Sturdy, Smokeless Portable BBQ Grill for Outdoor Party

It should be easy to get underneath those burgers and flip them over. All products featured on Epicurious are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Essentially an oversize version of Weber’s classic 14-inch Smokey Joe grill, the Jumbo Joe expands the cooking surface to the size of a standard charcoal grill while remaining quite portable. Despite being bigger, the Jumbo Joe has a lot in common with its smaller sibling. Charcoal briquette weber charcoal grill disposal is another drawback of portable charcoal grills. You’ll have to budget time to let the charcoals cool before you can safely dispose of them, and find a safe place to put them. The BergHOFF Steel Tabletop BBQ is the perfect portable grill for hosting in your own backyard.

portable bbq

Three grills were competing for Best Overall, and they were all in the Weber Q Series. Bahr owns a Q1000 that he came to almost by accident, receiving it from his mother, who won it as a prize. Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter.

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, portable bbq 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.

Although we wouldn’t want the Grill2Go as a primary patio grill, it’s a decent dedicated portable for camping and tailgating. Char-Broil’s five-year warranty covers the burners, lid, and firebox. While all the grills on this list are portable to some degree, weber q certain models are decidedly more portable than others. The NomadiQ portable propane grill folds up into a case the size of a small bag, with easy-grab handles. It also weighs just 12 pounds, making it the best truly portable gas grill I tested.

I wanted to love this model because the concept is great but it does have some flaws. For one, it feels a little bit cheap and I read in several reviews that it can rust and peel over time. Also, the grill grates are made of thin stainless steel whereas I would have preferred nonstick ceramic or iron.

We found that stainless steel solid grates with small perforations don’t let enough ambient heat through to brown the food properly. Portable grills are also great for smaller outdoor spaces that simply can’t fit normal grills. For instance, apartments that don’t allow gas grills may still accommodate portable electric grills. BBQGuys carries weber genesis 2 grills from some of the most popular grills brands such as Traeger, Solaire, and TEC, so you can rest easy knowing you’ve chosen a quality grill. If your idea of portable grilling involves being on the deck of your boat amid a salty ocean breeze, there’s no better option than Magma marine gas grills. They’re built with #8 high polished 304, 18-8 stainless steel, which is ideal for resisting the extra corrosion brought on by saltwater exposure.