The 8 Best Portable Grills for Grilling on the Go

There’s nothing like a great meal outdoors with your loved ones. That is if you have a decent portable grill to do all the cooking. We can tell you from plenty of personal experience that trying to cook with inferior equipment while you’re far afield is a recipe for white-hot rage and undercooked meat.

Contents

Texsport Heavy Duty Camp Grill
Kenyon City Grill
Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill
UCO Grilliput Portable Camping Grill
Solaire Infrared Portable Anywhere Grill
Char-Broil Portable Tabletop Charcoal Grill
Weber Q 2200
Traeger Ranger Pellet Grill

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If all you need to do is heat up water to rehydrate packs of camping food, then by all means, stick with the best camping cooking gear. If you want to grill up some ribeye, burgers, or salmon fillets while you’re away from it all, then one of these portable grills will certainly serve all your alfresco cooking needs.

Texsport Heavy Duty Camp Grill

There’s no manlier way to cook than with an open fire. This rugged grill folds flat for storage and opens up into a sturdy, durable cook surface that perches atop the flames of your campfire charcoal bed. Its 24-inch by 16-inch cook-top will accommodate several steaks, up to eight burgers, and plenty of roasting veggies. Unfortunately, with its rugged design comes a hefty 10-pound weight, making this grill a bad choice for backpacking. Also, you’ll need to know how to build a fire.

Kenyon City Grill

So for this one, you’ll need an outlet, limiting you to a campsite with facilities, an RV, a cabin with power, or your own backyard. But what you lose in suitability for use in remote locations, you gain in its amazing performance. This plug-in electric grill could well be the only grill you use at home thanks to its superb heat control and the high temperatures it can reach. You can clean the grate by hand or in the dishwasher; the drip trays last for many uses but can be tossed once overly soiled. Shout out to Kenyon for keeping things simple: The grill is controlled with just one knob, which features an off position and eight different heat settings ranging from low to high. Also, this is the “Official Grill of the Boston Red Sox,” just FYI.

Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill

Ah, the little grill that could. If you’ve never cooked using a Weber, you’re missing out on a classic slice of American life. This little grill is every bit as capable as its iconic larger cousin, the Kettle Grill. The Smokey Joe, however, weighs less than 10 pounds and will fit in your compact car’s trunk. Just don’t forget the charcoal. And maybe some lighter fluid. Oh, and the meat … never forget the meat.

UCO Grilliput Portable Camping Grill

Design nerds and outdoor cooking enthusiasts unite! The UCO grill is brilliant and capable — each piece of the grill slides into a steel tube when disassembled, and assembly takes just a few minutes. The result is a 10-inch by 9-inch grill surface that perches above your campfire, cooking perfectly seared meats. At less than 20 oz in weight, this clever, compact grill is light enough to carry during days of trekking. Great food and the great outdoors, together at last. You also don’t need much information on how to clean a grill to take care of it.

Solaire Infrared Portable Anywhere Grill

Hate waiting for your grill to warm up? If so, the Solaire Infrared Portable Anywhere Grill is just the thing for you. The infrared burner heats up in three minutes and, according to the brand, the high temperatures generated cook your food up to 30% faster (while retaining up to 35% more natural juices). Another cool feature of this grill is the V-Grate, which helps eliminate flare-ups during grilling.

Char-Broil Portable Tabletop Charcoal Grill

Sometimes, the simplest option is the best option. This tabletop charcoal grill from Char-Broil does not have any fancy bells or whistles; it just does what it’s supposed to, and it does it well. The grill only weighs 7.5 pounds and it folds up, making for easy transportation and storage. With little to set up or assemble, you’ll be grilling in no time.

Weber Q 2200

Featuring 280 square inches of cooking space, the Weber Q 2200 is an all-around great option when you’re looking for a portable grill. Equipped with one burner that generates 12,000 BTU per hour, this grill makes short work of any meal you may concoct on the go. Folding side tables make the grill easy to store or move, so you’ll really have no worries about bringing it along.

Traeger Ranger Pellet Grill

We love just about everything Traeger puts out and this portable pellet grill is no exception. With a pellet hopper that holds eight pounds and a cooking space that accommodates up to six burgers (or one rack of ribs) at a time, you’ll be cranking out delicious food over your own personal mix of pellets in no time. The grill even comes with a cast iron griddle, allowing you to cook everything from breakfast to dinner. The one downside, though, is that it weighs 60 pounds, making it not great for bringing into the woods while camping.