Shopping for a new grill can be challenging, especially if you’re budget-conscious and have a ceiling on your spending. Yet, you can still find an excellent grill for $300 or less if you prioritize function over special features. Higher-priced models come with bells and whistles that you may not need. You’re also paying for their thick construction, which retains heat for hours. While the thinner construction of lower-priced grills means less heat retention, the best of them make up for it with enough heat to achieve good sears and defined grill marks. We spent more than a month testing 23 gas grills ranging in price, and three under $300 met our criteria.
Keep in mind that this is a little different than normal grilling, since it cooks from the top and bottom, which means your food cooks faster. This will ensure that your food doesn’t stick to the grill plates. Thanks to its dual-vent system (one at the bottom, one at the top), you get the same fine-grained level of temperature control you’ll find in Weber’s full-size kettles. The RoadTrip is another portable grill that suffers from significant temperature inconsistencies on the grill, which, unfortunately, knock it out of the running. Since the burners are in the middle and not on the side I think indirect grilling is not easy on this grill.
Do yourself a favor, throw away your lighter fluid and get a charcoal chimney starter ($27). It weighs 22 pounds and has a handle with a bar that fits over the top to keep the kettle and lid together for easy carrying. I tossed mine in the back of the car for trips to the lake and the park and it never tipped over. The ash catcher at the bottom makes cleaning less of a hassle weber gas grill by allowing you to dump the excess without removing the grill grates. After that, we grilled 12 thick onion slices, 12 burgers, and 12 accompanying buns per grill. We cooked each for a prescribed amount of time at a specified temperature setting and observed how the grill behaved, noting any variations of doneness on varying spots of the grill, flare-ups, or sticking.
That flexibility allows you to build different heat zones, which broaden the scope of the foods you can cook on the grill. The grills with the highest scores moved on to our next round of testing. To assess the grill’s nonstick properties, we cooked skin-on center-cut fish filets, a delicate protein. We then cooked strip steaks to assess how each model handled indirect heat grilling and searing at high heat. As with our previous tests, we looked for sticking and flare-ups, as well as how well easily we could regulate the temperature of the grills and clean them after cooking. Most portable grills are designed to be used with small 14- or 16-ounce propane tanks, which simply screw onto the side or bottom of the grill.
Whether you’re an avid tailgater or off-roading enthusiast, the HitchFire Forge 15 is a worthwhile splurge for those who are always grilling on the go. This heavy-duty propane grill can be used on a table, but what makes it special is its included mount, which attaches to a 2-inch vehicle hitch. Once installed, you can drive, off-road, and cook with the grill mounted to the rear of your car. We were truly impressed at how secure the HitchFire felt when mounted to a truck, and it never budged on a 350-mile drive. Ever wish you could get your grill on outside of your backyard?
There were some minor sticking issues with the grates and flare-ups towards the hotter back of the grates. The grill performed well, considering its price, and is a good starter model or one for folks not expecting longevity out of the grill, based on its construction. Yes, it’s possible to find a larger-sized grill at a $300-or-less price point, and it’s possible to find one with cooking power. The Nexgrill boasts 40,000 BTUs for the relatively large primary cooking area. Assembly was challenging, taking a little over an hour to complete, mainly due to the quality of the pictogram-heavy instructions. Getting the proper placement for the propane tank took time, too.
Our home reviewers spent weeks assessing how these grills stood up to everyday cooking and cleaning. They were also able to offer additional insights to using these during typical weather conditions. The grills are all rated on heat control and retention, size, features, performance, ease of cleaning, and overall value. This propane grill has a 280-square-inch porcelain-enameled, cast-iron cooking grate and delivers 12,000 BTUs of heat per hour when connected to a 14.1-ounce or 16.4-ounce liquid propane cylinder. It comes with a push-button starter and removable catch pan, and it’s even compatible with the 1000-series Weber griddle.
There was one person who asked if he could hook the propane version to his large propane tank for his house. I personally see no problem because the grill comes with its own regulator, but I advise you to call Weber or a local installer to make sure this is possible. Cast aluminum is also better at retaining heat than pressed aluminum because weber charcoal grill it is thicker. This lid is not welded but made out of one piece of aluminum.The light on the grill handle was mentioned as very handy. As I mentioned I am not a big fan of a battery-operated ignition, but the one on this Q3200 seems to work pretty well. 1 or 2 of the almost 150 reviews I read mention the grill not getting hot enough.