That made it impossible to achieve a dark brown crust on our burger patty, though our burger was still juicy and tasty. Its large clamshell lid circulated heat well, resulting in evenly cooked chicken and veggie kabobs. Portable wood pellet grills have a few major advantages over portable charcoal or gas grills. Wood pellet grills don’t have an open flame, so there’s no risk portable bbq of dangerous flare-ups. 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. Preventing grease and fire contact is especially important since the cooking grates on portable gas grills sit very close to the heating element (usually a 1- to 1½-inch clearance).
Two side tables are convenient for holding tools, condiments, or plates. The push-button ignition system provides easy lighting, and the grill’s cooking area is enough to feed a family or group without overcrowding. When the stand is folded, the wheels can still be used to maneuver the grill from the car to the cook site.
Next, we fired up the grills and did a quick, but thorough, evaluation of cooking-surface temperature. For gas grills, we used slices of white bread to cover the grilling surfaces to identify uneven heating. For charcoal grills, we used a glowing bed of charcoal directly underneath food, and then placed bricks to one side to see how well the grill body distributed heat. We portable bbq also noted if it was easy to load up and move charcoal around inside the grill, and whether vents provided sufficient airflow. 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.
You already have yoursunscreen, swimsuits,beach chairs and umbrellas ready for a day at the beach or a camping trip. Still, there’s something about the long summer days and clear skies that makes us want to grill portable bbq outdoors. Even though the Weber Q 1200 neatly folds up (albeit into a not-so-compact package), the lack of a lid latch is perhaps more annoying than anything when considering the portability of this grill.
The Jumbo Joe’s 18-inch-diameter cooking surface is enough to grill a complete meal for two or the main course for a small party . We also like the Jumbo Joe’s tripod base, which automatically stabilizes on uneven terrain. The simple ash catcher is a nice touch and keeps hot embers from falling on the ground. And the heat-resistant lid handle weber genesis 2 stays cool enough to grasp without a towel or oven mitt. While these features were impressive, the Pit Boss Grills had a harder time heating up that large cooking surface. Whereas other portable gas grills we tested reached temperatures above 500 degrees Fahrenheit, this grill could only maintain cooking surface temperatures in the mid 400s.