Food grilled over charcoal has that coveted backyard-grill smoky flavor. One annoying thing about toting along your grill when out and about in the outdoors is that inevitably, after a few grill-downs, your trusty appliance portable bbq will become coated with grease. But with the HitchFire, you get portability outside of your vehicle, plus the convenience of having a swing-out grill that’s ready to go and at a back-friendly, waist height.
However, the feature that really blew us away with the BioLite is its built-in battery-powered fan. The fan not only kept smoke from billowing up in our faces while we were burning with wood, but it also stoked the coals. This made it possible to light the Biolite grill in half the time of a traditional charcoal grill. The fan has several settings, so you can turn it on low to preserve the coal bed when cooking chicken over indirect heat or crank it up to high to get a hard sear on burgers and steaks. That high heat was useful for searing vegetables when using the grill with its included cast-iron griddle, too. With its 22-inch diameter and 360-square inches of cooking surface, the Grill Ultimate Bundle is as large as a full-sized charcoal grill.
For charcoal and electric options that cannot be measured the same way, we drew upon evidence from testing and an infrared thermometer to measure internal grill temperatures. We also factored in the number of burners of each product, how well the grill body insulated heat, and the volume of the coal bed. For the fans of pit-cooking out there, we offer up the Weber Go-Anywhere. This well-built barbeque is an innovative take on the manufacturer’s classic design, incorporating their enameled, cast-iron construction into a convenient, compact package. The rectangular basin can hold a coal bed that is both deep and evenly spread. The Grillster is great at searing steaks and other high-temperature cooking, but it is tough to control the overall range on this rip-roaring grill.
And it’s perfect for going from cooking a barbecue dinner to a post-meal fire pit session. This sleek portable gas grill from Weber is superior in almost every category and was a fairly clear winner as the best portable grill overall. It’s easy to assemble, with just a few parts, and once completed feels solid and sturdy, even when given a few vigorous shakes. The igniter works well portable bbq and, once lit, the grill got hot, reaching its advertised 500 degrees Fahrenheit after just 15 minutes with the lid closed. The flame is easy to control and keeps a consistent temperature throughout cooking, even when grilling with the flame turned low. If you want an upgraded portable gas grilling experience, take a look at the beautiful Blaze Professional LUX Portable model.
The 285 square inches of cooking space is spread over three independent burners, but all are covered with porcelain-coated cast-iron grates. It can get surprisingly hot, pumping out 20,000 BTUs so you will have to watch the heat if you’re trying to cook something gently. When it comes to charcoal, you get full control of how much heat your charcoal grill produces. It takes a little practice to get the hang of it, but it’s all about controlling the airflow, the coal patterns, and the food’s proximity to the hot coals. You’ll learn to allow oxygen in by opening up the bottom vents, fueling the coals, and creating intense heat.