Before we get to grill size and general features, I need to tip the hat to Weber’s designers for coming up with the most elegant folding system the world may have ever seen. To unfold the Traveler, you undo a safety latch, put your foot on a grippy red section on the leg and pull it up until it clicks into position. This exquisite folding model from Weber is arguably the best folding portable barbecue on the market right now. Yes, it’s large when folded and, at 28.141kgs, it’s extremely heavy too – at least for a portable. But on the plus side it can be transported like a shopping trolley on its large wheels with the whole barbecue section locked into place. But whether the wheels make it tough going on beach sand is open for debate.
We were pretty happy with the way the vents were positioned, but the ash catcher isn’t removable, making it pretty difficult to clean when you’re done cooking. It’s small and simple—fitting about six burgers—but we’d rather upgrade to the Jumbo Joe to get the extra ease-of-use features. The Weber Q 1200 is one of the highest-scoring in this category due to the adjustability of its control knob and a sound electronic ignition system. We appreciate weber charcoal grill the naturally non-stick porcelain-enameled grilling surface, and that the cast iron grates distribute a consistent temperature across the entire cook surface. A portable grill could be just mobile enough to load it in and out of your truck bed with a friend, or it might be compact enough to fit inside a large backpack. We then put ourselves in your shoes and put each model through an array of creative real-life cooking scenarios.
You can grill fish, meat, and veggies to perfection anywhere, anytime. Our products, such as the Weber Premium 14-Inch Smokey Joe, which is a powerhouse despite its compact nature, is ideal for smaller outdoor weber genesis 2 spaces that can’t accommodate the larger counterparts. With porcelain-enameled layering and triple nickel plating, it’s backed by a 10-year warranty and designed to thrive in nearly all outdoor environments.
The wood pellet grill can get up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and in addition to its main grilling area, it also has a removable upper rack. You can control the grill via its digital dial, and while the model is compact, keep in mind it weighs a substantial 42 pounds. It’s big enough to roast a chicken, sear a couple of large steaks at a time, or fit about six 12-inch skewers. But if you’re doing meat and veggies for a family of four, you’re going to be cooking in batches.
Make sure no other high-wattage appliances are plugged into the same circuit when you’re using the grill. If you experience a breaker tripping, then you will need to use a different outlet that is located on a different circuit, or make sure other appliances are turned off. Use heat resistant gloves or mitts or a hot pad to remove or replace the cover during cooking.
Two clips in the front hold the whole unit tightly together, and you can effortlessly carry the whole thing with one hand . We had a small issue with the Q 1200 unit we got for testing. The propane coupling sat a couple of millimeters too close to the body, and we had to flex the assembly away from the grill to get the canister to fit. We asked Q 1200 owners on staff if they had this issue, and they confirmed that attaching the propane was easy on their grills. We’re chalking this up as a one-off problem unique to our test unit. The Q 1200’s small fold-out side tables are handy for keeping grill tools within reach, though we wouldn’t feel confident resting a large tray brimming with meat or other heavy things on them.
“NOMAD is a briefcase-sized grill & smoker able to smoke two racks of ribs or 30 burgers.” “Delivers performance that rivals any other grill or smoker we’ve tested.” That’s why each Nomad bbq grill ships with FedEx for fast & free delivery within the contiguous United States.
Let’s closely compare the smallest grills in our test regarding control. The Cuisinart Petite Gourmet and Eureka Gonzo Grill are very similar in size and weight. The Petite Gourmet has an elongated burner beneath a rectangular grate, while the Gonzo Grill has a round burner beneath a round grate. For a given temperature setting on each, the Gonzo grill top presents a more uniform temperature than the Petite Gourmet. You have more options to move your food around to different temperature zones on the rectangular grates, but you have greater uniformity of cooking conditions across the top of the Gonzo. Control is the criteria that most distinctly separates the highest performers from the rest of the contenders.
Break in the electric heating element to remove the new-appliance smell before cooking for the first time. Once the grill is assembled, plug in the electric heating element, set the control on HIGH and let the grill run for about 10 minutes with the lid off. We’ve found that a simple, portable propane grill is great to have when we’re camping in national forests or other remote areas where we don’t have electric hookups and don’t need something very big. I wouldn’t want to cook a complex meal on it, but it’s perfect for burgers, hot dogs, and other basic barbecue foods. It’s also useful to have along if there’s a fire ban, since propane is usually still allowed in those situations. When shopping for a portable, the same rules apply as when you are shopping for other grills.