Obviously, you need to be able to carry the grill regardless of its size. You don’t want anything to be so heavy that carrying it is impossible even if it can fit into your arms. The grill is relatively portable with ringed handles that reach all around its egg shape. It’s relatively stable, but it is a little thin, so it isn’t suitable for uneven surfaces.
Since you’ve come here looking for a portable grill, we thought it made sense to recommend one for those of you who prize portability above all other features. Everything but the grill grate on the GoBQ is made of flame-retardant fabric, and the whole thing weighs nine pounds and packs easily into something about the size of a knife roll. This factor is arguably the biggest when it comes to choosing your grill. Some folks can’t live without the added flavor of charcoal, while others prefer liquid propane’s predictable and more easily controlled direct heat and indirect heat. We recommend propane for better portability, as it’s more compact and lighter.
When we surveyed over 1,000 Wirecutter readers about their grills, a large majority said they owned a Weber. And of those Weber owners, 69% said they were extremely satisfied with their grill. Finally, we enlisted fresh bratwurst links to gauge each grill’s ability to handle a grate full of fatty meat. Not everyone has a yard, and it’s increasingly common for apartments to ban open flame grills on balconies. Fans have added thermometers, fastened knobs to make it easier to open and close vents, attached hanging ashcans, and come up with creative ways to cook taller items, like beer-can chicken.
Calibrated specifically to work with Traeger grills, our premium pellets are engineered to deliver the perfect smoke and best possible flavor. Although a bit too large to be considered seriously for camping, the Napoleon also scored high in packability and transport—it Charcoal Grills Combo Grills collapses “like a stroller,” and has large, hefty wheels. A clip on the lid keeps everything in place in this beach- and apartment-friendly grill. She’s an expert on all things home, including kitchen appliances, grills, and other cooking gadgets.
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.
The Char-Broil Grill2Go X200 Portable Gas Grill is a solid compact grill for remote cookouts because it’s rugged, lightweight, and easy to carry. It’s not as good as our Weber picks at searing food, but it heats evenly and is easy to use. Then we grilled bone-in chicken to test for flare-ups and how well the gas and charcoal grills could sustain a medium-low cooking temperature over 45 minutes.
The pellet stove adapter on the Solo Stove Bonfire Pit allows you to use logs, charcoals, or pellets to get a great searing temperature. The height is perfect for setting up a few camping chairs and roasting marshmallows. Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet In addition, certain grills will be easier to clean as a result of their shape or the depth of their charcoal bin. This is a good resource if you want to find out more about the different types of cooking grate material.
This smaller Weber kettle comes equipped with only one vent, located in the lid. The lack of airflow meant we couldn’t keep the coal bed lit throughout a single cook, leaving us with pale burgers and undercooked chicken. Even after loading the Jumbo Joe grill with a full chimney starter’s worth of red-hot embers (about 90 briquettes), we could still tamp down the temperature to medium heat. We couldn’t do that with the 14-inch Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill, where the single vent and the lack of airflow caused the coals to extinguish while we were cooking.
Models like this are easy to carry into the park to find your ideal picnic spot. With any grill, cleaning them before transporting them will lead to less mess. To determine scores in this metric, we loaded each product into vehicles, took them to picnics and campsites, and grilled gratifying culinary concoctions. When on these excursions, we took into account things like the overall size, weight, construction materials, and availability of wheels, stands, or lid latches. We also evaluated how secure or not secure they were, noisiness during transport, and cleanliness on the ride home. We’ve tested hundreds of products in our camping kitchen reviewsincluding the best camping tables and top camping coffee makers for your outdoor forays.