The highlight of this top-quality construction is the porcelain-enameled cast-iron cooking grates, which comfortably retain the heat evenly distributed by the U-shaped stainless steel burner underneath. Simply put, this model let us grill with more precision, predictability, and control than most of the other models we bought and tested. I often start these lists with some variation of “when I was young,” and I don’t mean to — it makes me seem like a curmudgeon. It’s just that, as an elder of Gen X, it’s hard to believe the grilling technologies on the market have replaced the often life-threatening pieces of equipment that were commonplace in my youth. They also happen to be easy to move, light, cool, clean, and repack on top of that performance.
Once erected, you have a large cooking space–320 square inches–and a prep table. It also features some nice bells and whistles, including a removable grease tray, built-in thermometer, and removable cooking grates, which were easy to clean between uses. You don’t have to compromise much when grilling away Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet from home, either. We’ve tested and picked out the best portable grills for every type of cook just in time for some great Memorial Day deals. Cuisinart is better known for kitchen appliances than grills, so it makes sense this petite model is designed with an eye toward food prep, not just grilling.
Once you’re finished cooking, allow the grill to cool down slightly, then brush grease and food pieces off the grates with a damp grill brush. You may also need to wipe down the interior of the grill and empty or dispose of the grease tray at the bottom. That said, the nonstick grate didn’t stick, even to delicate fish filets, and was able to brown and crisp the skin nicely. The grill was simple to assemble and fire up, making it easy to Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet attach a 1-pound propane tank; this was notably difficult with some of the other models we tested. Plus, we figured out the drip tray can be used as a water basin for steaming and could add a herbaceous quality by simply adding herbs or foraged greenery. But we also didn’t love the construction of the RoadTrip 225; it feels a little cheaply built, and the lid doesn’t have a lock to hold it in place when you’re moving the grill around.
Talk about versatility — this grill gives you a traditional propane grill grate, a cast iron flat top griddle, and a pizza oven wrapped into one. Our tester loved how easy it was to switch between the pizza oven feature and the cast iron grill with one flip of the grate, and appreciated Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet its self-storage rack (for the grill top not in use) even moreso. You can open the pizza oven door to slide in your pie, or use the handle to lift the entire lid like a traditional grill. Some of the best portable grills come with carrying bags as part of the cost, too.
However, the Coleman Roadtrip 285 makes up for the portability deficiencies with top-tier grilling performance, easily earning our recommendation for a large-sized portable grill. Senior staff writers Tim Heffernan and Lesley Stockton spent 16 hours testing portable grills for this guide. They did so on the heels of testing full-size gas and charcoal grills, as well as grill accessories.
The detachable cutting board (which doubles as a lid during transport) is especially helpful for campers looking to streamline their packing list. The RoadTrip 225, unsurprisingly, offers 225 square inches of cooking space and is great for a road trip. The grill is compact and lightweight but has two separate burners that put out 11,000 BTUs of heat. The Weber Q 1200 remains at the top of our list of tabletop gas grills because it packs the performance of larger grills into a small form. Assembly is simple thanks to the manual providing pictogram-style instructions, and the whole task took just 12 minutes for us to be ready to cook.