Best Portable Grill of 2022 Tested by GearLab

Our tester did find the grill was a bit wobbly at its full height, but it put great sear marks on a variety of food with minimal sticking. Easy, convenient and efficient grilling without the hassle of gas or charcoal. Our R&D department develops high-quality, fairly priced grilling equipment.

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. If you have the space for something bigger, check out our guide to full-size charcoal grills. For more backyard-grilling options, check out our guide to full-size gas grills. In general, a charcoal grill and bags of briquets cost less than a gas grill and propane canisters. 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.

To illustrate this, we cooked plain white bread and photographed the result to help visualize the distribution of heat across these grill tops. We also took into consideration whether the lid was big enough for closed grilling, how easy the grease trap was to use, remove, and clean, and if the regulator provided a snug or loose fit. While the all-natural weber genesis 2 allure of charcoal might be viewed as a more sustainable option than propane, these grills tend to burn through coals pretty quickly. This is an important factor to consider when choosing a grill, particularly considering the cost of replacement fuel. You don’t get this uncompromising high-heat cooking performance without some drawbacks.

portable bbq

That’s because the RoadTrip folds flat and has wheels on one end, allowing it to roll behind the user like a piece of airline luggage. However, we should note that lifting it into the car trunk and converting it from cart form to grill form can be awkward without two people. Portable grills pack the basic weber charcoal grill functionalities of their standard counterparts into a more compact design, but reduced size and price tag don’t necessarily indicate reduced quality. Whether you’re craving juicy burgers, hot dogs, seasoned vegetables, or some other barbecue favorite, there’s a portable grill to meet your needs.

This grill folds up like a suitcase, and you can carry it with one hand. We stand behind our products and ensure every NOMAD interaction is a great experience. The Spruce Eats uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Grills in this category should be light, small, and comfortable enough to carry from a car into a park or campground. If you’re planning a beach BBQ, there are a few factors weber q you’ll want to consider when choosing a grill. First, it will be difficult to wheel or drag a grill through sand, so opt for a compact model that’s light enough to carry.

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. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a portable grill that’s easier to tote around town than the Weber Go-Anywhere Gas Grill. The top-rated design weighs 13.5 pounds and features push-start ignition as well as porcelain-enameled grates specifically designed to combat flare-ups while grilling. Each Go-Anywhere grill also features a glossy porcelain-enamel lid and bowl to ensure durability on all your adventures. Time Magazine called the COBB portable BBQ grill one of the best inventions of the year. Our ranking of heat output also considered each manufacturer’s BTU reporting, grill surface area, and lid sealing and construction.