However, the legs of the grill are somewhat flimsy, so you’ll want to use caution when setting up and cleaning. We were impressed with this grill’s performance during testing — it heated up to over 500 degrees in just 10 minutes, and it left nice sear marks and charring on the hamburgers and sausages. There was plenty of room on the cooking surface to spread food without crowding, but we found that the side drawer was a bit tricky to remove when it was time to clean the grill. While not necessarily the most travel-friendly, the Okahoma Joe’s Rambler Tabletop Charcoal Grill is an unbeatable option for your patio or even tailgating. This tabletop grill is one of the more bulky options we tested — it’s essentially a pared-down version of barrel-style charcoal grills—but it works great if you’re not planning to move it around too much.
We’ve also tested a slew of portable grills as part of our typical grill testing over the years. Each time we test, we use the same testing methodology and ingredients to make sure our results are comparable. We also update our tests as needed to ensure they’re still relevant and we’re keeping up with the Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet trends and latest innovations. Curious about which portable grills were worth buying, we tested seven popular models from trusted brands. If you’re searching for a gas grill you can bring on all your adventures that also performs well enough to be used at home, look no further than the Weber Q 2200.
It’s shaped like a traditional grill’s rectangular design, and its lid can be easily lifted back and rested on its hinges for easy access to the cooking space. In addition to performance, we test ease of use and score each grills on the types of features they have like shelves, storage space, amount of wheels, etc. We also ensured our winning portable grills could be transported easily by one person. We love that the lid, which has two vents that stay cool enough to adjust during cooking, stays put on the grill in the open position and has a large, oversized handle for easy check-ins.
Fresh corn cooks in about 15 minutes with a couple turns, which is perfect on a portable grill with limited fuel. As with other “full-size” options, the Traveler’s biggest flaw is… Traveling. Weighing nearly 50 pounds, you’ll want to keep it pretty close to your car or wherever you plan to store it. The grill has wheels, so it’s easy to move around, but it’s not great on unpaved roads or situations where you might need to carry it for a long stretch. The stylish, carbon-steel BergHOFF Leo Portable Tabletop Barbecue Grill is a piece of modern art.
If you want to splurge the Nomad Grill & Smoker is super portable, and has some great safety features that make it easy to grill just about anywhere. The Weber Q1200 is compact and light, the most convenient portable grill we tested. It gets the job done almost entirely through conduction—its single burner provides heat to a porcelain-coated cast-iron cooking grid that functions much like a 189-square-inch pan. With the lid down, you get reliable cooking as hot air circulates over the grid.
Portable grills cost anywhere from $50 for a simple Weber charcoal grill all the way up to $500 or more for fancier gas and propane grills with bells and whistles galore. My favorite portable grill, the Weber Q-1200, sits at about $259 but you can find it for less on sale. Most sturdy small grills should last you several years to a decade if the unit is cleaned, covered and cared for properly. Our ranking of heat output also considered each manufacturer’s BTU reporting, grill surface area, and lid sealing and construction.
One downside during assembly was the drip pan didn’t fit properly, which necessitated a small trim to get it to slide in. Out of the box, this can be powered by 1-pound gas canisters, but Weber does sell an attachment if you want to use 20-pound tanks. We also tested and recommend the Q 1200, which has 189 square inches of cooking space Expert Grill Combo Grills and a 8,500-BTU burner. The Grillster is an excellent option for searing steaks and other high-temperature cooking, but controlling the overall range on this rip-roaring grill is challenging. Unless our goal was blackened chicken or blistered peppers, we rarely found ourselves using anything other than the lowest gas setting.