You can cook bacon, vegetables, eggs, bread, and more right alongside your grilling meat with this portable gas grill from Camp Chef. The three-burner grill includes a restaurant-style 16 x 24-inch steel griddle that increases its versatility, and the high-capacity 30,000-BTU burners cook food in a flash. The Cuisinart gas grill is definitely lighter and a bit more portable than the Weber. It also feels slightly less sturdy while grilling, but is not flimsy by any means. At just over $100, it is the best portable grill on a budget — especially if you don’t plan to use it more than a handful of times per summer. The Cuisinart portable grill also runs on any small propane tank you can find at camping or hardware stores.
When opened it has 212 square inches of cooking space—that’s enough for a whole chicken with room to spare, a rack of ribs, or close to a dozen turkey burgers. And the design of the grill surface—made of small hexagons instead of slim bars—is incredibly effective at keeping food from sliding down into the coals. Flipping and turning food on the Nomad was easier than on some grills I’ve used that had twice the space to maneuver. Similar to other gas grills, the Coleman uses 16-ounce propane tanks. After preheating the grill, the Coleman registered temps approaching 600 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface despite having one of the largest cooking surfaces of any portable grill we tested. Coleman uses three burners, including a central circular burner that’s accompanied by two C-shaped burners on either side.
The fan did indeed cut down on smoke blowing in my eyes and both the charcoal and wood burned nicely giving me both food and then warmth after dinner as I sipped a nightcap. It also functioned well as a grill with good ventilation to keep the coals hot — although the cooking capacity is on the small side. While the Weber Original Kettle may have taken the top spot in CNET’s list ofbest charcoal grills, this newcomer is my pick for the best portable charcoal grill. A smart and solid build allows you to take this small grill anywhere, including on a long hike. This grill is for serious tailgaters and is specifically designed to ride on the back of a car attached to a hitch. The monster Forge 15 has 355 square inches of cooking space so you can feed the whole gang and two powerful 7,500-BTU burners will make sure your steaks, dogs and sausages get a proper seer.
So after a thorough test of all the top grills in this category, here is the most important part. In our opinion, the Weber Q 2200 is the best portable gas grill from all aspects. The fact of the matter is that this grill checks all the right boxes in terms of performance and quality. If you are looking weber genesis 2 for a compact grill that is ready to use right out of the box, this is a perfect choice. What’s more, in terms of the price to performance ratio it stays ahead of the other competitors in this category. The 145 square inches of cooking surface is sufficient for cooking a meal for 2 to 3 people.
While these features were impressive, the Pit Boss Grills had a harder time heating up that large cooking surface. Whereas other portable gas grills we tested reached temperatures above 500 degrees Fahrenheit, this grill could only maintain cooking surface temperatures in the mid 400s. That made it impossible to achieve a dark brown crust on our burger patty, though our burger was still juicy and tasty. Its large clamshell lid circulated heat well, resulting in evenly cooked chicken and veggie kabobs.
The grill delivers 5,500 BTU of heat through the stainless steel burners. But the lack of a temperature gauge is one point that weber q makes it hard to determine the heat consistency. So while using this grill, it is best to keep a close watch on the food items.
The NomadiQ portable propane grill folds up into a case the size of a small bag, with easy-grab handles. It also weighs just 12 pounds, making it the best truly portable gas grill I tested. If you’ve decided you want a portable charcoal grill, there is nothing like the Nomad—it’s expensive but worth it. Not only is it easy to pack and carry, it excelled at every cooking task I gave it. If you prefer a portable propane grill, Weber’s Traveler combines the quality Weber grills are generally known for with a smart design that is ready to take on the road.