Best of all, the lid can be inverted onto an included base and used as a second grill. In our tests, this grill quickly cooked a steak and four chicken thighs, all of which were juicy and tender. It also has a very generously-sized usable cooking area, making it ideal for grilling for a crowd (we’re thinking it will be popular with tailgators). It earned points for usability, with testers commenting on the ease of setup, propane tank attachment, and lighting.
We tested popular models side-by-side, assessing each one on everything from how easy it was to set up to cooking performance to the final cleanup. This portable gas grill from trusty kitchen brand Cuisinart has foldable legs and a twist start ignition. It has a decently sized 145 square inches of grilling surface with an easy-to-clean porcelain grilling grate (which is a lot handier than having to buy new grates).
Carrying it two blocks was not impossible (and considering the quality of the grill, it may be an effort worth undertaking) but it required more exertion than any of the other charcoal grills. It also required more assembly of the wrench and screwdriver type, though it still only took about 30 minutes. But, crucially, the GoBQ also Charcoal Grills Combo Grills performed quite well during the cooking tests. The grill is bigger than it seems, with 196 square inches of grilling area. It was actually bigger than several other grills I tested that didn’t fold up nearly as compactly. This portable gas grill has been a Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab favorite for years.
In our tests, the Q 1200’s heavy-duty cast-aluminum firebox was the best at evenly absorbing and reflecting heat. That, along with the U-shaped burner, provided the most consistent Expert Grill Combo Grills grilling of all the portables we tested, with the fewest hot spots. The Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill is lighter than our gas pick, weighing under 20 pounds, but it’s not smaller.
The Cuisinart Venture, with its picnic basket appearance, is a good entry-level grill for the uninitiated and a value model for more experienced grillers. It’s a model intended for direct-heat cooking, as there’s no lid to control humidity for “low and slow” cooking. The burner packs 9,000 BTUs under enameled cast iron, providing adequate heat for small-group cooking. The grill comes to temperature Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet quickly, but there is some variation in hot spots, especially towards the outside edges of the grill, which charred more than the center, where foods cooked slower. The Big Green Egg is a Kamado-style cooker (Kamado is a Japanese word that roughly means “stove”), which makes it much more than a grill. The ceramic construction retains heat and turns it into a portable oven as well.