Portable grills cost anywhere from $50 for a simple Weber charcoal grill all the way up to $500 or more for fancier gas and propane grills with bells and whistles galore. My favorite portable grill, the Weber Q-1200, sits at about $259 but you can find it for less on sale. Most sturdy small grills should last you several years to a decade if the unit is cleaned, covered and cared for properly. I wanted to love this model because the concept is great but it does have some flaws. For one, it feels a little bit cheap and I read in several reviews that it can rust and peel over time. Also, the grill grates are made of thin stainless steel whereas I would have preferred nonstick ceramic or iron.
But Weber’s warranty covers most of the unit for five years, so we think the price is justified. The propane coupling sat a couple of millimeters too close to the body, and we had to flex the assembly away from the grill to get the canister to fit. We asked Q 1200 owners on staff if they had this issue, and they confirmed that attaching the propane was easy on their grills. We’re chalking this up as a one-off problem unique to our test unit. When the side tables are tucked inside the grill for transport, the Weber Q 1200 is about the size of a small carry-on suitcase. You need both hands to carry the Q 1200, because it doesn’t have a latch to hold the lid securely to the firebox.
What’s more, it’ll go on grilling for up to an hour on only a small handful of charcoal. Char-Broil is justly famous for its TRU Infrared grilling technology which ensures food is cooked evenly across the grill plate. The slight downside is that the corrugated infrared grill requires burning off after each barbecue session and scraped down using the supplied cleaning too. If you neglect to do that, the tiny holes in the infrared plate could become blocked and the system won’t work as well. The Grill2Go’s grate will accommodate about 12 hamburgers so there should be enough grilling space for two to possibly four adults. However, for RV, caravan and tailgate use, it’s the perfect take-away model – but only if you have access to an electricity supply or you’re able to use Traeger’s specialised power inverter.
The unique COBB design creates an oven heating effect when cooking with the Frying Pan and the Dome Lid closed. This allows for even circulation of heat and consistent temperature. Sign up for all the news you can use, including product launches, tasty recipes, your weekly grilling forecast, special offers, and the occasional deep cut. Yes, these grills are all portable, but that doesn’t mean they’ll all fit your transportation needs. If you’ll be tossing the grill in the back of a pickup truck, any of these models will work. But if you’ve got a conventional car, make sure the grill will fit your trunk’s unique size and shape.
Lastly, whether you’re tailgating or having a picnic at the park, one thing is certain; you want a swift and easy cleanup, and our portable grills deliver just that. These small appliances help you make a tasty meal anywhere, from the shore of a lake to your own backyard. weber charcoal grill They also lend additional firepower to your main grill when you’ve got a big cookout going. To help you select the right one, we tested the cooking capabilities of a range of grills and then ate everything we made, to make sure the fruits of our labor was up to snuff.
A 16.4-ounce propane tank attaches to the back of the grill with a sturdy, easy-to-secure attachment. It has two plastic temperature knobs on the front of the grill; one knob controls in the inner flame ring and the other controls the outer. The cast iron grates are easy to scrub clean with a grill brush and the drip pan removes so you can wash it before storing. This portable gas grill has been a Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab favorite for years.
The Casus grill can only be used once, of course, but it actually gets fairly hot in about five minutes and stays lit for over an hour. It also has enough space to cook three or four burgers, sausages, dogs, veggies or chicken. The big drawback with this nifty portable oven is its cooking capacity. weber q Since food has to be loaded into a tube, you can’t really cook many of the traditional barbecue meats such as ribs. Charcoal, with its inherent messiness, may not be ideal depending on your portable grill needs but this is a workhorse that will get the job done and last you a good while.
The Grill2Go latches tightly and keeps the lid, firebox, and grate from jostling during transport. Like the Weber models, this Char-Broil grill has a thick cast-aluminum body for even heat weber charcoal grill distribution. But unlike its Weber competitors, the Grill2Go is incapable of searing food beyond grill marks, because its perforated grate blocks a lot of ambient heat from the firebox.