We also had a few more flare-ups with the Grill2Go than with our other picks. We put all nine portable grills, gas and charcoal, through the same tests. We loaded the grates with 6-ounce burger patties and assessed the evenness of the heat, the temperature control, the searing performance, and any flare-ups. British thermal units are a measure of maximum heat output over the course of an hour. The output on portable gas grills ranges from 4,000 to over 13,000 Btu. But more heat alone doesn’t equate to better grilling performance, as a grill’s performance is based on a combination of output, design, and quality of materials.
However, if you are looking for a better price to quality ratio, you should look elsewhere. Considering the smoky flavor that the pellet grill delivers at a very affordable price point, I have to say that it offers great value for money from all aspects. Wear the right kind of clothing while grilling and ensure that loose ends of the dress or shirt do not come in contact with the flame. In addition, use long-handled tools that are specially designed for grilling food items.
Lining up grills side-by-side to test the backyard ultra-classics, hamburgers and portabella-burgers. Beneath those head-sized ribeyes you can see the glowing orange Solaire heating element. Some folks mentioned having trouble with assembly and misaligned parts in verified purchase reviews.
Portable grills tend to weigh anywhere from 2 pounds to a whopping 50 pounds, and that weight can affect portability. In our tests, steak and chicken cooked quickly and got nice char marks without any flare-ups. Ash falls through the coal holder holes onto the bottom of the grill for a neat grilling experience, weber genesis 2 and the stainless grill grate is small and easy to wash in your sink once you get home. It has two large carrying candles and latches on either side to hold all of the pieces in place. The bamboo lid doubles as a cutting board that rests on top of a plastic container where you can store grilling accessories.
It weighs 22 pounds and has a handle with a bar that fits over the top to keep the kettle and lid together for easy carrying. I tossed mine in the back of the car for trips to the lake and the park and it never tipped over. The ash catcher at the bottom makes cleaning less of a hassle by allowing you to dump the excess without removing the grill grates.
Next, we narrowed our selection to create a manageable yet comprehensive list of the best products available. We bought all these products at retail cost to allow us to conduct an extended, objectively honest, and comparative review. These review editors rigorously assessed these grills and distributed them to friends to gather a fresh perspective. In terms of cooking, it performed almost identically to the Traveler. But the Q2200 is a tabletop grill and it is so wide, even with the two side tables folded, that I wouldn’t want to carry it too far.
The porcelain-coated cast-iron grates reduce flare-ups by shielding the flames and channeling grease and drippings around them while still allowing ambient heat to brown between grill marks. In our tests, burgers from the Q 1200 had the most seared surface area of all the burgers we grilled, and more browning means better flavor. This superior grate is one of the big differences between the Q 1200 and our runner-up pick, the Char-Broil Grill2Go, whose perforated stainless-steel grate produced mostly lackluster browning. With 189 square inches of grilling area (17 by 12½ inches), the Weber Q 1200 has enough space to grill a full dinner for two or the main course for a small gathering.
It had the fewest hotspots of all the grills we tried, due in large part to the U-shaped burner, which evenly heated the grate. While the high heat setting perfectly seared burgers without burning, the Q 1200 also outperformed the competition at steady medium-low heat for items such as bone-in chicken and large sausage links. A great portable grill offers consistent heat, minimal flare-ups, a generous cooking area, and an easily totable design. We think the ideal capacity on a portable grill is enough to accommodate a full meal for two or a main course for a small crowd. Grills that evenly distribute the heat across the entire grate cook food more consistently. Extreme hotspots cause patchy charring and require you to babysit your dinner, and flare-ups are annoying and can make food taste like burnt oil.