Sometimes the best things in life are the simplest. Black coffee. A good cast iron. A classic kettle BBQ — maybe, say, the Weber Master-Touch. Do you need any more?
Where I live, in the U.K., with our tiny gardens, small houses and very reserved cuts of meat (the spirit of rationing lives on), at least compared to the States, the classic kettle is the default grill. Obviously, in the land of eagles, pick-up trucks and Traegers, everything is a little larger: bigger gardens, houses and, of course, grills. On the ‘freedom’ scale, the Weber Master-Touch might look like a “my first BBQ”.
But what if you only have a small amount of space and need a compact BBQ? Could Weber’s latest kettle, with its reasonable price and fairly small cooking surface, still be the best grill for you? I think so. Keep reading my full Weber Master-Touch review to find out more.
Weber Master-Touch review: Specs
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Price |
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Type |
Kettle grill |
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Diameter |
22 inches; 26 inches |
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Cooking area |
508 sq inches |
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Dimensions |
42.9 x 27 x 33 inches |
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Fuel |
Charcoal |
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App |
No |
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Colors |
Black; slate blue; ocean blue; spring green; smoke gray; ivory; burnt orange. |
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Warranty (default) |
Bowl & lid — 10 years; One touch cleaning system & plastic components — 5 years; everything else — 2 years |
Weber Master-Touch review: Price & availability
The Weber Master-Touch is a fairly affordable grill, starting at $289 / £289 for the base 22-inch (57cm) model. The larger 26-inch (67cm) model, meanwhile, starts at $499 / £475. So, if you can’t afford to splurge $2,000 on our favorite charcoal grill, the Kamado Joe kettle, the Master Touch will still give you the bare essentials at a fraction of the cost.
You do literally get the “bare essentials” though. There’s no app, no electricity, no automated temperature control, no temperature food probes included. It’s simple and honest, and I find that kinda fun. I actually prefer using the Master-Touch to my tricked-out Weber Searwood XL 600 ($1,199) precisely because I have to do everything myself — plan heat zones, keep tabs on temperature, and carefully manage grill space. It feels like actual cooking, not just waiting for something to do the cooking for you. Still, if you do want more features, the Masterbuilt AutoIgnite Series 545 is only a dollar more expensive than the 26-inch Master-Touch, at $500.
Customization
A neat feature of the Master-Touch is the ability to customize it at checkout. You can choose from a range of different colors, including slate blue (which I chose) and a gorgeous burnt orange, among others.
You can then customize the color of the ash tray (or “One-Touch” cleaning system, to give its glorified name), which is a waste of money if you ask me; add premium stainless steel grates with a 5-year warranty (I tested these); and bolt on some accessories like a low-n-slow kit, accessory hangers, chimney starters, and more. I like that you can make the Master-Touch your own, especially as Weber kettles are so common where I live. It’s not something we see from other brands, like Kamado Joe or Traeger (although, in fairness, those grills come loaded with everything in the first place).
Weber Master-Touch review: Fuel
The Master-Touch is a charcoal grill, so fueling is pretty simple. Load up some briquettes or lumpwood charcoal according to your desired heat zones, fire up, and 20-minutes-or-so later you’re cookin’. I’ve also been adding small wood logs for extra smokiness.
While it lacks the immediacy of gas/electric or the fancy-pants-ness of pellets, charcoal is much cheaper than both. But it has one other key advantage, especially here in the U.K. — it’s incredibly easy to source. If you run out of fancier fuels, it can be tough to get more at short notice. I’ve run out of pellets mid-cook before on long smokes, leading to a nervous wait for an Amazon next-day delivery. And, recently, I had to do a frantic dash around several local gas stations to get propane for an upcoming pizza oven review (there are often summertime propane shortages where I live).
Charcoal, meanwhile, can be bought from every gas station, large grocery store or garden center here in Britain. That means, if the sun comes out suddenly and you find yourself without fuel, you can quickly grab some from down the street for an impromptu BBQ.
