Charcoal Grill Accessories
A Weber kettle is the most-modded grill in America. The stock 22-inch Original is a great cooker on day one, but the accessories ecosystem — Slow 'N Sear, Vortex, rotisserie rings, pizza stones, hinged grates, chimney starters — is what turns it into a charcoal grill that can sear, roast, smoke low-and-slow, bake pizza at 700°F, and feed a crowd. This guide covers every accessory worth owning for a Weber Original Kettle, Master-Touch, Performer, or Jumbo Joe, organized by what you're actually trying to cook.
Before diving in, two things to know. First: most Weber charcoal accessories fit the standard 22-inch Original Kettle, Master-Touch, and Performer — Weber has kept this size consistent since the 1950s, which is why the aftermarket is so rich. Some accessories also fit the 18-inch Weber Kettle, the 14-inch Smokey Joe, and the larger 26-inch Master-Touch, but fit varies. We call out compatibility on every product below.
Second: a small number of these accessories (chimney starters, a decent thermometer, long-handled tongs, a grill brush) are genuinely essential. The rest are mods — they do specific things well, they're not all needed at once, and some overlap with others. Don't buy everything. Buy what matches how you actually cook.
If you're new to smoking on a kettle, start with our setup guide for the snake method before buying accessories — it covers which items on this page are actually required for low-and-slow cooks (chimney starter, digital thermometer, water pan) and which are nice-to-have upgrades you can add later.
Compatibility
Before buying accessories, confirm which kettle you own. Most accessories fit the 22-inch family, but if you have a Jumbo Joe, a 26-inch Master-Touch, or the Performer with its attached cart, compatibility changes.
The Standard — since 1952
The most common Weber charcoal grill in existence. 22-inch cooking diameter, 3-leg stand, ash catcher. Most aftermarket accessories are designed specifically for this size.
Common models
Upgraded — since 1999
Same 22-inch cook diameter as the Original, with a lid-mounted thermometer, hinged cooking grates (Gourmet BBQ System compatible), and improved ash management. Accessory compatibility is nearly identical to the Original.
Common models
Cart Model — since 1994
22-inch kettle mounted on a rolling cart with a side work table. Premium versions include Touch-N-Go gas ignition. Most 22-inch accessories fit, but cart-specific items (like the Performer side table) are model-specific.
Common models
Portable — Smokey Joe 14", Jumbo Joe 18"
Weber's portable charcoal grills. The Smokey Joe is 14 inches, ideal for tailgating and camping. The Jumbo Joe is 18 inches, the sweet spot for portable cooking. Most 22-inch accessories will NOT fit — buy size-appropriate portable accessories.
Common models
If you're not sure which size you have, measure across the top opening of the kettle bowl with a tape measure before ordering accessories. Weber's size naming is consistent — if the product says "22-inch kettle compatible," that matches the Original 22, Master-Touch 22, and Performer 22.
The Essentials
Start here. These are the accessories that genuinely make charcoal grilling easier, faster, or better — the ones nearly every serious kettle owner ends up buying.
The single most important accessory for any charcoal grill. A chimney starter lights charcoal in about 15 minutes using a sheet of newspaper — no lighter fluid, no chemical taste, no standing around holding a torch. If you're using lighter fluid, stop. A chimney is the fastest, cleanest way to get a pile of glowing coals ready for the grill.
Weber's own chimney starter is the community standard, but aftermarket brands like Weber RapidFire and KICK ASH BASKET make excellent alternatives. Size matters: the standard (large) chimney holds enough charcoal for a typical 22-inch kettle cook. Smaller chimneys exist for the Smokey Joe and Jumbo Joe.
OEM Weber chimney, large 7-qt capacity, standard for 22-inch kettles
OEM smaller version, ideal for Smokey Joe / Jumbo Joe
Aftermarket, heat-resistant handle, similar capacity to Weber
The single highest-ROI accessory for any outdoor grill. A Weber cover extends the usable life of the kettle by 5+ years, protects the porcelain finish from UV damage, keeps rain out of the charcoal vents, and prevents the inside from filling with leaves and debris between cooks. The Weber-branded premium cover is the right buy 90% of the time — it's heavy-duty, fits perfectly, and has Velcro straps to keep it from blowing off in wind.
Aftermarket covers are fine but watch the weight rating — cheap $15 covers tear within a season. Look for 600D polyester or heavier.
For Performer-specific cover compatibility (the original Performer, Premium/Deluxe pre-2026, and the new 2026 Smart cart all need different covers), see our dedicated Best Weber Performer Cover guide.
OEM heavy-duty cover for 22-inch kettles
OEM cover fitted for the Weber Performer cart
Aftermarket 600D waterproof alternative
Charcoal baskets are metal containers that hold charcoal in a concentrated pile on one side (or two piles on either side) of the kettle. They enable two-zone grilling — a hot direct-heat zone and a cooler indirect zone — without charcoal scattering across the bowl every time you open the lid.
