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. It’s the smallest on our list, comes with a cork lid that doubles as a base, and you can choose from black or white. I loved using it to cook and found it super convenient to store away.
There are no bells and whistles on this grill, so you’ll have to adjust and maintain the fire as you would most charcoal fires or campfires — with a careful flow of oxygen and good charcoal management. It’s a little more expensive than some on the market, but it’s built to last. If you want portable charcoal grilling in a truly portable package, this is the best small grill to buy. A premium-quality charcoal barbecue grill & smoker with unparalleled portability. Now with twice the ventilation, this 28-pound carrying case houses two heavy-duty, diecast cookboxes and delivers up to 425 square inches of grilling space.
You can also purchase the hose adapter to attach it to a larger propane tank if you want. We couldn’t fault the burgers we cooked on this barbecue; they each weber q had well-defined grill lines and retained moisture well. The veggie kebabs we cooked were crisped and charred on the outside, and remained soft inside.
Considering its size, it might be best to use this grill to cook for couples or up to four people. Otherwise, the BBQ is easy to pick up though thanks to its handles, and after cooking, I popped the grates straight into my dishwasher. Note, you can’t leave it outside because of its cork lid and given the price tag, you probably wouldn’t want to. After one month of using this grill at home, our tester thinks it’s great for camping, has solid heat retention, and creates distinct grill marks (reflecting the fun hexagonal shape of the grate). It might be considered too large for some campers because you definitely need some type of base to set it on (unlike the Everdure which can be placed wherever). Our tester also suggested taking the grate off the second side of the grill and replacing it with a cast iron or aluminum flat top to create a portable griddle aspect as well for eggs, bacon, etc. on the go.
We were impressed by how easy it was to cook with either direct or indirect heat. The charcoal tray is adjustable, hanging from a ladder rack that can quickly raise or lower the coals as needed. Minor faults aside, this “exceedingly beginner friendly” is “cute, functional, and just a delight to hold.” It is a super option for the fair-weather portable bbq griller, or first-timer concerned with aesthetics. It’s also undeniably great for camping, due to its efficient packability and included cutting board. I live just outside London and have a tiny amount of patio space where I reviewed these grills. I’ve ranked each one based on how well I think it performed, its features, and value for money.
The NOMAD is sleek but has few frills and is all about functionality. The design that keeps heat in and dissipates what heat does transfer to the exterior justifies much of the cost while making it a safer grill all around. It has side dampers to adjust airflow and regulate the temperature when it’s closed. The built-in thermometer skewed about 30 degrees lower than our test probes, but the heat retention was very good overall. COBB is the original, most unique and stylish of all mobile cooking systems!
As you’d expect from such a powerhouse, this grill gets super hot and produces an “impeccably crispy” crust during our steak test. Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product reviewer specializing in home, kitchen, and pet products. In her 6+ years of experience as a product tester, she’s reviewed hundreds of items firsthand, and her work appears in publications such as PEOPLE, The Spruce, Homes & Gardens, and more. Camryn is also the proud owner of a small homestead in Rhode Island, where she spends her spare time gardening, tending her many animals, and working through a never-ending list of home improvement projects. She’s an expert on all things home, including kitchen appliances, grills, and other cooking gadgets. These grills require open air for proper ventilation, as they can give off carbon monoxide.
To illustrate this, we cooked plain white bread and photographed the result to help visualize the distribution of heat across these grill tops. We also took into consideration whether the lid was big enough for closed grilling, how easy the grease trap was to use, remove, and clean, and if the regulator provided a snug or loose fit. Our ranking of heat output also considered each manufacturer’s BTU reporting, grill surface area, and lid sealing and construction. For the most part, the scoring of the heat output follows manufacturer claims, but we made some exceptions based on our observations. For instance, while the Weber Q 1200 only claims 8,500 BTUs, in practice, it operates at hotter temperatures and maintains that heat over a larger cook surface compared to other similar models.
Propane will need to be procured separately at your favorite home improvement or outdoor store. 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 portable bbq tanks are easier to carry in a backpack but will run out of fuel within a couple of hours. Whether it’s hiking, kayaking, or cross-country skiing, the Cuisinart Venture is perfect for any adventure. It’s not the biggest or most powerful grill in the world, but it’s small enough to carry in your pack, and it managed to reach searing temperatures in our Lab testing.
For this article, she consulted our testing insights and interviewed pitmaster Shannon Snell of Sonny’s BBQ for her tips on finding the best portable charcoal grills. All of the portable charcoal grills weber genesis 2 were then rated on their assembly, design, performance, ease of use, ease of cleaning, and value. We ran the numbers, and the PK Grills PKGO earned the top spot with a score of 4.8 out of 5.