Weber Master-Touch review: Design & features
The Weber Master-Touch uses the classic round kettle design. I tested the 22-inch / 57cm barbecue, which is fairly compact versus larger, rectangular grills and smokers. This means it’ll fit on a moderately-sized balcony or in a small yard. I was able to position the Master-Touch in a small space between my lawn and shed, where it fit perfectly and didn’t overload our already tech-filled patio. 22 inches gives you easily enough space for at least a family of four, although I’d buy the larger 26-inch model if you’re planning on bigger cooks.
The main kettle lid features a slide-back rail, allowing you to flip the lid 90 degrees while cooking, to turn food or let off some heat if things are too hot. In the lid is an old-school analog thermometer giving you ambient temperature readings, although for more accurate measurements (especially when smoking or grilling large cuts of meat) you’ll want to invest in food probes. The upper handle features a heat shield, which is a nice safety feature, while the front handle has inlaid notches for hanging accessories — very useful.
Under the main kettle sits an ashtray, which employs a sliding vent system. This is called a “One-Touch” cleaning system, although it’s far from single-touch. The vent has two benefits: it’s part of the ventilation system for controlling your heat and flames, but also helps sweep fallen ash into the tray below. Under that is a storage shelf that doubles as a brace for the legs and wheels — I put my weatherproof Weber storage box under there, where I keep my probes, cooking utensils and heatproof gloves.
Build quality is mostly pretty good. The kettle itself, handles and trim, grates, and ashtray all use premium metal and black plastics, which feels high-quality and sturdy. The legs are made from lightweight aluminum, but they don’t feel weak at all.
The only things letting the Master-Touch down are the wheels. They’re super light and cheap-feeling, and don’t attach as securely to the legs as I’d like. They shake and bend a lot when wheeling the grill, meaning the Master-Touch is actually quite difficult to move over anything but perfectly smooth terrain. I get this grill is in Weber’s budget range, but the wheels still feel way too cheap for me — like something from a crappy $30 grocery store grill.
Assembly
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You’ll need to assemble your Weber Master-Touch once it arrives. Mine arrived well packaged — the grill was free of marks or damage even though the box had been dented and squashed by the courier.
The assembly took me around 45 minutes, although I was going slowly as I was constructing outside during a heatwave here in the U.K., in 102°F / 38°C. Everything was clearly labelled and the instructions were very easy to follow. There’s a plastic hex key included, which will essentially cover your whole build. It’s a bit slow, so I got out my motorcycle tool kit and used a ratchet. Weber advises against using power tools, as these make it very easy to overtighten and ruin nuts/bolts.
Weber Master-Touch review: Controls
The Master-Touch is a basic BBQ with equally basic controls, so it’ll suit newcomers to grilling. You’ve got a vent on top and a vent at the base, which you use to control airflow and heat. It’ll take a bit of trial and error to figure out how to use these for consistent heat, and a lot of that will be down to fueling, but that’s all part of the fun. As I mentioned above, there’s an ambient temperature gauge on top which is extremely useful for regulating heat. The temperature dial is very responsive too, and moves quickly as the internal heat changes.
Unlike other Weber grills, like my Searwood XL 600, the Master-Touch has no electrical components and therefore no wireless connectivity and heat control. This is the one thing I really missed. I love controlling my Searwood from inside the house or, yes, the pub, using Weber’s fantastic companion app. But the Master-Touch simply isn’t that kind of grill.
Weber Master-Touch review: Performance
The Master-Touch is a kettle grill, and it performs like, well, pretty much every other kettle grill. It’ll happily get up to 750F/400C or higher if you fuel it accordingly, making it a monster for those quick, powerful sears.
If you’re just cooking on high heat, it’s a very straightforward and competent grill. The 22-inch cooking surface was enough space for me to simultaneously cook around 2lbs of chicken wings, several slices of pork belly, two burgers, two veggie skewers and two corns. Admittedly, space was a little tight — I had 4.5lbs of chicken in total, which had to be done in two batches — but I managed.
