everything for you. After all, charcoal has a mind of its own and even the smartest of barbecues can't completely reverse the laws of combustion.

Away from the electronics, the Performer Premium Smart's 'One-Touch' cleaning system makes clearing out ash extremely easy, while the enclosed ash catcher helps prevent debris from ending up all over the patio. The sturdy wheels – two small castors on one end and a pair of larger fixed wheels on the other – make it reasonably easy to move around on a patio and even across a lawn.

In many respects, this is basically a standard kettle barbecue reinvented for the connected age. It retains all the smoky character and versatility of charcoal cooking, but adds automatic temperature management and app-based monitoring to make outdoor grilling less volatile and easier to get a handle on.

If you always struggle to maintain set temperatures on a charcoal barbecue – who doesn't? – this may be the model for you.

Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: accessories

Weber has built an impressive ecosystem of accessories around some of its kettle BBQs, including this one. It's called the Gourmet Barbecue System (GBS) and it's comprised of a cooking grate with a removable circular centre section that accommodates a small range of modular accessories that turns a straightforward kettle into a versatile outdoor cooking station.

The Poultry Roaster is ideal for cooking a whole chicken with crispy skin and juicy flesh while the Crafted Glazed Pizza Stone turns the kettle into a capable pizza oven, providing a hot, stable surface for crisp bases. However, the jury’s out on why anyone would want to use the cast-iron Dutch Oven to slow-cook a stew or casserole given that they would traditionally be cooked indoors.

One particularly useful addition on this barbecue is Weber's Works side table, which provides extra preparation space while accommodating XL drop-in accessories like the Works Cutting Board, Works Basin with cutting board lid and the Works Caddy for all your accoutrements.

Finally, when you're ready to fire everything up, Weber's Rapidfire Chimney Starter is one of the simplest ways to get a substantial batch of charcoal burning quickly and evenly.

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Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: performance

There's a bit of a learning curve with this model since in many instances it involves careful charcoal placement. I made sure I read the manual before starting off and managed to have two disaster-free chicken wing grilling sessions without having to stand over it all the time. The results were just the way I like it, with crispy skin and moist succulent centres. That's the best thing about smart barbecues – they not only help control the temperature so you don't have to, but they make the act of barbecuing less hands-on.

I'll admit to having not performed any low-and-slow brisket, lamb or rib cooking but I did perform a low-temperature test at 110˚C using just half a chimney fire starter's worth of Weber-branded briquettes and the temperature remained consistent for several hours.

I also performed several other experiments with this BBQ while I grasped the working method of its temperature control system. In order to evaluate its searing capability, I shut off all vents and set it to 300˚C but it never reached more than 280˚C. So I went manual and turned the fan to its highest speed setting of 10 but, bizarrely the temperature dropped down in 5˚C increments to 225˚C. I then tried the automatic method again, set it to a lower 270˚C and left it for a while, and it managed to reach 270˚C for about a minute before dropping slowly down to around 230˚C.

Since I’m more used to pellet and gravity-based grilling where the fuel is continually fed from a hopper to the fire bed, it took me a while of head scratching to realise that, of course, no conventional charcoal BBQ will ever reach high searing temperatures unless you’ve loaded it with enough charcoal or briquettes. Doh! I clearly hadn't loaded enough to get it to 300˚C but just the right amount for around 180˚C. So, given the low amount of charcoal, I set it to a grilling temperature of 180˚C and, sure enough, it stayed at that temperature for ages.

I also noticed that, like any kettle grill, you really need to light the briquettes or charcoal at least 40 to 60 minutes before cooking. Do not expect pellet grill speed when heating up, let alone the speed with which Masterbuilt’s gravity-fed series of grill/smokers reaches correct temperature. These models use a much more powerful fan that genuinely prepares the cooking area in about 15 minutes. From lighting the chimney starter to starting the controller, the Weber took about 60 minutes to reach 245˚C and that's par for the course with charcoal barbies.

Weber Performer Premium Smart Charcoal Barbecue review: verdict

The Weber Performer Premium Smart blends the authenticity of charcoal cooking with some genuinely useful smart technology to help tame the flame. Its app-controlled fan delivers impressively stable temperatures, making low-and-slow barbecuing more practical without losing the hands-on appeal of general grilling.

While it isn't as straightforward as a pellet or gravity-fed grill, it rewards the extra effort with great versatility and classic Weber performance that should satisfy both enthusiasts and ambitious beginners alike.