We also had a few more flare-ups with the Grill2Go than with our other picks. Of all the portable propane grills we tested, the Weber Q 1200 grilled foods the most consistently, with a cast-aluminum firebox that evenly held and reflected heat throughout. It had the fewest hotspots of all the weber q 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.
It had the same solid construction, the same easy-to-work-with grates, and it even had a chimney vent on top that provided excellent temperature control. The charcoal basket was on adjustable hooks, so I could bring it closer or further from the grates depending on how hot I wanted them. But the things that made the Rambler a great grill are also the things that made it harder to move. Carrying it two blocks was not impossible (and considering the quality of the grill, it may be an effort worth undertaking) but it required more exertion than any of the other charcoal grills. It also required more assembly of the wrench and screwdriver type, though it still only took about 30 minutes. The value of your portable grill depends on your cooking needs and your intended usage.
The igniter works well and, once lit, the grill got hot, reaching its advertised 500 degrees Fahrenheit after just 15 minutes with the lid closed. The flame is easy to control and keeps a consistent temperature throughout cooking, even when grilling with the flame portable bbq turned low. When we tested using battery power, with the fan set on medium speed, we were able to grill for about five hours. The grill features a porcelain-coated, cast-iron cooking grate that helps provide even heat—and which we found very easy to clean.
The side and top handles are made from custom molded heat resistant glass reinforced nylon. The ergonomic design provides easy handling, and special holes added to hang GoBQ portable grilling tools (which are in development!). If you want portable charcoal grilling in a truly portable package, this is the best grill to buy. Give your picnic pals the same experience with Heston’s natty BBQ box. Neat and tidy by design, the bamboo lid doubles up as a prep board, with a storage tray beneath.
Being a single-burner grill, the Venture made it a little tricky to manage heat when cooking thicker meats like bone-in chicken, as it’s hard to get away from the heat for longer, indirect cooking. We set the burner on low for the 100 percent beef burgers we grilled, flipped them once, and then turned up the heat to imprint sear lines from the cast-iron grate. Generally, we found it relatively easy to grill thinner foods and, even better, convenient to turn on and off as needed over the course of an afternoon. Traeger wood pellet grills offer precise temperature control that gas and charcoal simply can’t match.
Controlling the temperature in a charcoal grill is all about vent placement, since you can’t turn coal heat down. But vents are also important for the airflow required to keep your coals lit. We found that a vent in the top of the lid and another in the belly of the firebox created the best air circulation.
Camp Chef’s Barbecue Grill Box add-on includes convenient features such as a built-in thermometer, hinged lid, and easy to clean cast iron grate. In our test, the grill ran hot and quickly cooked chicken and steaks. If you’re searching for a gas grill you can bring on all your adventures that also performs well enough to be used at home, look no further than the Weber Q 2200. This portable grill has everything you need to cook up delicious meals, including 280 square inches of cooking space and two folding work tables to make food prep quick and easy. We tried it out, at home and on the road, to grill hot dogs, steaks, and veggies and were impressed with the final results each time. The Q 1200 remains at the top of our list of tabletop gas grills because it packs the performance of larger grills into a small form.
A Traeger wood pellet grill offers the best combination of portability, versatility, safety, and ease of use for car camping and RV-ing. Even if you don’t have your own outdoor space, a portable grill can let you turn a campground or parking lot into your personal outdoor kitchen. The liquid propane canisters are also disposable, so they create a lot of waste for not much cooking time.