A grill with telescoping legs is ideal in this situation, but if you have a tabletop grill, consider whether there will be a picnic table or other suitable surface to place it on. Finally, the beach is often windy, so you may want to look for a grill that has a wind guard—otherwise, the grill may struggle to maintain its temperature. Whether you’re an avid tailgater or off-roading enthusiast, the HitchFire Forge 15 is a worthwhile splurge for those who are always grilling on the go. This heavy-duty propane grill can be used on a table, but what makes it special is its included mount, which attaches to a 2-inch vehicle hitch. Once installed, you can drive, off-road, and cook with the grill mounted to the rear of your car. Our tester was truly impressed at how secure the HitchFire felt when mounted to her truck, and she said it never budged on a 350-mile drive.
The Cuisinart CCG-100 GrateLifter Charcoal Grill has a convertible cooking grate that lifts when you open the lid for easier access to the coal bed. Levers on the sides of the grill adjust to keep the grate in the up or down position. During our tests, one side of the grate would get stuck in portable bbq a different position than the other about a third of the time, forcing us to wrestle with hot metal. While the grill is hot, scrape the debris and stuck-on food from the hot grates with a wire grill brush. We prefer to do this when the grill is preheating and the embers are their hottest.
Without a lid is known as grilling or direct cooking, and you’ll need to keep an eye on the food as it’s hard and fast and there’s a danger of over cooking or burning the food very quickly. Indirect cooking under a lid is what purists call proper barbecuing – using convection currents and smoke to flavour and slow the cooking process. The LotusGrill works by creating a bellows effect that forces cool air over the charcoal, turning it into a raging inferno, albeit a safe one. Available in a range of cheerful colours, the LotusGrill is ideal for small patios, balconies, campsites, picnics and boats – its 12-inch grill is good for up to four hungry gannets.
This larger version of our pick offers more cooking area and higher heat output. We enlisted fresh bratwurst links to gauge each grill’s ability to handle a grate full of fatty meat. Food grilled over charcoal has that coveted backyard-grill smoky flavor.
A compact carrying case with an unsurpassed weight-to-grate ratio. Gas grills are extremely convenient, as they’re easy to start, heat up quickly, and hold a steady temperature. It’s only nine pounds — the lightest of any on this list — and with the fitted carrying case can be slung right over your shoulder and taken out for grilling on the go.
The 300-square-inches of rectangular cooking area can fit about ten burger patties at a time, and the grill folds down to make it easy to store and wheel to tailgating events. The grill’s four vents promoted air flow suitable for direct or indirect heat cooking methods, and the grill grate hinged in half to allow plenty of access to the coals underneath. weber genesis 2 The portable design of the Char-Broil Grill2Go X200 was spot-on. The lid locks shut, and it’s light enough to carry it by the handle from place to place. Other than that, your money would be better spent on a better portable gas grill. We didn’t love the infrared grates, which got way too hot to cook the chicken through without burning it on the outside.