Whether it’s the salty sweetness on that lightly charred corn or the rich smoothness of smoked meat, warm weather begs us to get outside and light a fire. This grill is a good starter model for someone, but the construction is pretty shaky, and the heat is very inconsistent, with multiple hot and cold spots across the grill. As with all new grills start it and let it get hot for about 20 minutes to burn off all the oil and grease that is used during the manufacturing process. Most of the lower ratings are in my opinion from people who did not read the specifications of this grill too well.
After testing this in our Lab and on an apartment patio, the Weber Q 1400 Electric Grill is one of the best tabletop electric grills around. The 189 square inches of cooking area is enough space for weber portable grill half-dozen burgers, with the cast aluminum lid and body retaining heat throughout your barbecue. When it’s time to move the grill around, a large grip handle and ergonomic side handles make it easy.
Conversely, don’t plan on cooking slow and low with this; it’s a “sear things and be done” sort of grill. Finding a grill that fits your cooking style is essential, as is something that fits your available outdoor cooking space. A large grill in a small area presents dangers from heat contact and potential fire hazards and will ultimately become irritating for the user due to space occupied and working around the bulk of a larger grill. For a portable grill, consider weight, too, as transporting and carrying it can be an issue. The enamel-coated cast-iron grates add significantly to the grill’s overall weight, but they also contribute to minimal sticking throughout testing. There were a few flare-ups during the tests, mostly when first introducing oil or fat, but they extinguished quickly without adverse effects on the food.
Simply place the water over the grill’s burner and turn it on high—if you’re able to shut the grill’s lid over it, you’ll be able to speed up the process. If you can’t shut the lid, it will take significantly longer, but the water will eventually reach its boiling point. She’s an expert on all things home, including kitchen appliances, grills, and other cooking gadgets. If you can’t face the prospect of going without your Big Green Egg for a weekend, the MiniMax Big Green Egg is much smaller, but it still isn’t terribly portable.
For this list, we selected the top-performing grills under $300. Starting with assembly, we rated the difficulty of assembly and the clarity of the instructions on a scale of one to five. We then judged the sturdiness, evenness of heat distribution, and overall subjective impression on the same scale. Aside from the aforementioned grates, the Lumin Compact ships with two stainless steel trays – one for containing water for steaming or wood chips for smoking, the other for placing the ingredients.
It also has a built-in thermometer that’s reasonably accurate, but I still suggest getting a separate instant-read thermometer. While slow-cooking on the Takibi would be challenging, you can at least adjust the grill height to control temperature. My only real complaint is that without a lid you can’t smother your remaining charcoal and reuse it, but in most cases when the food is done I load up the Takibi with firewood and enjoy it as a fire pit. Because it’s a pop-up model, there are a few pieces to fit together, but the instructions are pretty simple, and attaching the propane bottle is as easy as it should be. It’s not a large grill, but we fit 10 of the allotted 12 burgers on without significantly overcrowding it, and 12 large onion slices in the test previous to that.
The base comes off and features a flip-out propane bottle holder (we discourage you from using those; see why below) as well as serving as a place to cut. The integrated bamboo cutting board fits on weber charcoal grill top of the base, which gives you somewhere to prep your meal even if there’s no picnic table around. A BTU is the measure of energy necessary to raise 1 pound of water (essentially 1 pint) by 1°F.
All in all, I’d say all three tests were a resounding success and I might even consider switching over to electric when I’m not using my trusty pellet grill. When it comes to recommending reputable barbecue brands, I usually alight on three main players – Weber, Broil King and Napoleon. In my experience, these three manufacturers consistently produce some of the best performing and most robust barbecues you can buy.