From Weber camping grills to tabletop grills, shop a variety of grill sizes and styles to find your perfect portable gas grill at Ace Hardware today. The fan did indeed cut down on smoke blowing in my eyes and both the charcoal and wood burned nicely giving me both food and then warmth after dinner as I sipped a nightcap. It also functioned well as a grill with good ventilation to keep the coals hot — although the cooking capacity is on the small side. The Cuisinart gas grill is definitely lighter and a bit more portable than the Weber. It also feels slightly less sturdy while grilling, but is not flimsy by any means. At just over $100, it is the best portable grill on a budget — especially if you don’t plan to use it more than a handful of times per summer.
The Good-One Open Range is dramatically different from a traditional offset smoker. Napoleon’s 22″ Pro Cart Charcoal Kettle Grill puts a few spins on the familiar kettle design. In fact, the hinged lid with a handle on the front, spins in a rotary motion 180 degrees.
The split Y propane hose creates two temperature-controlled cooking zones, which is unique considering that most portable gas grills only have one temperature control knob. There were a lot of things to like about the Fire Sense HotSpot Notebook. It folds down completely flat and portable bbq includes storage space inside for the three-hinged grill grate. Not only that, but it’s available for a fraction of the price as the other portable grills. It’s super easy to set up, and although the stainless steel grate was slightly uneven, it worked well enough for our liking.
It’s also nice-looking with flare-out trays to hold your plates and grilling tools, plus an ergonomic design. Despite its sturdy build, the Q-1200 is still light and limber enough for a camping grill to take on a camping trip or for one person to carry with relative ease. This grill, like all on the list, can use any small propane tank sold at most camping or hardware stores. Preventing grease and fire contact is especially important since the cooking grates on portable gas grills sit very close to the heating element (usually a 1- to 1½-inch clearance). Steel inserts that sit over the flame ports can help, as can a cleverly designed grilling grate that channels grease away from the fire.
And since the spacious firebox fits a full chimney starter’s worth of coals, you can get two or three rounds of grilling per load. We put all nine portable grills, gas and charcoal, through the same tests. We loaded the grates with 6-ounce burger patties and assessed the evenness of the heat, the temperature control, the searing performance, and any flare-ups.
Warm weather is still a ways off for many of us, but this is time of year when, like a groundhog, the grill starts to poke out of the snow and show its rusty, neglected self. If you’re in need of a new grill this year, here’s our guide to the very best portable grills. We’ve researched and tested dozens of portable grills to see which can brat the best. It was smaller than most of the grills, maxing out at four burgers.
This solar oven requires no charcoal, propane or any fuel source (hooray for the environment!) and is super light and transportable. It’s a perfect camping cooker except you do need sunlight for this to function so I wouldn’t rely solely on this for eating if you’re heading into the woods for an extended period. We tested more than a dozen small and compact models to find the best portable grill for all your camping trips, tailgates and blazing beach barbecues. It’s big enough to roast a chicken, sear a couple of large steaks at a time, or fit about six 12-inch skewers. But if you’re doing meat and veggies for a family of four, you’re going to be cooking in batches. Most meats need to rest when they’re done cooking anyway, giving you time to do your veggies.
One thing to love about this model, however, is the damper adjustments that allow you to control airflow and, in turn, the heat for more precise grilling. The Akorn Jr. charcoal grill got hotter than any other grill I tested, which is not surprising since charcoal grills often do. The shape and style of this grill make it very good for heat retention, heat distribution and evenness of grilling.
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. The GoBQ grill is the best gift you can give a foodie camper who loves all things grilled outdoors. It’s ideal for social distancing when you want to “Grill Away From it All” far from crowds.
It also means you’ll need access to an electrical outlet, so keep that in mind before picking up a portable pellet grill. Pellet grills are usually used at low temperatures to smoke meat, but they can also be used at higher temperatures. Most manufacturers cap out between 400°F and 500°F, which is comparable to cooking over gas but the grill won’t get quite as hot as cooking over charcoal. They also often have heat deflector plates that prevent direct searing and grill marks. After assembling each of the grills, my goal was to assess the size of each grill’s cooking surface, as well as its weight and shape, fuel type , ease of transport, and overall performance. Summers are meant for slinging burgers and hotdogs on the grill, but sometimes you may not have the space or budget to invest in a full-size grill.