The 18 x 13-inch enameled, cast-iron grate can fit 12 burgers with room to flip them—more than enough for a meal or small gathering. Even though the Jumbo Joe isn’t the smallest or most compact charcoal grill we tested, it is lightweight and easy to carry. The lid-locking metal handle tightly holds the grill together for transport and pulls double duty as a convenient lid holder. 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.
The tightly fitting vents are tough to adjust without gloves, and it takes time to skillfully manage these adjustments for perfect airflow. But we can assure you that with practice, this portable grill can allow you to master the art of cooking over an open flame and produce delicious food in the process, even on the go. Although this portable powerhouse reaches top temperatures with ease, weber q it is more difficult to learn how to harness the heat of the grill surface for foods that require more low-and-slow cooking. But if you hope to regularly grill up delicious meals while on the road, the Weber Q 1200 is an accessible portable grill that is sure to appeal to both novice cooks and professional chefs alike. Cook six burgers at once on this portable charcoal grill from Weber.
Though the grill weighs a hefty 30 pounds, the comfortable side handles make it easy to carry. This handsome, lightweight propane-powered grill has modern Scandinavian design cues like a wood-faced handle, stainless steel folding legs, and boxy lid with triangular vent holes. The 16×9-inch grilling surface is made from a non-stick ceramic and rests over a stainless drip tray, both easily removable for washing. An integrated Piezo ignitor blasts off a powerful 8,500 Btus of indirect, hot dog-roasting heat. Overall, Ginevra recommends looking for a heavy duty grill with a steel grilling surface, which brought us to this small propane gas table-top grill.
These point you in the direction of a small, sheet-metal kettle or 16.4-ounce propane model. If durability is your sole criteria and not weight, look at the grill’s build and features that contribute to longevity. Perhaps a cast-iron hibachi is your best choice or maybe it’s a simple charcoal grill built from sheet metal. In our tests, the Jumbo Joe produced the best seared burgers, barbecued chicken, and grilled bratwurst. The two adjustable vents, in the lid and firebox, allowed the quickest and easiest temperature control of all the grills we tested. Even after loading the Jumbo Joe with a full chimney starter’s worth of red-hot embers , we could still tamp down the temperature to medium heat.
And it took us less than a minute to set up its three pieces, including a wood top, grill body with handle, and base. The top and base combine to form an attractive prep surface that clips alongside the grill. The single 9,000-BTU burner is fueled by a 16-ounce propane canister that conveniently stores in the base. Being a single-burner grill, the Venture made it a little tricky to manage heat when cooking thicker meats like bone-in chicken, weber genesis 2 as it’s hard to get away from the heat for longer, indirect cooking. 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. Generally, we found it relatively easy to grill thinner foods—this is ideal for cooking burgers, hot dogs, boneless chicken, or fish at an intimate meal some place special or tailgating at the game.
And while it’s size may have made it bulky and hard to transport, Weber’s round, kettle design kept it from being intimidating. This somewhat simple, unassuming grill turned out to be the sleeper in our test. We were really impressed by how easy it was to cook with either direct or indirect heat. The charcoal tray is adjustable, hanging from a ladder rack that can quickly raise or lower the coals as needed.
I am definitely going to ask the store employees about all of the things you mentioned. If I hadn’t read this article, I probably would’ve gotten a much pricier grill even though we have a small family and we have only one or two barbecue cookouts a month. It also comes with stainless folding shelves, a temperature gauge, and a removable grease drip tray. Measuring weber genesis 2 20 x 28 x 13”, its one piece welded grill base is porcelain coated steel, and this made in China model can convert to 20 lb. It will help to hold the heat within the cooking area, and it conducts the heat into the food for cooking – which leaves the characteristic char marks. But the BTU rating doesn’t get the final say in determining how hot the model will get.