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The Jumbo Joe got the pick for best charcoal grill in our guide to the best tailgate grills. With a name like “Jumbo Joe” at first glance this doesn’t exactly scream portable grill. While many of these grills are designed for grilling, we’ve also looked at if you can smoke on them as well. The Pro Series grill makes it simple to achieve incredible wood-fired flavor. Set-It & Forget-It® ease and precise temperature control help you create unforgettable meals. All-natural hardwood pellets don’t just fuel the fire—they’re the secret ingredient.

And the design of the grill surface—made of small hexagons instead of slim bars—is incredibly effective at keeping food from sliding down into the coals. Flipping and turning food on the Nomad was easier than on some grills I’ve used that had twice the space to maneuver. The sturdy Weber Q 2200 Charcoal Grills Combo Grills has a number of high-end features usually reserved for full-size grills, such as a built-in lid thermometer, electronic ignition, and infinite control burner valve. When it came to the gas grill’s performance, it gets hot quickly, cooks food evenly, and is easy to clean when you’re done.

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We recommend this grill to cooks who are interested in grilling for a crowd, as the XL surface area tends to lose heat quickly when accommodating just one or two pieces of steak or fish. The tiny Cuisinart CGG-180T Petite Gourmet Portable Tabletop Gas Grill suffered major flare-ups when cooking burgers and turned into a raging grease fire when cooking chicken pieces. Everything Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet we cooked on this grill had a dark, sooty film and tasted like torched fat. Wirecutter staff who have used the Q 1200 at home have found it easy to clean both the grates and the grease tray under the grill. You don’t need to buy Weber’s specialty tins for the grease tray either—instead, just line the catch pan with aluminum foil and pull it off when you’re done.

She resides in New Hampshire where she can be found hiking, camping, and paddling in the mountains, lakes, and seas of New England. It’s an extremely versatile cooking appliance for Expert Grill Combo Grills anyone who plans to spend a long stretch in the great outdoors. If you’re looking for a larger model, the best way to get the weight off your back is by going with a wheeled model.

Cooking tests showed good caramelization and even cooking of meats and vegetables, with the heat concentrated at the center of the grill. Performance-wise, it cooks consistently across the grates without hot or cool spots. While it is one of the heavier grills we tested, the wheels make moving the grill around a simple task.

One downside during assembly was the drip pan didn’t fit properly, which necessitated a small trim to get it to slide in. Out of the box, this can be powered by 1-pound gas canisters, but Weber does sell an attachment if you want to use 20-pound tanks. We also tested and recommend the Q 1200, which has 189 square inches of cooking space and a 8,500-BTU burner. The Grillster is an excellent option for searing steaks and other high-temperature cooking, but controlling the overall range on this rip-roaring grill is challenging. Unless our goal was blackened chicken or blistered peppers, we rarely found ourselves using anything other than the lowest gas setting.

Many of these grills will work off the very small 1-pound propane cylinders, with a different attachment needed for larger propane tanks. The difference between the two kinds is weight—larger tanks are heavier and need to be carried separately from the grill—and amount. The smaller tanks are easier to carry in a backpack, but will run out of fuel within a couple of hours. This grill is for serious tailgaters and is specifically designed to ride on the back of a car attached to a hitch. The monster Forge 15 has 355 square inches of cooking space so you can feed the whole gang and two powerful 7,500-BTU burners (15,000 total) will make sure your steaks, dogs and sausages get a proper seer.