But if you want a pellet grill for tailgating or base camping, this is still your best option. Small barbecues come in different sizes and can be used for many purposes. One of the best options is portable barQues on the market, as they are more portable and can be used for many events.
Over the past seven years, our experts have bought more than 25 of the best portable grills to test side-by-side. This updated review highlights 15 of the top options to help you cook up delicious meals, even while on the road. We design objective tests weber charcoal grill to evaluate important features like output power and then back up those assessments with real-world cooking experience. We’ve tested these grills at tailgate parties, backyard BBQs, picnics, and on camping trips, cooking hundreds of meals to date.
We stand behind our products and ensure every NOMAD interaction is a great experience. Burns way hotter, lasts much longer, and produces less ash than just about every other charcoal I’ve tried. Sign up for savings and product announcements from the best BBQ experts in town. The shallow body of the Cuisinart All Food Roll-Away results in a frustrating lack of wind resistance.
The flame from the pellet fire heats a large plate that simultaneously distributes heat and directs grease to the grease bucket. There’s no need to worry about having to add coals or switch out propane canisters with the Camp Chef Portable Pellet – you can simply top the pellet hopper off while the grill is in operation. Portable charcoal stoves and barcoal stoves are the perfect choice for those who want to use them in a variety of ways.
We also took into account how simple or challenging each contender was to clean. 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.
Not only is the ignitor electric, but so is the auger that feels pellets from the hopper into the grill, which means that this grill needs to be plugged into an AC outlet. If you’re at home, in an RV, or have a decent power bank, this isn’t much of an issue. But for folks that like to go completely off-grid, this model isn’t going to work weber charcoal grill for you. Much like charcoal grills, pellet grills take some time before they’re ready for cooking and the Camp Chef Portable Pellet takes a while to warm up. Lastly, this model is really heavy compared to most of the portable grills in our review. The wheels are helpful, but it’s not very fun to drag this grill very far from your vehicle.
This can be remedied by doing away with this disposable part or just by putting a rock in it. Between the main grill and the upper deck, the Camp Chef Portable Pellet has tons of cooking space. The legs on the Portable Pellet fold up, but the process is not as easy as some of the other wheeled models we’ve tested. The Camp Chef Portable Pellet has two digital meat probes that display a live view of your food’s internal temperature.
Traditionally, they are not the type of grill that you’d want to tote along with you on an RV trip or to tailgate the big game, but the Camp Chef Portable Pellet changes that. With a bit of clever design, this model collapses to a size that can be wheeled around and transported into spaces that are a fraction of the size of where most pellet grills can fit. The controls for this grill are digital, allowing you to select the exact temperature you need for the cut you’re cooking.
To test the distribution of heat across a grill, we grilled different food types in different corners of the grill. You don’t get this uncompromising high-heat cooking performance without some drawbacks. First, the grill top is small, with space for only one or two steaks on it at a time. Finally — and this is the most significant issue — the low-heat performance is virtually nonexistent.