If your backyard ain’t so big (maybe it’s a balcony) or you plan to do some cooking on the go this summer, you might be looking for the best portable grill or small grill for your summer escapades. There are some truly excellent portable grills available in 2022 with models to fit every type of griller at nearly any budget. Whether it’s a small charcoal grill or an ultraportable gas grill to take on hikes, to music festivals and evening beach hangs, we’ve tested over a dozen to find the best in class. For the size and price, it may be tough to find a compact grill more powerful than the Cuisinart Grillster.
This portable grill comes with a 10-year warranty, and it’s the clear choice for anyone who loves Weber’s full-size kettle grill. Gas grills are extremely convenient, as they’re easy to start, heat up quickly, and hold a steady temperature, and the Weber Q2200 Propane Gas Grill is our weber genesis 2 top choice for a portable option. Our tester found this model easy to use, conveniently designed for cooking at a tailgate or camping, and worthy of everyday home grilling as well. Burgers, hot dogs, steaks, and veggies all turned out great and our tester experienced no flareups.
In our tests, burgers from the Q 1200 had the most seared surface area of all the burgers we grilled, and more browning means better flavor. This superior grate is one of the big differences between the Q 1200 and our runner-up pick, the Char-Broil Grill2Go, whose perforated stainless-steel grate produced mostly lackluster browning. Of all the portable propane grills we tested, the Weber Q 1200 grilled foods the most consistently. Char-Broil’s Grill2Go x200 is a super-portable, fun little sizzler made of heavy, rust-proof cast aluminum. Char-Broil’s TRU-Infrared design produces searing heat while reducing fuel consumption. A 16 ounce LP gas canister is enough to keep you flipping burgers for hours.
Often, we grill after hours on a Friday while we’re also trying to set up a tent, inflate a mattress, and wrangle hungry children. Thanks to its dual-vent system , you get the same fine-grained level of temperature control you’ll find in Weber’s full-size kettles. This model was engineered with boaters in mind so if you’re setting sail this summer, you might give the pricey Magma a closer look. And weber genesis 2 vegetables on each to see how the portable grills performed in their most critical of duties. At under 10,000 BTUs, it didn’t get quite as screaming hot as my top pick — the Weber Q — but it is decidedly more compact and easier to transport. Things worth considering when it comes to size are where you’re going to use the grill, how many people you’re cooking for, and how you’ll get it there.
The Char-Broil Grill2Go’s best features are its compactness and its easy-to-carry design. Two clips in the front hold the whole unit tightly together, and you can effortlessly carry the whole thing with one hand . The Q 1200’s small fold-out side tables are handy for keeping grill tools within reach, though we wouldn’t feel confident resting a large tray brimming with meat or other heavy things on them.
Grills in this category should be light, small, and comfortable enough to carry from a car into a park or campground. With its compact design, this portable grill fits right into a storage cabinet in your kitchen. In addition weber genesis 2 our Pitmaster Club is a huge thriving community of cooks who love to share. All text, recipes, photos, and computer code are owned by Meathead’s AmazingRibs.com and protected by US copyright law unless otherwise noted.
Two spacious tables provide extra space for prepping and serving, while the ergonomic side handles ensure easy transport. Because the grill has cast-iron grates, our tester did think it was a bit heavy, weighing over 43 pounds, but it’s a small sacrifice if you want a grill that’s extremely reliable and simple to operate. But, crucially, the GoBQ also performed quite well during the cooking tests.
Grills that evenly distribute the heat across the entire grate cook food more consistently. Extreme hotspots cause patchy charring and require you to babysit your dinner, and flare-ups are annoying and can make food taste like burnt oil. If you want a more compact propane grill, the Char-Broil Portable Grill2Go X200 Gas Grill is designed for one-handed toting. This portable grill is slightly larger than a briefcase and keeps the lid, grate, and firebox tightly packed for transporting. In our tests, the Grill2Go produced intense heat that was ideal for searing steaks but had us battling some flare-ups when cooking chicken pieces.
I checked the grill every 20 minutes and was able to keep it at that temperature on less than a full chimney of charcoal. Is there a portable grill that works as well as a full-size one? That said, most of the time when I hit the road I grab Weber’s Connect Smart Hub ($100).