Camping Grills & Portable Grills

The terms grilling and barbecue are often used interchangeably, which is fine, but if you get serious about cooking over flame you’ll want to learn the distinction. Grilling usually means cooking directly over high heat, while barbecue typically refers to cooking over indirect heat for longer periods of time. To test this I marinated some chicken in lemon juice and olive oil weber charcoal grill and laid it on the grills. Every grill flared somewhat, but the Q have heavy enameled cast-iron grates that are closed over the burners, which helps keep the flaring under control. It’s a little-known secret that the built-in thermometers on most grills don’t work well, so I used a standard kitchen thermometer to see how hot things got and how well they held that heat.

portable bbq

Transform your BioLite CampStove 2 into a wood-fired grilling surface with this seamless and fun attachment. Grilling is a quintessential summer activity, saving you from heating up your kitchen with weber genesis 2 your oven and encouraging you to spend quality time outdoors on a nice night. But, if you live in an apartment or have limited outdoor and patio space, cooking outside might feel just out of reach.

And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. All that now stands between you and mobile grilling is your final choice and a big pile of grillable grub. Crack that first tailgate can, ponder our comparative assessments, and pull the trigger on an excellent portable delicious-making machine. None of our choices are poor options and all can facilitate memorable dining experiences. We are proud of the work we’ve done to hash out all the options and honored to be a small part of your transient culinary journey. The Cuisinart All Foods Roll-Away scored the lowest in wind resistance.

A locking lid and convenient a convenient carry handle are perfect for when it’s time to go. The Smokey Joe Portable Charcoal Grill is 14 inches wide and has 147 square inches of grilling surface on its steel grate. There are four vents to regulate airflow, as well as an aluminum ash catcher down below.

This portable gas grill comes with commercial-grade components and cast stainless steel burners and cooking rods. This is perfect timing for me as I’ve recently decided to get a portable gas grill. I don’t have the space for a full-size model at my present location but I really hate using charcoal. I didn’t realize all the factors that go into choosing a grill so this article really gave me food for thought.

But if you’re considering any that have dual burners, look for dual temperature controls as well to accommodate two different temperature zones when cooking. When we first set up the GoBQ Portable Charcoal Grill, we were certain it wasn’t going to work. Made from flexible flame-resistant silicone coated fiberglass, this minimalist grill rolls up into an easy-to-carry package. Fill the pouch with charcoal, light it using a fire starter cube, place the grill grate on top of it and you’re ready to cook. On the flip side, we didn’t love the lid, which was heavy and felt like it was going to fall off if we didn’t open it carefully enough.

The bottom vents were also really hard to access and hot coals fell out if you opened them during the cooking process. The grill also lacks an ash bucket; it does have two ash catches, but they were impossible to clean out without making a mess on my driveway. All in all, the Traveler is a solid choice for anyone who cooks for five to six people, or for someone who wants to routinely use their portable grill on a deck or patio.

The conversion kit is often an extra that can run up to $100, so factor in that cost if it’s not included in the purchase price. A barbecue with a very high BTU rating for its size may be trying to compensate for lightweight components, such as the grill, lid or open side construction not being able to hold the heat. To begin, it’s helpful to determine a few points on how, when, and where your grilling will be done. We still have half of the summer left to enjoy, so that means a lot more barbecues. There’s definitely something special about outdoor cooking — nothing compares to a hot, juicy burger fresh off the grill, complete with grill marks. It was smaller than most of the grills, maxing out at four burgers.

Aside from being compact for easy transport, a portable grill should be a functional home grill for folks with small outdoor spaces. Grills that evenly distribute the heat across the entire grate cook food more consistently. Extreme hotspots and flare-ups cause patchy charring and require you to babysit your dinner. Excessive flare-ups are annoying and can make food taste like burnt oil.

This means it can’t be used with indirect heat, but the lowest heat setting was low enough to cook our chicken drumsticks to golden-brown perfection. There were a lot of things to like about the Fire Sense HotSpot Notebook. If this contest were all about portability, this one would win! It folds down completely flat and includes storage space inside for the three-hinged grill grate. Not only that, but it’s available for a fraction of the price as the other portable grills. It’s super easy to set up, and although the stainless steel grate was slightly uneven, it worked well enough for our liking.