Weber's own Char-Basket set is the standard, but KICK ASH BASKET's Kick Ash Can is a popular upgrade that combines a basket with an ash cleanup system. For pure two-zone cooking, the stock Weber baskets are genuinely excellent.
OEM Char-Basket set, fits 22-inch kettles
Aftermarket fuel basket with ash cleanup system
Kettle lid thermometers — even the better one on the Master-Touch — are analog bi-metal gauges that drift over time and only tell you the dome temperature, not the grate temperature or the meat's internal temperature. A digital two-probe thermometer (one probe for the grate, one for the meat) is the most impactful upgrade for anyone serious about charcoal cooking.
Budget option: ThermoPro TP20 — wireless, two probes, reliable, under $70. Premium option: ThermoWorks Smoke or Signals — higher-accuracy probes, longer-lasting hardware, app integration. Pit-master option: FireBoard 2 Drive — six probes, Wi-Fi, and optional fan control for true set-and-forget cooking.
Best-value digital grill + meat thermometer combo
Premium competition-grade thermometer with two probes
Wi-Fi enabled 6-probe thermometer with fan control output
Boring but essential. A solid grill brush for between-cook cleanup, and an ash tool or ash vacuum for dumping the bowl cleanly. Weber makes a decent brush, but the aftermarket is stronger here — the GrillArt bristle-free rope brush avoids the metal-bristle-in-food risk that caused a lot of press a few years ago. For ash management, a small dustpan-style ash tool or a dedicated ash vacuum (for owners who cook often) keeps cleanup under two minutes.
Aftermarket rope brush, safer than wire bristles
OEM ash cleanup tool for Weber kettles
Build Your Cook
Past the essentials, the real Weber kettle accessory ecosystem is organized around cooking techniques. Pick the cook you actually want to do — the accessory follows.
Slow 'N Sear is a stainless steel insert designed by SnS Grills that transforms a Weber kettle into a viable low-and-slow smoker. It holds charcoal on one side of the bowl with a built-in water reservoir on the other side for temperature buffering — the same principle as a Weber Smokey Mountain, in a kettle. SnS users regularly turn out competition-grade pulled pork, brisket, and ribs on standard 22-inch kettles.
This is one of the most-recommended single accessories in the Weber kettle community. The SnS Deluxe fits the 22-inch family. The smaller SnS Original fits 22-inch kettles too with slightly different dimensions. Do NOT buy the 18-inch version for a 22-inch kettle.
Premium SnS model with integrated water reservoir
Complete smoking upgrade kit for 22-inch kettles
The Vortex is a conical metal accessory that concentrates charcoal in the center of the kettle while creating a ring of indirect heat around it. The design routes superheated air up and out, making the Vortex the most popular accessory for one specific cook: restaurant-quality crispy wings. Also excellent for searing, pizza, and anything else that benefits from 600°F+ direct heat.
The Vortex comes in three sizes (small, medium, large) — the medium fits the 22-inch kettle, small fits Smokey Joe / Jumbo Joe, large fits 26-inch kettles and offset smokers. A medium is usually the right call for a standard Weber.
Aftermarket cone accessory, best-selling size
Aftermarket cone, compact size for portable kettles
Aftermarket cone sized for larger grills
A rotisserie transforms a Weber kettle into a rotating heat machine — self-basting meat turns over indirect charcoal heat for hours, producing results that are genuinely difficult to achieve any other way. Whole chickens, rotisserie prime rib, leg of lamb, and porchetta are the classic use cases.
A rotisserie setup requires two parts: the ring (a stainless steel ring that sits between the kettle bowl and lid, adding vertical clearance for the spit) and the motor (a small electric motor that turns the spit rod). Weber makes its own rotisserie kit for 22-inch kettles, and Cajun Bandit makes a taller ring for even bigger cooks.
OEM rotisserie ring and motor kit for 22-inch kettles
Aftermarket ring with taller clearance, premium build
Replacement rotisserie motor (fits most Weber kits)
Weber kettles make excellent pizza ovens when set up correctly. With the lid closed, a 22-inch kettle running hot charcoal on two sides and a pizza stone on the grate can hit 700°F — close to wood-fired pizzeria territory. Thin, crispy, slightly charred Neapolitan-style pizza is the payoff.
Two ways to go: a simple round pizza stone sized for the kettle grate (14–16 inches) works for casual pizza nights, but purpose-built kits like the KettlePizza Insert include a raised ring that redirects heat and traps steam, producing noticeably better results. Serious home pizza cooks gravitate toward KettlePizza or the newer Kettle Cuisine Pizza Pack.
