With 189 square inches of cooking surface, this grill was not the biggest on the list, but it’s plenty big enough to cook burgers, chicken, fish, and veggies for a group of six hungry people. It’s also nice-looking with flare-out trays to hold your plates and grilling tools, plus an ergonomic design. Despite its sturdy build, the Q-1200 is still light and limber enough for a camping grill to take on a camping trip or for one person to carry with relative ease. This grill, like all on the list, can use any small propane tank sold at most camping or hardware stores. This sleek portable gas grill from Weber is superior in almost every category and was a fairly clear winner as the best portable grill overall. It’s easy to assemble, with just a few parts, and once completed feels solid and sturdy, even when given a few vigorous shakes.
The KettlePizza add-on kit ($250) is fun, but way more expensive than the grill itself; there’s a cheaper basic version, but it’s currently out of stock. Do yourself a favor, throw away your lighter fluid and get a charcoal chimney starter ($27). Most grills performed about as well as advertised, with some topping out at as much as 100 F hotter than others. The better grills also generally ended up reading out a more consistent temperature throughout cooking.
They also offer an economical alternative to wasteful disposable barbecues that scorch grass and are, ironically, difficult to dispose of. Because a Traeger can be set for low and slow, roasting, or direct grilling, you can use it to make anything from the morning’s biscuits to a slow-cooked stew in the evening. No matter how portable bbq gorgeous or secluded your camping spot, a terrific meal will make the experience that much more memorable. You want the wood-fired flavor of food hot off the grill — not a bag of trail mix or freeze-dried eggs. In addition, certain grills will be easier to clean as a result of their shape or the depth of their charcoal bin.
This solar oven requires no charcoal, propane or any fuel source (hooray for the environment!) and is super light and transportable. It’s a perfect camping cooker except you do need sunlight for this to function so I wouldn’t rely solely on this for eating if you’re heading into the woods for an extended period. The Weber Q 2400 Electric grill raises the bar on flavor expectations and performance of an electric grill. Sear burgers, steaks and chops; grill chicken, fish, vegetables and fruit on the porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates.
If your budget can stretch way past the Weber options above, PKTX offers the same classic PK design with a folding cart for easy transportation. When it comes to cooking with this grill, we’d recommend using only a few coals at first during a handful of test cookouts to really weber charcoal grill get a sense of how the grill performs. It can still hold up to six regular-sized burgers and comes with standing legs for flexible mounting options. Before putting the grill away for the season, give the inside a good scrubbing with lots of hot soapy water and rinse well.
In spring 2017, Tim and Wirecutter writers Lesley Stockton and Michael Sullivan spent over 40 hours testing full-size gas and charcoal grills, as well as grill accessories. With all this knowledge in hand, Lesley and Tim spent 16 hours, over the course of two days, testing nine portable grills. Most portable grills are designed to be used with small 14- or 16-ounce propane tanks, which simply screw onto the side or bottom of the grill. However, if you’re planning to cook frequently with your grill, it might be beneficial to purchase an adapter hose, which will allow you to use a larger 20-pound propane tank with your portable grill.