I arranged the fuel half-and-half for direct/indirect heat underneath the cooking grill. I had direct heat on one half at around 480-525F / 250-275C, with a lower indirect heat on the other half to slowly cook through the riskier meats. The fuel grate is positioned at the ideal level below the main grate — you only need a single layer of charcoal to get to 480F / 250C and higher under the cooking grate, enough for strong sears.
22 inches is (just) enough cooking space to let you get creative with your charcoal layout and create different heating zones. This is especially important for smoking, where you can use various layouts (like the charcoal snake method) to channel the fuel burn along a route, creating lower heat and smoke for longer. If you’re going to be smoking more, the 26-inch model will give you more space for your layouts, and is what I’d recommend.
The ambient temperature dial on the top of the kettle is also a great help for smoking, letting you keep an eye on temperature, although again, you’ll want meat probes to smoke accurately.
For any serious smoking, though, I would advise investing in a dedicated smoker like the Searwood XL 600, Kamado Joe, or Traegar Woodridge Pro ($999). Although pricey, these have features to make smoking much more accurate and consistent, while giving more control over taste — I’m talking real-time handling of fuel burn, smoke levels and temperature, etc. They also have apps, so you can control everything from afar. However, if, like me, you only smoke food occasionally, but mostly use a grill for searing, the Master-Touch is more than adequate.
Weber Master-Touch review: Storage & maintenance
As I mentioned earlier, as far as grills go, the Master-Touch is fairly compact, making it easy to stash away in a neat spot on your patio, or under cover in your shed or garage. Weber gear is designed to withstand being kept outdoors, and indeed my Searwood has lived outside, uncovered for around a year, with only a modicum of rust showing up. Ideally, though, you’d want to store the Master-Touch (or any grill) under a cover to shield it from the elements.
The Master-Touch benefits from Weber’s generous warranty: 10 years on the bowl and lid; 5 years on the ash tray system and plastic components; and 2 years on everything else. Opt for the upgraded stainless grates, though, and those come with a 5-year warranty.
Maintenance is easy — another benefit of small grills. Clear the fuel out, dump the ash using the “One-Touch” system (which you’ll need to slide back and forth… around 10-15 times), then remove and clean the grills with BBQ cleaner, before repeating on the kettle and lid. I use Weber’s wire brush to remove large debris from the grill, then give it a good spray and wipe. For tougher-to-shift muck, I’ve put the grills in my dishwasher, which they can stand up to due to being stainless, but will discolor them over time (I don’t care, though, as they get blackened during cooking anyway). It took me around 10-15 minutes for a quick clean when I knew I was cooking again the next day, and around 30 minutes for a deeper clean.
Listen, I’m not moaning, because this was an easy grill to clean. But as you can see, to call it “One-Touch” is incredibly ambitious, to say the least.
Weber Master-Touch review: Verdict
Like I said earlier, there’s value in simplicity. The Weber Master-Touch is a simple kettle grill with a few quality-of-life features. That means it’s not going to wow you with modern features, but it also makes it difficult to go wrong.
The Master-Touch cooks great, is customizable, and easy to both store and maintain. It gives you just enough space to get creative with fueling, allowing different temperature zones and smoking. And it gets super hot to put beautiful sears on food. Sure, the wheels feel a little flimsy, but the rest of the grill is built extremely well, and besides, the Master-Touch is an affordable grill.
I’ve been using the Master-Touch all summer here in the U.K., where we’ve had a heatwave (reaching up to 102F). Cooking inside in such conditions is awful (we don’t have AC in our homes here), and I’ve really appreciate having the Master-Touch — its small size, quick heat up and ease-of-cleaning has let me cook al-fresco quickly and easily.
If it’s a compact, affordable but quality grilling solution you’re after for this summer, the Weber Master-Touch comes highly recommended by me.