Unlike traditional charcoal grills, the Gourmia Smokeless BBQ was designed to produce virtually no smoke. Combined with its electric fan for heat control, safe-touch design, and easy-clean surfaces, the Gourmia Smokeless BBQ is truly the ultimate portable grill for any occasion. With 11.8 inches of grilling room, included lifting Tongs, and convenient carrying case this portable grill is the complete package. If you want a more compact propane grill, the Char-Broil Portable Grill2Go X200 Gas Grill is designed for one-handed toting. This portable grill is slightly larger than a briefcase and keeps the lid, grate, and firebox tightly packed for transporting. In our tests, the Grill2Go produced intense heat that was ideal for searing steaks but had us battling some flare-ups when cooking chicken pieces.
Of all the grills I tested, the Traveler was the easiest to set up and use. Like most portable gas grills, it uses small propane canisters, but it can also use a full-size propane tank with an adapter, so it’s backyard ready if you want to use it as your primary grill. When closed, this portable grill is easy to carry one-handed (as easy as something that weighs almost 30 pounds can possibly be) thanks to a soft, grippable handle. When opened it has 212 square inches of cooking space—that’s enough for a whole chicken with room to spare, a rack of ribs, or close to a dozen turkey burgers. And the design of the grill surface—made of small hexagons instead of slim bars—is incredibly effective at keeping food from sliding down into the coals.
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 big drawback with this nifty portable oven is its cooking capacity. Since food has to be loaded into a tube, you can’t really cook many of the traditional barbecue meats such as ribs.
The base comes off and features a flip-out propane bottle holder (we discourage you from using those; see why below) as well as serving as a place to cut. The integrated bamboo cutting board fits on top of the base, which gives you somewhere to prep your meal even if there’s no picnic table around. It’s only nine pounds — the lightest of any on this list — and with the fitted carrying case can be slung right over your shoulder and taken out for grilling on the go. This take-anywhere charcoal grill is probably the most portable of all the grills I tested and is perfect for campers or hikers who need a small, portable grill while on the move.
An electric push-button ignition and easy-to-read heat-control dial make the Q 1200 simple to start and adjust. Though the grill weighs a hefty 30 pounds, the comfortable side handles make it easy to carry. We learned that the coal bed can be adjusted for better portable bbq temperature control — a useful feature that we find highly important in charcoal grill tests. The grill grate is narrow, especially compared to other portable grills we tested, but can still fit about four to five chicken thighs side-by-side, or two large steaks.
It also has a bit of a flimsy latch which isn’t a big problem if you spring for the $40 carrying case. The Coleman is super lightweight clocking in at just over 10 pounds which makes it an ideal grill to take camping, hiking or on a boat. It’s also exceptionally portable, flipping up into a package no bigger than a large purse or day bag. But all that compactness doesn’t keep it from burning a hot flame with 6,000 BTUs of propane-fueled power giving you proper searing capabilities in a seriously travel-friendly size. This grill is for serious tailgaters and is specifically designed to ride on the back of a car attached to a hitch.
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. Simple grilling, like burgers and dogs, can be done on any portable grill. But if you would like the option to sear a steak and slow-cook chicken on the portable bbq 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. While slow-cooking on the Takibi would be challenging, you can at least adjust the grill height to control temperature.
But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us. There are no bells and whistles with this barbecue – it’s simplistic in design and there are no additional functions. This is a versatile bit of kit, which can be used with or without the stand, making it completely portable, whether you’re in the garden or on the beach. Others have handles on their sides that also assist with transportation. Anything with more surface area won’t usually be considered portable and might be too unwieldy for your needs. Then you should look at what portability features the manufacturer has included.