When you’re done cooking, the grill cools quickly, and you don’t have to worry about dumping out ashes. The Weber Traveler comes up to grilling temperatures quickly, and the porcelain-enameled cast-iron grates hold heat well. When I cooked burgers, chicken, pork chops, and steaks, I was able to get decent grill marks and a nice Maillard crust. Because I expect quality grub wherever I go, I’m forever on the hunt for the best travel cooking gear. Despite its large frame, the Q 1200 only sports 189 square inches of grill space.
At 30 pounds and with a long cool-down time (again, cast iron), it’s also not going to be very portable. Even though the Jumbo Joe isn’t the smallest or most compact charcoal grill we tested, it is lightweight (about 18 pounds) and easy to carry. A swiveling metal arm holds the grill together for transport and doubles as a lid holder while you’re grilling. The comfortable plastic handle weber kettle bbq allows you to lift the grill with one hand, while a heat shield keeps it cool to the touch during grilling. But portable grills are generally not as versatile as a full-size grill. Our picks fit about half as much food as their full-size counterparts (six burgers versus 12) and aren’t ideal for large cuts of meat that require slow or indirect cooking, such as roasts or pork shoulder.
But, it would be cool to have the option to detach it for true tailgating, motorcycle trips, or to plonk down on a picnic table without bringing the cart along. In stock expedited shipments will ship the same day, or the next business day for orders placed on weber portable gas grill a weekend, if the order is placed before 12 PM Central Time. Non-expedited orders are processed for shipment within two business days of payment verification, excluding holidays. You will receive a shipping confirmation e-mail once your order has shipped.
Sturdiness is a big factor for safety and sanity when considering a tabletop or pop-up model. A grill that rocks and wobbles will provide significant challenges when you attempt to cook on it. As a rule of thumb, a grill with thicker construction will retain and spread heat better than one with thin walls and bottoms, with some exceptions. The Everdure CUBE, for example, has thinner construction but is specifically designed to distribute heat evenly. Char-Broil covers the Grill2Go X200’s lid, firebox, and burner for five years and everything else for one year.
We couldn’t do that with the 14-inch Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill, where the single vent and the lack of airflow caused the coals to extinguish while we were cooking. When the side tables are tucked inside the grill for transport, the Q 1200 is about the size of a small carry-on suitcase. It weighs about 30 pounds, and you need two hands to carry it, because it doesn’t have a weber portable grill latch to hold the lid securely to the firebox. But the position of the side handles helps to evenly distribute its 30-pound heft and lessens the burden of hoisting and moving the grill. While the high heat setting perfectly seared burgers without burning, the Q 1200 also outperformed the competition at steady medium-low heat for items such as bone-in chicken and sausage links.