Since the area of the basin exactly matches the surface area of the grill, we were then able to spread out those coals to create targeted heat zones. The clear champion of this section of our assessment is the Camp Chef Portable Pellet. The digital controller goes far beyond the accuracy of any mechanical knob. weber genesis 2 If you can operate the controls of a modern kitchen oven, then this model is a no-brainer. This grill can be set from “low smoke” to “high smoke”, and for temperatures ranging up to 550 degrees. No matter how you measure it, the Traveler’s 13,000-BTU burner gets plenty hot and really shines when searing.
To cook chicken more slowly, we shuffled the coals to one side, put it in away from them, and closed the lid. The damper on top allows for fine management of the heat, and a large, easy-to-read thermometer made monitoring the temperature simple. The Masterbuilt® Portable Charcoal BBQ and Smoker provides the unmatched flavour of charcoal with the ease of a gas BBQ on the go.
The cast iron grates are easy to scrub clean with a grill brush and the drip pan (located inside the grill) removes so you can wash it before storing. Some portable grills are meant for tabletop use—they can also be used on the ground if you’re comfortable with that, but it may not be as convenient. They’ll weber genesis 2 often have fold-out legs and built-in carrying handles for easy storage and set-up. Grills with tall legs let you work at a comfortable standing height, but the legs add weight and bulk, so they’re not as convenient to carry. The legs also might not be as stable and wobble a bit while you’re cooking.
The Everdure Cube by Heston Blumenthal is a cute little charcoal grill that’s easy to carry and comes in a number of color options. It’s easy to handle the grill even when lit because of the cool-touch handles. Ultimately, I found food fell in between the bars of the grate too easily and the grill itself was too small to be useful. If you’re looking to cook a whole lot of food at once, you can’t top the Camp Chef Portable Pellet. Between the main grill and the upper shelf, this model offers 500 square inches of cooking space. If you like the idea of grilling large hunks of meat on one shelf while roasting veggies on the other, this is the grill for you.
We didn’t focus heavily on hibachis because they’re lidless, primarily for high-heat grilling, and limited in performance. One of the only problems encountered was correctly positioning the grates. Still, we found it heated quickly and was ready to cook in 10 minutes after adding lit charcoal from a chimney, while side vents gave us greater control over lower-temperature cooking.