I’ve got to say, the results were really impressive – the fish was perfectly cooked and it definitely had a light texture and very pleasant smokey flavour. Despite its diminutive size, the Lumin Compact is a versatile piece of kit that can grill, sear, smoke, steam and warm. For its heat source, it uses a simple old-fashioned oven-style heating element that weaves a path directly beneath the two-part high-quality cast-iron grilling grates. Camryn Rabideau is a freelance writer and product tester for The Spruce Eats who’s an expert on all things grilling. She’s personally tested several grills and smokers, including our top pick for a portable grill, the Weber Q2200 Liquid Propane Grill, and the splurge-worthy HitchFire Forge 15.
Keep in mind that this is a little different than normal grilling, since it cooks from the top and bottom, which means your food cooks faster. This will ensure that your food doesn’t stick to the grill plates. Thanks to its dual-vent system (one at the bottom, one at the top), you get the same fine-grained level of temperature weber charcoal grill control you’ll find in Weber’s full-size kettles. The RoadTrip is another portable grill that suffers from significant temperature inconsistencies on the grill, which, unfortunately, knock it out of the running. Since the burners are in the middle and not on the side I think indirect grilling is not easy on this grill.
Although with just the middle burner turned on and the food moved to the back or the front of the grill you might consider this indirect grilling. However most of the time a grill is used for hamburgers, hot dogs, or chicken or grilling steak. The Q3200 is considered a high-end grill not because of the price but because of the quality. Many people look for a quality grill that is why we did high-end grill reviews for if you are looking for a different grill.
My next experiment involved smoking a salmon fillet so I followed the instructions and replaced the left-hand grill top with the smoking tray and filled it with wood chips. Why Weber suggest the left side and not the right I don’t know – I mean it’s not weber gas grill as if the left side of the heating element is a different temperature to the right. But anyway, Weber recommend starting on full heat for about 5 minutes to get the chips smoking and then reducing the temperature by turning the dial to the smoke icon.
You also have the choice between the colors white and red for the lid. This Weber grill model has been and still is a very popular model. The 2 stainless steel burners make it very easy to use for many temperature settings. They had genuine barbecue flavour – and without the extra faff that charcoal and gas brings to the table.