Instead of using a traditional vent set-up, the Solo Stove uses their fire pit’s signature 360° Airflow technology to create convection airflow inside the grill. That surrounds portable bbq the food on the grill with hot air, cooking it more quickly. The package also comes with grill tools , four pounds of all-natural charcoal briquettes, and four fire starters.
If you want a more compact propane grill, the Char-Broil Portable Grill2Go X200 Gas Grill is designed for one-handed toting. This portable grill is slightly larger than a briefcase and keeps the lid, grate, and firebox tightly packed for transporting. In our tests, the Grill2Go produced intense heat that was ideal for searing steaks but had us battling some flare-ups when cooking chicken pieces.
Its heavy-duty cast-aluminum firebox was the best at evenly absorbing and reflecting heat, providing the most consistent grilling of all the portables we tested. The Q 1200’s design caused the fewest flare-ups of any model we tried, thanks to porcelain-coated cast-iron grates with built-in channels that helped keep grease and drippings away from the flames. An electric push-button ignition and easy-to-read heat-control dial make the Q 1200 simple to start and adjust. Though the grill weighs a hefty 30 pounds, the comfortable side handles make it easy to carry. We’ve been testing grills for decades in the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliance and Culinary Innovation Lab. We’ve tested more than 60 grills, including gas grills, charcoal grills, pellet grills and smokers and more.
Plus, our tester found the grill easily reached high temperatures with both burners running, delivering plenty of heat for cooking all types of food. Strictly speaking, the Firedisc isn’t a grill—it’s a portable outdoor cooker. The 22-inch “disc” sits on a sturdy, two-piece stand made of thick steel bar stock. The pieces come apart without tools, lay flat, and easily slide in the back of a car or truck. We prepared burgers and marinated chicken on the bone in our test unit.
The damper on top allows for fine management of the heat, and a large, easy-to-read thermometer made monitoring the temperature simple. As far as portability, this table-top grill doesn’t break down to take up less space—what you see is what you get, and it might be difficult to transport in smaller cars. That might seem a tad heavy, but it has cast iron grill weber q grates and is fabricated from thick-gauge steel, instead of cheap stamped sheet metal. It’s built to last, though we wouldn’t suggest hiking into the woods with it. With 189 square inches of cooking surface, this grill was not the biggest on the list, but it’s plenty big enough to cook burgers, chicken, fish, and veggies for a group of six hungry people.
There’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, so you can keep tabs on your cook from anywhere. If flavor is your only criterion, I would argue that charcoal is superior to propane gas. Often, we grill after hours on a Friday while we’re also trying to set up a tent, inflate a mattress, and wrangle hungry children.
But whether the wheels make it tough going on beach sand is open for debate. Based in Dallas, Texas, Coyote Outdoor Living specializes in the design, development, and production of high quality outdoor kitchen equipment. After testing more than 90 tools from spatulas to tongs to grill gloves and more, we have recommendations for everything you need to have an amazing barbecue. Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd.