The Jumbo Joe’s 18-inch-diameter cooking surface is enough to grill a complete meal for two or the main course for a small party . We also like the Jumbo Joe’s tripod base, which automatically stabilizes Blackstone Adventure on uneven terrain. The simple ash catcher is a nice touch and keeps hot embers from falling on the ground. And the heat-resistant lid handle stays cool enough to grasp without a towel or oven mitt.
He created About.com’s Meat and Wild Game Cooking website and published hundreds of recipes, interviews, cookbook reviews and blog posts about food trends. Gene is also a professional magician, and when he’s not writing for Your Best Digs, he’s performing at the World Famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. At half the price of the Weber we tested, the Char-Broil – Performance is a fantastic value for this well-made and sturdy grill that we believe will last you several grilling seasons. A couple of minor design flaws — a misplaced temperature gauge, for one — aren’t deal-breakers. The Char-Broil – Performance seared steak and burgers to perfection and slow-cooked chicken so it had juicy meat and crispy skin.
E tested three top-rated gas grills and chose Char-Broil – Performance as the best gas grill for the price. The five-burner Char-Broil performed identically to the excellent Weber Spirit II – E-310, which is twice as expensive. The Char-Broil gave us perfectly seared and evenly cooked steaks and juicy burgers and chicken. But if you want to upgrade, then the Weber’s superb build quality and impressive ignition and grease-management technology are worth the increased cost.
The carrying case for the Char-Broil Grill2Go isn’t weatherproof, but you can use a heavy-duty contractor-style garbage bag or a tarp for protection. The firebox cools quickly, and you can pack away your grill without having to smolder embers or dump ashes. This grill folds up like a suitcase, and you can carry it with one hand. Here’s Blackstone Adventure our complete guide on how to use a charcoal chimney starter, why you should use it, and how to make sure you’re safe doing so. Thanks to the openings on the Performance Burner lid, you can also attach an electric rotisserie to the grill. If these surfaces have baked-on deposits, then you can use an abrasive plastic pad to clean them.
The 4 burner char broil gas grill is a well-built gas grill with four stainless steel burners that deliver 36,000 BTUs of heating power. From there, twin knobs let you control flame height to give you access to precise temperature control. Cooking Hamburgers, ribs, hot dogs, or even fish (if you’re into that) should be easy on this model. Although, for more even cooking, check out our review of the Camp Chef flat-top grill.
After we preheated it for five minutes on high, the Grill2Go reached over 600 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Weber Q 1200 never broke 525 °F. Char-Broil claims its “TRU Infrared cooking system” eliminates flare-ups, but we still had to manage moderate flares while cooking burgers, chicken, and brats. Flipping burgers is easy and straightforward with the non-stick porcelain coated cast iron grates, and the ample cooking space easily accommodates at least 16 burgers. The burner tents effectively reduce the occurrence of flare-ups, so there’s less danger while cooking and no burn marks on your food.
We asked Q 1200 owners on staff if they had this issue, and they confirmed that attaching the propane was easy on their grills. We’re chalking this up as a one-off problem unique to our test unit. Grills equipped with an accessible coupling for 1-pound liquid-propane canisters are a must.