Rating each area on a scale of one to five, we averaged the category scores to arrive at the final score for each grill. One of the only problems encountered was correctly positioning the grates. weber portable gas grill Still, we found it heated quickly and was ready to cook in 10 minutes after adding lit charcoal from a chimney, while side vents gave us greater control over lower-temperature cooking.
You can quickly raise and lower the grill one-handed, and since it’s on two wheels, it can easily be dragged around with little effort on your part. The Cuisinart All Foods Roll-Away scored the lowest in wind resistance. We grew frustrated at the number of times we had to re-light this model in high winds. The Weber Q 1200 comes with a disposable aluminum drip tray insert that you can place in the more permanent drip tray. This is nice for aiding with cleanup, but it’s not very wind-resistant, so it usually ended up on the ground after flying away in windy conditions. This can be remedied by doing away with this disposable part or just by putting a rock in it.
For charcoal purists, we recommend the Weber Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill 18″, which is just as capable as a full-size kettle at searing and grilling food to perfection. The durable painted cast-aluminum material is easy to clean and requires minimal maintenance. I found that the Traveler evenly distributed the heat for cooking my steak to perfection. I don’t know if I’d go as far as calling the edges “cold spots,” but my veggies didn’t heat as quickly as the burgers in the center did. During my tests, the grill’s internal temperature rose to 500 degrees Fahrenheit in only about 5 minutes. I recommend picking up the Bernzomatic Fuel Gauge, so you always have a clear sense of how much fuel remains.
His reporting has been featured on TopTenReviews.com, Good Housekeeping and USA Today. When he’s not researching washing machines or testing robot vacuums, you can find him at concerts, swimming laps, or at the movies. He thinks smartphones are too big, prefers MP3s to Spotify, and misses his iPhone’s headphone jack.
If you’re home at the time of the drop-off, you can request the driver place your delivery in the garage; if you’re out of the house, the driver will leave it near the garage or doorstep. With Weber® Connect, perfecting any dish has never been easier. It’s a step-by-step grilling assistant, built into the grill, that sends notifications on everything from when it’s time to flip & serve to a food readiness countdown. Weber also makes the Q series that features foldable side shelves.
Like the PKGO, the NOMAD can function as a closed grill, or you can use each side independently as a hibachi-style cooker, doubling the cooking space. The magnetic grates stay in place when transported, are slightly domed for strength, and can invert for use as a vegetable cooker basket. That aside, foods cooked fairly evenly and sported aesthetically pleasing grill marks in our tests. Heat regulation is very easy, with one knob to control everything. And with generally good cooking results, it’s an easy model for someone to get started with gas grilling.
Of all the charcoal grills I tested, the Weber Jumbo Joe strikes the best balance of affordability, features, and ease of use. With an extra-large 24” cooking area, Summit® Kamado is ready to handle any size feast. And simply reposition its grate to transform your Kamado into an every-day charcoal grill to sear steaks, grill chicken, smoke fish, and anything else you’re serving at the BBQ. Load up the car and hit the road with your Smokey Joe® portable charcoal grill.
On the plus side, they’re cheaper, lightweight, and still get the job done. Although this portable powerhouse reaches top temperatures with ease, it is more difficult to learn how to harness the heat of the grill surface for foods that require more low-and-slow cooking. But if you hope to regularly grill up delicious meals while on the road, the Weber Q 1200 is an accessible portable grill that is sure to appeal to both novice cooks and professional chefs alike. If you’re interested in a tabletop grill—one with shorter legs that can be setup on a picnic table or bench—you can’t do better than the Weber Q1200 Gas Grill.
In my testing, the grill heated quickly (hit 500 degrees F in minutes) and stayed hot. Controlling the temperature — while not perfectly precise — was no real issue for me and shouldn’t be a hindrance for the type of grilling most people do. While it’s billed as a portable model, the Traveler is large enough to be your permanent, everyday home grill. Speaking of size, at 320 square inches of grilling space, this has more than enough capacity for any grilling situation I find myself in. If you’re cooking for more than 10 people you may have to grill in batches but for a portable grill, 320 is more than suitable to cook at least 10 burgers or pieces of chicken at once. Weber says it holds 15 burgers at once but I suspect that would be a tight fit.
If you plan to keep the grill outside, it’s worth investing in a bonnet cover to protect it from the elements. You can also get a collapsible cart for it if you don’t have a table that will work. And in general Weber’s grills have a great reputation for performance and longevity. When we surveyed over 1,000 Wirecutter readers about their grills, a large majority said they owned a Weber.