Having a good BBQ is a must. Not only is grilling outside a huge part of our social culture but having a BBQ is a great way to stay out of a hot kitchen when temperatures soar in the summer. I’ve owned a few different BBQs in the past, but I’ve never used a BBQ like the Weber Genesis Smart Grill. This BBQ has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a probe that tells you exactly when your food is cooked, and a compatible app that helps you grill better than you could believe.
Having the Weber Genesis Smart Grill on my patio has completely changed the way I look at grills. This versatile grill is a complete outdoor stove and oven, letting you cook everything from pizza to meat, fruit, cookies, or bread. I used to think every BBQ was the same and wasn’t that confident in my grilling skills. Now I know I can just turn it on, insert the probe, and the app will even tell me when to flip whatever I’m cooking.
Here’s my take on the different features of the Weber Genesis Smart Grill and why it’s really the grill to beat all.
Features of Weber Genesis Smart Grill
The Weber Genesis Premium EPX-335 smart grill has stainless steel burners totalling 64,000 BTU. It has a high heat sear station that runs the entire length of the grill and a 12,000 BTU side burner if you’d like to cook sauces or other side dishes outside. It can cook up to 32 burger patties at once, and the warming rack will toast buns or keep your food warm.
- Porcelain-coated cast iron grill grates allow for even heat distribution
- Stainless steel burners give you 64,000 BTU and can reach an average temperature of 525 degrees F
- 12,000 BTU side burner lets you use the grill as a complete outdoor stove for all types of dishes
- The digital screen has a built-in thermometer so you always know the temp inside the grill
- Included probe plugs into dig and monitors the internal temp of what you’re cooking
- App-based recipes use probe to monitor food in real time and tell you when to flip or remove food from the grill
- Propane tank level monitor lets you know when you’re running low on fuel
- Built-in lights in the grill and knobs give you light when grilling at night
- Porcelain-coated cover keeps heat inside the grill so well you can grill under a porch without worrying about excessive heat release
- Side storage cabinet lets you store your extra grill grates or added Weber accessories like a baking stone, fry basket, and rotisserie
- Pull out grease tray that’s easy to clean
- Holder on the side for your spatula, grill scraper, and more
Weber Genesis Smart Grill Review
The Weber Genesis smart grill arrived at my home completely built and ready to use. It has a plug-in to power the digital screen but you can use it without the plug and probe. Without power, it will work just like a standard grill.
Setting up Weber Genesis Smart Grill
It will take you approximately 2 hours to set up your own Weber Genesis grill. It’s delivered to you with a set of detailed instructions, and there is also help within the Weber Connect app.
The grill has wheels so it’s easy to roll around on your patio or porch. It’s wide, but it’s also easy to store in a corner.
Testing Weber Genesis Smart Grill
There are a lot of features that make the Weber smart grill stand out from every other grill I’ve seen.
Design of Weber Genesis Smart Grill
There are two design features I have to mention right away because in my opinion, they are unique and extremely useful. The Weber Genesis Smart Grill has a porcelain coated enamel grill and a black enamel lid. If you have any porcelain coated cookware you know this stuff is almost like it’s made of diamonds and you can’t ding it, scratch it, or chip it.
It’s extremely durable, but that black enamel lid has another purpose. It keeps the heat in the BBQ, and by sealing in the heat you eliminate a few issues you may have with your own grill – excess heat-releasing so you can’t grill under cover, and excess heat-releasing so your food isn’t getting the full benefit of the temperature inside the grill.
That lid seals the grill off so well I was able to cook under the cover of my very low porch. I waved my hand over the top of the lid when it was 500 degrees inside the BBQ and it wasn’t even that hot. You could definitely use this under a gazebo or in a small space without worrying about raising the temperature of everything around you, or in my case, searing the very low roof of my porch.
The second feature I love is the lights. You can tap a button to turn the lights on at night or in low light and the grill knobs will light up. There is also a lid light. Just tap the button on the side of the handle and the inside of your lid will light up whenever you open it.
A smart grill that teaches you how to grill your food
One of the best features of the Weber Genesis EPX-355 is how you don’t have to hover over your grill and worry if you’re cooking correctly. Even a complete grilling amateur can use this grill and impress everyone they know with their food.
Rather than just having Wi-Fi onboard and an app with recipes, this grill goes one step further. You can insert a probe in the food you’re grilling, plug the probe in, and tap on a recipe in the Weber Connect app.
