The highlight of this top-quality construction is the porcelain-enameled cast-iron cooking grates, which comfortably retain the heat evenly distributed by the U-shaped stainless steel burner underneath. Simply put, this model let us grill with more precision, predictability, and control than most of the other models we bought and tested. I often start these lists with some variation of “when I was young,” and I don’t mean to — it makes me seem like a curmudgeon. It’s just that, as an elder of Gen X, it’s hard to believe the grilling technologies on the market have replaced the often life-threatening pieces of equipment that were commonplace in my youth. They also happen to be easy to move, light, cool, clean, and repack on top of that performance.
Make sure you have a stable tabletop to put this on, and don’t try to move it until it’s fully cooled. There’s a wooden cutting board/serving tray that sits on top of the grate when the grill’s not in use, but it’s completely open to the elements while cooking. It might interfere with perfect-looking grill marks, but we’d recommend rotating and moving larger items around during cooking to achieve even doneness. Whether it’s hiking, kayaking, or cross-country skiing, the Cuisinart Venture is perfect for any adventure. It’s not the biggest or most powerful grill in the world, but it’s small enough to carry in your pack, and it managed to reach searing temperatures in our Lab testing. During high-temperature cooking, neither delicate fish nor strip steak stuck to the grate, and we also didn’t get any flare-ups despite the grate sitting quite close to the burner.
The Casus grill can only be used once, of course, but it actually gets fairly hot in about five minutes and stays lit for over an hour. It also has enough space to cook three or four burgers, sausages, dogs, veggies or chicken. Well, it is and these GoSun solar-powered grills actually work pretty well. When I tested it, it got scorching hot and cooked chicken thighs, sausage, fish and veggies all in under 25 minutes or less. The 31-pound Weber Q 1200 is still surprisingly portable due to its useful handles.
Size is a matter of your available space (storage and transport) and preference. If you’re crunched for space, look for camping grills with a small footprint or the ability to break down small (like the UCO Flatpack or Snow Peak Takibi). If you have the room and desire a larger grill, choose what you’d like and enjoy.
However, the Coleman Roadtrip 285 makes up for the portability deficiencies with top-tier grilling performance, easily earning our recommendation for a large-sized portable grill. Senior staff writers Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet Tim Heffernan and Lesley Stockton spent 16 hours testing portable grills for this guide. They did so on the heels of testing full-size gas and charcoal grills, as well as grill accessories.
Talk about versatility — this grill gives you a traditional propane grill grate, a cast iron flat top griddle, and a pizza oven wrapped into one. Our tester loved how easy it was to switch between the pizza oven feature and the cast iron grill with one flip of the grate, and appreciated its self-storage rack (for the grill top not in use) even moreso. You can open the pizza oven door to slide in your pie, or use the handle to lift the entire lid like a traditional grill. Some of the best portable grills come with carrying bags as part of the cost, too.
Once erected, you have a large cooking space–320 square inches–and a prep table. It also features some nice bells and whistles, including a removable grease tray, built-in thermometer, and removable cooking grates, which were easy to clean between uses. You don’t have to compromise much when grilling away from home, either. We’ve tested and picked out the best portable grills for every type of cook just in time for some great Memorial Day deals. Cuisinart is better known for kitchen appliances than grills, so it makes sense this petite model is designed with an eye toward food prep, not just grilling.
It comes with a cork lid that doubles as a base on which the grill rotates to allow for airflow adjustment. Inside the heat-resistant cylinder you’ll find an enameled fire basket and grill and charcoal grates, plus a small tool to lift the grill grate. The GoBQ grill is a great option for traveling, tailgating, or even for folks with small apartments, given its ease of packing, stowing, and carrying. The 25- by 12-inch cooking surface will hold a lot of burgers, dogs, or whatever your preference.
The Weber Q 1200 Gas Grill is our pick because of its no-fuss convenience and stellar performance. For charcoal purists, we recommend the Weber Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill 18″, which is just as capable as a full-size Grills Portable Grills kettle at searing and grilling food to perfection. For the charcoal options, I also smoked ribs, pork, and brisket, If you’re planning to smoke, I highly recommend investing in some kind of thermometer system.
If you can’t face the prospect of going without your Big Green Egg for a weekend, the MiniMax Big Green Egg is much smaller, but it still isn’t terribly portable. However, if you want to smoke, grill, and bake outdoors, this ceramic cooker is a strong choice. If flavor is your only criterion, I would argue that charcoal is superior to propane gas.