OEM pizza stone sized for Weber GBS hinged grates
Aftermarket pizza oven conversion kit for 22-inch kettles
Budget aftermarket stone, fits inside most kettle grates
The Weber Gourmet BBQ System (GBS) is a hinged cooking grate with a removable center section — you can pull a round plug out of the middle of the grate and drop in specialty inserts: a cast iron griddle, wok, sear grate, pizza stone, poultry roaster, and more. The Master-Touch ships with a GBS grate. Original Kettle owners can upgrade to the GBS grate for about $50 and unlock the whole insert ecosystem.
The hinged part matters even without the GBS inserts — the hinged section lets you add charcoal mid-cook without lifting the whole grate.
OEM hinged cooking grate, upgrade for Original Kettle
OEM cast iron griddle for the GBS grate
OEM wok insert for stir-frying on the kettle
Serious Mods
The Weber kettle has the richest modification ecosystem of any grill ever made. These are the upgrades experienced kettle owners recommend most often — what they do, and whether they're worth the money.
Transforms a 22-inch kettle into a viable low-and-slow smoker. One of the top three most-recommended accessories in the Weber community. If you want to do overnight brisket or competition-style pulled pork on a kettle, this is the single purchase that makes it possible.
Self-basting, slow-rotating meat cooking. Whole chickens, leg of lamb, prime rib. Changes what a Weber kettle can cook more than any other mod. Weber OEM kit is $150, Cajun Bandit's upgraded version runs closer to $250.
Replaces the drift-prone analog thermometer with a 2+ probe digital setup for grate temperature and meat internal temperature. ThermoPro TP20 for $70 is the sweet spot; FireBoard 2 Drive at $250 adds Wi-Fi and fan control for true hands-off cooking.
$35 cone that specializes in crispy wings and high-heat cooking. Not versatile like some other mods, but for the one specific thing it does (crispy wings at 600°F+), there's nothing else like it. Worth owning if you cook wings more than three times a year.
Start with the one mod that matches your most common cook. If you mostly grill steaks and burgers, the stock kettle is already well-suited — don't overbuild. If you're smoking briskets, the Slow 'N Sear is the single highest-impact purchase. If you're hosting and want rotisserie chicken once a month, buy the rotisserie. Don't spend $500 on mods hoping to find out what kind of charcoal cook you want to be.
Portable Kettles
Weber's portable kettles have their own accessory ecosystem. Most 22-inch accessories won't fit — here's what does.
Right-sized chimney for Smokey Joe (14) and Jumbo Joe (18)
Vortex cone sized for Smokey Joe and Jumbo Joe
OEM padded travel bag for the Jumbo Joe 18
The portable kettle audience is smaller but serious — tailgaters, campers, and apartment balcony cooks. Weber makes dedicated carry bags, leg stabilizers, and charcoal tools specifically for the Smokey Joe and Jumbo Joe. Don't try to adapt 22-inch accessories.
Buying Decision
Weber kettles have one of the strongest aftermarket ecosystems of any grill brand. For accessories specifically, aftermarket is often genuinely better than OEM.
Covered by Weber warranty (for accessories that have one), guaranteed fit on Weber grill dimensions, consistent build quality.
Buy OEM when:
For Weber kettles, some of the best accessories in the entire BBQ world come from aftermarket specialists — Slow 'N Sear (SnS Grills), the Vortex, KICK ASH BASKET, KettlePizza, and Cajun Bandit. These aren't cheap knockoffs; they're purpose-built products Weber simply doesn't make.
Buy aftermarket when:
Pro Tips
The kettle is simple, but there are a few techniques that dramatically upgrade what it can do — regardless of which accessories you buy.
Learn two-zone cooking before anything else. Charcoal on one side, nothing on the other. Sear steak over the coals, move it to the cool side to finish. This single technique is what separates 'I own a Weber' from 'I cook on a Weber.' Most kettle accessories exist to make two-zone cooking easier.
Preheat the grate, not just the grill. After the charcoal is lit and spread, put the cooking grate on and close the lid for 5 minutes. A hot grate gives you sear marks and keeps food from sticking. A cold grate is why burgers fall apart when you try to flip them.
Use the vents, not the lid, to control temperature. The top vent pulls air across the food; the bottom vents feed the fire. More air = hotter; less air = cooler. Opening and closing the lid to 'check' the cook spikes the temperature every time — resist the urge.
Clean the kettle after every cook, not just at season-start. Sweep out ash through the bottom vent while the grill is still warm (not hot). Five minutes of cleanup now saves an hour of rust-removal later.
Cover the grill. An uncovered Weber kettle outdoors for a winter will rust faster than the same kettle covered. The $40 Weber premium cover pays for itself in the first year.
Buy charcoal in bulk during summer sales. Good-quality lump charcoal or premium briquettes can be stored indefinitely if kept dry. End-of-summer and post-Labor-Day sales are the best time to stock up for the year.
FAQ
Pick the cook you want to do — the accessory follows: