The grates were also exceptionally difficult to clean, even with the included scraping tool. Gas grills are more convenient than charcoal grills, especially when it comes to portability. It’s much easier to lug around a one-pound propane canister instead of a huge bag of charcoal or pellets! They’re also significantly easier to clean (no ash!), and they heat up more quickly. Gas grills come equipped with electric starters or a spark wheel to ignite their gas burners, helping you get cooking faster than charcoal users can manage.
While the Firedisc was capable with our test menu, its best use is as a wok or cast-iron frying pan—in fact, it’s seasoned just like cast-iron cookware. Fajitas, fried chicken, pancakes, stir-fry, cheese steaks, and bacon are all fair game in the Firedisc. With the weather warming up, we took our taco Tuesday out on the patio for a change—cooking out doesn’t have to mean burgers or barbecue. The Crossover is a modular, portable cooking system with a base Firebox containing a single propane burner. The Crossover is designed for portability—you can close up, latch, and easily carry or store the Firebox and cooktop.
Whether you’re working with a small outdoor space or patio at home, heading out on a camping adventure, or in charge of the food at the next tailgate, you need a portable grill. The selection of portable style weber charcoal grill grills at BJ’s Wholesale Club has just what you need for all your on-the-go grilling. Check out designs from big names like George Foreman and other top brands, all priced low exclusively for Club Members.
We’ve also tested a slew of portable grills as part of our typical grill testing over the years. Each time we test, we use the same testing methodology and ingredients to make sure our results are comparable. We also update our tests as needed to ensure they’re still relevant and we’re keeping up with the trends and latest innovations. We learned that the coal bed can be adjusted for better temperature control — a useful feature that we find highly important in charcoal grill tests. The grill grate is narrow, especially compared to other portable grills we tested, but can still fit about four to five chicken thighs side-by-side, or two large steaks.
You can control the grill via its digital dial, and while the model is compact, keep in mind it weighs a substantial 42 pounds. After rigorous testing by our experts, the Weber Q 2200 Gas Grill is the clear overall winner due to its ease of use, large cooking area, and exceptional heat output. If you’re looking for a budget pick, go for the Weber Smokey Joe 14-Inch Portable Charcoal Grill which is lightweight, sturdy, and offers a nice sized cooking space. This multifunctional charcoal grill doubles as a wood-burning fire pit, and it even features a small fan attachment to blow smoke out of your face for comfort. You can also use the lower fan setting to help get charcoal going or kindling lit and save yourself some excessive fanning and blowing. This is the best option on this list for transitioning from a barbecue dinner to a post-meal fire pit session.
The removable water pan is designed to catch grease, but it was a complete mess after our tests. The Grill2Go has a maximum 9,500 Btu output, versus the Weber Q 1200’s 8,500 Btu. 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. Think of portable gas grills as small, outdoor, propane-powered ovens.
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 portable bbq all the portable propane grills we tested, the Weber Q 1200 grilled foods the most consistently. If you have the space for a bigger model, check out our guide to full-size charcoal grills. For more backyard-grilling options, check out our guide to full-size gas grills. We love how compact it is and how it can be used nearly anywhere.