The app will give you step-by-step instructions for cooking your food right down to how thick your steak is. You’ll receive notifications in real-time of the exact temperature your food is currently at, the exact temperature of the grill, and when you should flip it. It’s practically foolproof. The only way you can not cook food perfectly on this grill is if you ignore your phone’s notifications.
There are a ton of recipes in the app, and you can cook everything from pizza to chicken, steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, fish, and so much more. The list is endless, and it’s all so easy. I even grilled beer can chicken with the probe. I just put the chicken in the BBQ and came back when the probe notified me that it was finished cooking.
Sear zone is the entire length of the grill
You know those great sear marks you get when you sear your steak or burgers at 500 degrees? It’s difficult to get perfect sear marks on a grill with lower BTU, and even if you have a grill that can get hot enough, the area you can sear is usually pretty small.
With the Weber Genesis Smart Grill, you have a sear zone that’s almost the full length of the grill. There are four main stainless steel burners along with the Sear Zone burner as well as a side burner. To achieve the perfect sear on your food you turn up all of the burners as well as the red sear zone burner, place your food on the grill, and flip when the probe asks you to. You don’t need to use the probe if you’re experienced with the grill.
The sear marks on this grill were absolutely perfect, and I found they were even better when you switch out the main grate for the extra sear grate. There is a nice set of hooks you can hang your grates when you’re not using them, and the sear grate works for everything from meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, and fruit.
Your Weber grill will be the hub of your outdoor kitchen
With how hot my house gets in the summer, I’ve always wanted a BBQ that can perform all the same functions as my stove. You can add a few accessories and the Weber Genesis Smart Grill becomes a powerhouse that will be the hub of your outdoor kitchen.
Weber Smart Grill is a pizza oven too
You can add a chicken rotisserie, smokebox to smoke your food, grill basket for vegetables and smaller items like shrimp, and the sear grate to sear everything to perfection. There is also an extra grate with an open circular area for dutch ovens, so you can make a big pot of chilli on the grill without ever having to go inside. Just brown your beef, add your favourite ingredients, and let it cook.
My favourite accessory for the Weber Genesis Smart Grill is the pizza stone. It’s cut to fit perfectly in the grill, and you can make pizza, bread, or cookies with it. I used it to make pizza and I was shocked at how crispy and delicious it turned out. I’ve always wanted a pizza oven outside, and with the Weber Smart Grill, you’ll have the best pizza oven and grill combo.
To make pizza on this grill you can use pre-made or handmade dough. I used handmade dough so I oiled the bottom of the dough first and grilled it for three minutes before I added my ingredients. This gave it the opportunity to make it crispy without burning the cheese and other pizza toppings. You’ll also need to let the pizza rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
Propane level indicator and grill grease collector
If I love an appliance, it’s always the little things that make me love it even more. The Weber Genesis Smart Grill is no exception. I love how there is a propane tank fuel indicator right in the app, so you always know just how much fuel you have. I love the side compartment on the BBQ so you can store your cooking accessories and probe in an easy-to-access spot.
A clean grill is a grill that always performs the way you’d like it to, and I absolutely love how easy it is to clean the Weber Genesis EPX-355. You can pull out the grease basket to clean in your sink, and you can also pull out the lower half of the grill to clean that too. It’s easy to lift the grates off to clean the burners.
Learn from the Weber Grill Masters
I know my way around a BBQ, but when testing out this BBQ I had a chat with the Weber Grill Masters Michael and Damien. They really showed me the ins and outs of the grill, and make it look so easy to achieve perfect results. With our grocery bills getting higher all the time, it’s nice to know you have a grill designed to avoid burning your food.
I don’t think I’ve ever talked to anyone with so much enthusiasm for grilling. I was seriously inspired, and if you’d like to improve your cooking skills you’ll want to take a look at their Instagram and YouTube channel.
Overall thoughts on the Weber Genesis Smart Grill
I’m so impressed with the Weber Genesis smart grill that I plan on upgrading my BBQ to this model. It does absolutely everything I could want in a grill, but it goes well beyond grilling. The Weber accessories for this grill are well worth it.
The lid keeps heat from escaping so you can use it undercover, and I love the probe that teaches you how to cook your food. I also love the recipes, and I can’t say I would have ever grilled steak that way unless I was shown how to do it step by step in the app.
This is the best grill I’ve ever used, and I really feel like it makes me a better cook. I’m not a grill master yet, but I’m going to have a lot of fun getting there.
You can find your own Weber Genesis Smart grill on Best Buy right now.
