The first step for each was to assemble the grill, rating it on the clarity of instructions and how easy it was to accomplish the task. Next, we judged the grills’ portability, such as how easy they were to move and if lids or grates fell off easily. For those with carts, this included how easy or difficult they were to move, pop up, and collapse.
The better grills also generally ended up reading out a more consistent temperature throughout cooking. The single-rack model with the largest grilling area is the Coleman Roadtrip 285. As the name describes, it has an impressive 285 square inches of cooking space. Our team found that this is plenty enough room to cook for a good-sized backyard BBQ or backcountry base camp. The Coleman Roadtrip 285 tops the list of our favorite propane models when it comes to grill control and temperature regulation.
Then, we rated them on how easy they were to light, add charcoal (if applicable), and how long they took to reach a cooking temperature. Portable grills cost anywhere from $50 for a simple Weber charcoal grill all the way up to $500 or more for fancier gas and propane weber q grills with bells and whistles galore. My favorite portable grill, the Weber Q-1200, sits at about $259 but you can find it for less on sale. Most sturdy small grills should last you several years to a decade if the unit is cleaned, covered and cared for properly.
The lid, cook box and cast iron grates are all porcelain enameled for added non-stickability, easier cleanup and good heat retention. A 16.4-ounce propane tank attaches to the back of the portable bbq grill with a sturdy, easy-to-secure attachment. It has two plastic temperature knobs on the front of the grill; one knob controls in the inner flame ring and the other controls the outer.
There are three dials that control the different zones, but all of those heat zones overlap. The middle dial controls a burner that spans the length of the whole grill, while the other two dials control an additional burner on each side. The Roadtrip 285 produced better results from our white bread heat mapping test than any other grill we’ve tested. Unfortunately, the uncompromising high-heat cooking performance means there are tradeoffs. For instance, the small grill top only has enough space for one or two steaks at a time.
We also update our tests as needed to ensure they’re still relevant and we’re keeping up with the trends and latest innovations. The value of your portable grill depends on your cooking needs and your intended usage. A basic, more affordable grill might get you through a backyard bash, but a more expensive product will tend to last longer, even under more rigorous or extensive use. But if you would like the option to sear a steak and slow-cook chicken on the same grate, you’ll likely only find such features on higher-quality models. Similarly, the least expensive grills don’t offer the maximum heat output nor the control to cook more complicated foods.
The beauty of this pick is it functions as a portable fire pit and charcoal grill, which makes it great for camping. It has two oversized handles for carrying and its legs fold up to make moving it even easier. It can be used with firewood or charcoal – just slide on the included grill grate to use as a grill. The sides of the fire pit are perforated so you can see the flames, and it comes with an app-controlled fan to control the size of the flames. We conducted two sets of tests for scoring, depending on whether the grill was gas-fueled or charcoal.
Grills with side table attachments, stands, and other prep areas ended up ranking higher in our tests, as we rated grills for their overall design. When cooking outside, a clean, workable surface makes prepping convenient and efficient. Cleanup was simple, and as the grill comes with no specific cleaning instructions, dumping the spent ash was a simple task. Finally, we should note that, at 40 pounds, this grill is more suited to car camping or picnicking, where it’s only a short walk to where you’ll be cooking. It would also fare well as a supplemental grill when cooking for a crowd in your backyard.
We found that between the multi-hole design of the burners and the way that they are recessed into the tub of the grill body that this model’s flames are very hard to extinguish. This Camp Chef model has a stable cooking surface that prevents any wind from getting through to the grilling grate. Wind resistance was portable bbq another particularly strong aspect of the George Foreman Indoor/Outdoor, whose electrically heated cooking surface seemed completely unfazed by convective heat loss, as far as we can tell. For this metric, we had to consider how different methods of heat production compared among different grills across the board.
Grill size isn’t necessarily tied to value — in fact, some of the smallest grills in our review are among some of the most expensive. When considering carrying dimensions, grilling surface, and overall performance, the more average-sized grills tend to fall into a more reasonable price bracket. There is a broad range of prices in this category, but two of the lower-priced models stand out.