Shopping for a new grill can be challenging, especially if you’re budget-conscious and have a ceiling on your spending. Yet, you can still find an excellent grill for $300 or less if you prioritize function over special features. Higher-priced models come with bells and whistles that you may not need. You’re also paying for their thick construction, which retains heat for hours. While the thinner construction of lower-priced grills means less heat retention, the best of them make up for it with enough heat to achieve good sears and defined grill marks. We spent more than a month testing 23 gas grills ranging in price, and three under $300 met our criteria.
In testing, we found this unit especially stable and tough to knock over with light jostles and bumps. Unless you’re looking for a portable grill, you’ll want a grill with the most cooking area available in your price range. Indeed, the best standalone grills we tested have large surface areas and multiple burners for indirect heat cooking. A larger cooking area gives you more flexibility in your cooking style.
The enamel-coated grates helped eliminate any sticking worth speaking of, and there was very little flare-up outside of first wiping the grill with oil. When upright, it stands about waist-high on an average-height person and is sturdy, with minimal rocking or grate movement. Overall this Weber Q3200 gas grill deserves an average of 4.7 stars and in our opinion, we can recommend it as a good buy and enough bang for your buck. It was even mentioned as one of the best high-end gas grills on a page I found. Both versions, propane, and natural gas, come with their own hose and connections.
The ubiquitous disposable, green propane bottle is convenient, but it’s a huge source of pollution. It’s illegal in many jurisdictions to throw them in the trash, though that doesn’t stop many people, it seems, given how many of these end up in landfills every year. This brings me to, what weber gas grill I think, is an advantage of the propane version. The option to move it around your yard, patio, or deck and not be stuck to one spot because of the natural gas lines. The side tables are made more study and in combination with the ergonomic new handles, this is a nice improvement.
Conversely, don’t plan on cooking slow and low with this; it’s a “sear things and be done” sort of grill. Finding a grill that fits your cooking style is essential, as is something that fits your available outdoor cooking space. A large grill in a small area presents dangers from heat contact and potential fire hazards and will ultimately become irritating for the user due to space occupied and working around the bulk of a larger grill. For a portable grill, consider weight, too, as transporting and carrying it can be an issue. The enamel-coated cast-iron grates add significantly to the grill’s overall weight, but they also contribute to minimal sticking throughout testing. There were a few flare-ups during the tests, mostly when first introducing oil or fat, but they extinguished quickly without adverse effects on the food.
After testing this in our Lab and on an apartment patio, the Weber Q 1400 Electric Grill is one of the best tabletop electric grills around. The 189 square inches of cooking area is enough space for weber bbq half-dozen burgers, with the cast aluminum lid and body retaining heat throughout your barbecue. When it’s time to move the grill around, a large grip handle and ergonomic side handles make it easy.
The porcelain-coated cast-iron grill grate is quite non-stick, with even delicate fish filets releasing pretty easily. What makes this grill special is that the telescoping VersaStand holds the grill at ideal cooking height, yet shrinks down for easy transport and storage. Our tester did find the grill was a bit wobbly at its full height, but it put great sear marks on a variety of food, from tofu to Brazilian-style steak skewers, with minimal sticking.