You will need to carefully manage indirect heat when cooking thicker things like chicken on the bone—we kept it over the open grates around the edges of the grill. The 25 x 12-inch cooking surface will hold a lot of burgers, dogs, or whatever your preference. And, if you want to mix things up, the grill grates swap out for griddle or stove grates . The Ranger’s 176 square inches of cooking space fits about six burgers, which isn’t enough to feed a crowd but is more than enough space to feed two to four people.
When shopping for a portable, the same rules apply as when you are shopping for other grills. You need to consider price, temperature control, ease of cleanup, ability to smoke foods, high heat, durability, safety, and, of course, size and weight. With 189 square inches of grilling area (17 by 12½ inches), the Weber Q 1200 has enough weber charcoal grill space to grill a full dinner for two or the main course for a small party. We found that this Weber model is capable of grilling six large burger patties, a whole cut-up chicken, or 10 bratwurst links at a time. And the single-tube 8,500 Btu burner runs along three edges for better heat distribution, so all of that space is usable.
If our top-rated portable pellet grill is out of stock, we recommend picking up the ASMOKE AS300 Portable Grill. Like the other portable pellet grills we tested, at 45 pounds, it’s a little on the heavy side. While it doesn’t come equipped with any handles to help move it from place to place, the AS3000 folds down into a compact enough package to carry from one space to another, when it’s cool.
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.
Most grills performed about as well as advertised, with some topping out at as much as 100 F hotter than others. The better grills also generally ended up reading out a more consistent temperature throughout cooking. This multifunctional charcoal grill doubles as a wood-burning fire pit, and it even features a small fan attachment to blow smoke out of your face for comfort.
For smoking fans, the number two spot goes to the Traeger Ranger, which uses wood pellets instead of charcoal or gas. If you’re looking for fuss free grilling on the go, this is the model to choose. Now place it on a non flammable surface and stuff some wood or charcoal under it and, voila, instant campfire barbecue. Char-Broil is justly famous for its TRU Infrared grilling technology which ensures food is cooked evenly across the grill plate. The slight downside is that the corrugated infrared grill requires burning off after each barbecue session and scraped down using the supplied cleaning too.
Like the Takibi, the Kamoto doubles as a fire pit when you’re done cooking, which is handy for campsites where ground fires aren’t allowed . It’s also considerably cheaper weber genesis 2 than the Takibi, though not nearly as well made. The PK Grills PKTX is a great option for anyone looking for a fully-functional charcoal grill with a smaller outdoor area.