It’s shaped like a traditional grill’s rectangular design, and its lid can be easily lifted back and rested on its hinges for easy access to the cooking space. In addition to performance, we test ease of use and score each grills on the types of features they have like shelves, storage space, amount of wheels, etc. We also ensured our winning portable grills could be transported easily by one person. We love that the lid, which has two vents that stay cool enough to adjust during cooking, stays put on the grill in the open position and has a large, oversized handle for easy check-ins.
Many of these grills will work off the very small 1-pound propane cylinders, with a different attachment needed for larger propane tanks. The difference between the two kinds is weight—larger tanks are heavier and need to be carried separately from the grill—and amount. The smaller tanks are easier to carry in a backpack, but will run out of fuel Expert Grill Combo Grills within a couple of hours. 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 (15,000 total) will make sure your steaks, dogs and sausages get a proper seer.
If you want to splurge the Nomad Grill & Smoker is super portable, and has some great safety features that make it easy to grill just about anywhere. The Weber Q1200 is compact and light, the most convenient portable grill we tested. It gets the job done almost entirely through conduction—its single burner provides heat to a porcelain-coated cast-iron cooking grid that functions much like a 189-square-inch pan. With the lid down, you get reliable cooking as hot air circulates over the grid.
However, the legs of the grill are somewhat flimsy, so you’ll want to use caution when setting up and cleaning. We were impressed with this grill’s performance during testing — it heated up to over 500 degrees in just 10 minutes, and it left nice sear marks and charring on the hamburgers and sausages. There was plenty of room on the cooking surface to spread food without crowding, but we found that the side drawer was Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet a bit tricky to remove when it was time to clean the grill. While not necessarily the most travel-friendly, the Okahoma Joe’s Rambler Tabletop Charcoal Grill is an unbeatable option for your patio or even tailgating. This tabletop grill is one of the more bulky options we tested — it’s essentially a pared-down version of barrel-style charcoal grills—but it works great if you’re not planning to move it around too much.
The integrated bamboo cutting board fits on top of the base, which gives you somewhere to prep your meal even if there’s no picnic table around. The GoBQ weighs just 8 pounds and offers 185 inches of cooking space, making it a good option for couples on the go or a small family looking for a light meal. There are no vents to open and close, so you’ll have to control heat with the lid and by how you add fuel.