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 Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet 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.
(Take note — this grill is designed to be set up on the ground, not on a picnic table.) The whole fire pit and grill fold down to be stored in a diamond-shaped carrying case for easy transport. The Snow Peak Takibi Grill was by far one of the easiest grills we tested to set up and use. The base plate serves as an ash catcher and a steadier for the grill itself, thanks to notches in the baseplate designed to hold the legs of the fire pit itself.
If you can’t, and you left your lighter fluid at home, gather dry pine needles, extra napkins from your center console, or even leftover dryer sheets to get your charcoal grill going. Most propane grills will have an ignition button installed for easy lighting. If, however, that is not included or that button fails, here’s how to light your propane grill by hand. The BBQ Depot has an excellent guide to cleaning different grills and grill parts, as does Popular Mechanics. Grab some grease-cutting dish soap, warm water, and a grill brush, and start scrubbing. (Except with cast iron, keep soap away from cast iron at all costs. Here’s how to clean cast iron.) Check your manufacturer’s recommendations for cleaning products and advice.
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 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.
It has adapters based on your grill and offers one temp probe and three food probes. There’s Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support, so you can keep tabs on your cook from anywhere. I haven’t used the fancier models, but this basic four-serving one served me well for years. Flat Top Grills Gas Grills Pellet You can pull the grills out for easy cleaning, there’s a drip pan to catch all the grease, and if you’re not in the grilling mood, it doubles as a Panini press. To test this I marinated some chicken in lemon juice and olive oil and laid it on the grills.
It uses natural gas tanks and ignites quickly with a steady and consistent flame. However, it was ultimately less powerful than the Weber (just 5,500 BTUs), topping out around 400 F. It didn’t maintain its heat quite as well but wasn’t terrible in that regard either. Camping trips, road trips, tailgates, closet-size outdoor spaces—there are a lot of scenarios that call for a portable grill. But unfortunately, many of the factors that make a grill portable can also keep it from working well. For more details on how we tested and what we looked for, scroll down to the bottom.