Lined with enamel and clad in lightweight steel, the Cube’s built-in heat shield should also protect inquisitive fingertips while you fry. And because wood pellet grills don’t have an open flame, you won’t need to worry about dangerous flare-ups ruining the party. One of the best parts of tailgating is avoiding a meal of overpriced, over-processed stadium food (that you have to wait 30 minutes in line to buy). With a top-notch portable grill, you can fill your tailgating zone with the irresistible aroma of low and slow ribs, grilled steak, or smoked chicken. You’ll definitely want cooking grates that can stand up to some heavy weight; this allows you to put pans or other cooking implements right on the grates and widens your grilling options. Some portable grills have removable or foldable legs that make them easy to pack up and transport.
Next, we narrowed our selection to create a manageable yet comprehensive list of the best products available. We bought all these products at retail cost to allow us to conduct an extended, objectively honest, and comparative review. These review editors rigorously assessed these grills and distributed them to friends to gather a fresh perspective. For the fans of pit-cooking out there, we offer up the Weber Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill. 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.
That said, the Camp Chef Portable Pellet’s price is fairly reasonable considering its top-notch performance. For smoking and other forms of low and slow barbecue, portable wood pellet grills give you more cooking surface area than portable gas or charcoal grills do. On a gas or charcoal grill, you’d need to set up a 2-zone cooking system with the heat on one side, and the food on the other. Preventing grease and fire contact is especially important since the cooking grates on portable gas grills sit very close to the heating element (usually a 1- to 1½-inch clearance). Steel inserts that sit over the flame ports can help, as can a cleverly designed grilling grate that channels grease away from the fire.
The char lines produced were good, but we definitely saw better from some of the other models in this list. That said, we found this barbecue easy to set up, save for the portable bbq fiddly regulator valve. A wood pellet grill is the best option for living spaces with small yards, patios, or balconies — often, it is the only permissible option.
Wood pellets deliver temperatures hot enough for grilling steaks and chops or can be set for low and slow cooking of ribs and brisket. You simply set the grill to your desired temperature, and it does the rest. The three main types of fuel sources for grilling are wood pellets, propane gas, and charcoal briquettes. The fuel source can make a big difference in determining which type of portable grill you buy.
I have no doubt that that would do the trick, but if you’re off on an adventure an hour from an electrical outlet, a shop vac might not be practical. That said, I’m hard pressed to imagine a better camping grill than this. portable bbq The Nomad does cost more than anything else I tested, but it was unparalleled both in how it cooked and how easy it was to move. Rounding out the bottom of the list for this metric is the Camp Chef Portable Pellet.
Portable gas grills will always be fueled by a portable propane gas hookup. Propane will need to be procured separately at your favorite home improvement or outdoor store. Many of these grills will work off the very small 1-pound propane cylinders, with a different attachment needed for larger propane tanks. The difference between the two kinds is weight—larger tanks are heavier and need to be carried separately from the grill—and amount. The smaller tanks are easier to carry in a backpack, but will run out of fuel within a couple of hours. The Weber Q 1200 is another solid model in this category due to the adjustability of its control knob and a sound electronic ignition system.
Compared to other charcoal barbecues, we couldn’t believe the ease with which you could cook – no need to coax the coals, simply fire it up and expect good heat for over half an hour. The charcoal is in an enclosed container, and with a fan going, you don’t get much in the way of charcoal flavour, but the efficiency and generous cooking area far outweighs this. At just 13 inches tall by 20 inches wide, the Traeger Scout wood pellet grill won’t take up much room in the car and has enough cooking surface for 10 hot dogs, 6 burgers, or a rack of ribs. Charcoal briquette disposal is another drawback of portable charcoal grills. You’ll have to budget time to let the charcoals cool before you can safely dispose of them, and find a safe place to put them.