For this reason, wood pellet grills are often permitted on patios or balconies — while gas and charcoal grills, which do use open flame for cooking, are prohibited. Cast-aluminum fireboxes are durable, corrosion resistant, and excellent at evenly absorbing and reflecting heat, so you have fewer hotspots. This means you don’t have to obsessively babysit your barbecued chicken to prevent excessive charring.
It weighs 75 pounds, making it by the far the heaviest grill I tested, but the double-handle carrying system makes it easy for two people to carry it. The problem is that the 13-inch grilling surface of the MiniMax can only grill for about four people. Once open, the outside carrying case becomes a hood to cover the grill and contain heat. In our testing, we grilled burgers, hot dogs, and bone-in chicken on the GoBQ, all of which culminated with the expected, delicious results. While the standard fare was quite easy, the chicken cooked over indirect heat required a little more manipulation of the charcoal, which wanted to settle to the middle of the basket. Nevertheless, once we sorted out how to strategically set the charcoal, we could reliably create an indirect heat zone.
The 320-square-inch grilling surface is big enough to grill for a crowd. It’ll still fit in the trunk of most cars, but it definitely takes up a considerable amount of space. I haven’t used the fancier models, but weber genesis 2 this basic four-serving one served me well for years. You can pull the grills out for easy cleaning, there’s a drip pan to catch all the grease, and if you’re not in the grilling mood, it doubles as a Panini press.
The two-piece grates are made of cast iron and coated with porcelain, covering three burners that yield 20,000 BTUs. The burners all sit under the solid center sections of the grates, which our bread test revealed to be the hottest area on the grill. You will need to carefully manage indirect heat when cooking thicker things like chicken on the bone—we kept it over the open grates around the edges of the grill.
This will let you get used to the short space between the charcoal and grates. The corners of rectangular grills have a tendency to collect ash and other residue, so you’ll probably have to spend a little more time than you like thoroughly cleaning this grill after each use. Carrying this grill to various different cookout sites is easier than ever thanks to the Tuck-N-Carry lid lock. With a name like “Jumbo Joe” at first glance this doesn’t exactly scream portable grill. Our team of barbecue experts has put these grills to the test to see how well they perform, and how portable they really are.
And worth noting you’ll also want two small propane tanks to get the whole grill lit. There’s also an adapter sold separately to rig it up to a full-sized tank if you prefer. Grill yourself silly no matter where summer takes you with a high-performance and highly portable grill. Folds portable bbq down to 17% of it’s volume, unfolds to become a complete grilling system WITH a lid. The GoBQ grill is the best gift you can give a foodie camper who loves all things grilled outdoors. It’s ideal for social distancing when you want to “Grill Away From it All” far from crowds.