The Best Portable Charcoal Grills of 2019 [Buying Guide]
Portable charcoal grills are supposed to go perfectly with a barbecue weekend. For grilling a steak, nothing an even come close to that of the quality given by charcoal grills, but with the wide range of new charcoal grills coming in day and out, it often confuses one to reconsider his choices when choosing to buy a charcoal grill. You need to have a specific skill set to search for a charcoal grill, that suits you best as per your demands, or you might end up wasting a lot of bills.
A lot of parameters are supposed to be kept in mind before choosing to have a charcoal gas grill -Portability, compactness, weight and power output are the few of the deciding factors which shape the quality of the food you are going to get in the near future. Durability, too, needs to be explicitly considered in every product you think to buy, pleasant experience for a year might not do justice to the bomb that exploded on your pocket a while back.
In a Hurry? Check out Our Top 3 Picks!
#1
Weber 121020 Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill
Weber is one of the leading brands when it comes to grilling, and this is indeed the best portable and affordable charcoal grill.
5 of 5 Stars#2#2#2
Weber 40020 Smokey Joe Premium
Weber Smokey Joe Premium is a great lightweight charcoal grill with a huge cooking area and great portability.
4.5 of 5 Stars#2#2#3
Cuisinart CGG-180TS Charcoal Grill
This charcoal grill by Cuisinart is one of the most affordable grills available in the market made of stainless steel.
4 of 5 Stars
Best Portable Charcoal Grills 2019 – Our Top Recommendations
We here today, after hours of research, are going to shortlist our best portable charcoal grills from the market for you, which I am sure will help you immensely in making a choice and give you better clarity on the factors we just talked about.
#1. Weber 121020 Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill
Weber is a household name in the grilling community. For someone trying his hands for the first time on the grills, Weber is a specific manufacturer you’ll encounter in every product list. With the decades of manufacturing of reliable products for the grilling community, Weber has set a new standard in the field of grilling. Everything they produce, in some way, is better than the other manufacturing units. With the product dimensions of 12.2 x 21 x 14.5 inches, this charcoal grill gives you a decent grilling area of 160 sq, more than sufficient to accommodate two steaks or six hamburgers at a time. The rusted body comes up with porcelain enamel coating giving away a premium look to this outstanding product, weighing 45 lbs.This portable charcoal grill comes up with two adjustable dampers ensuring a smooth flow of air, even if something creates doubt over that, the three vent holes suffice and account for the proper supply of air in the grill. This gas grill comes up with a grill rack in case you want to reheat some cheeseburgers without disturbing the main grills, which was an unheard feature got noticed later on.
Pros:
- Easy to assemble.
- Air vents accounting for even heat flow.
Cons:
- Relatively higher dimensions than the other grills in the market.
#2. Weber Jumbo Joe 18-inch Charcoal Grill
This portable charcoal grill under the brand name of Weber comes up with a lot of remarkable features that too in a decent retail price. For someone, who is not too intensively updated in the grilling community, and wants to try hands on portable charcoal grills, this one can be trusted with a blindfold on for sure.
Weber, with every unit they manufacture, proves the fact that great deals do come with affordable price tags. Though this gas grill looks too small in size, but performs exceptionally well, giving away a premium experience, considering the retail numbers it comes with.With the irony in the name, Weber Jumbo Joe performs at par with the full-sized high-quality Weber Charcoal grills. It gives you unbelievable cooking area of 240 sq inches, with the dimensions of 19.8 x 20.5 x 19.8, sufficient enough for half a dozen people, considering they don’t eat like a beast, of course. The dampers let you control the temperature inside the grill, ensuring nothing goes off to the food getting grilled.
The ash catcher, built on Aluminum, is not that great, but works quite well on regular use, considering you are grilling for not more than six hours. The porcelain enameled bowl and lids give a premium metal look to this charcoal grill, which might force you to recommend this grill to the people around!
Pros:
- Performs extremely well for the price.
- Great portability.
- Great cooking surface area.
Cons:
- Lower air vent might get clogged with ash when used for considerably longer periods.
#3. Char-Griller Akorn Jr. Kamado Kooker
Well, this grill might not suit for the majority of the people, but considering the portability and space it eats up, this grill is the best option to go with for someone planning to go on camping/hiking. The vintage look might not appeal most of the members of the grilling community, but there is, indeed, a section of people, who prefer the old-age look and performance of this grill over anything else.
Everything you can think of at first is okay with this grill. But in spite of the relatively smaller size, probably the smallest grill in the section, it weighs close to 40 pounds, which is a lot when it comes to portable charcoal grills. Assuming you are running out of space and you cook occasionally, and carrying 40 pounds is not a problem, this one is the best grill currently in the market.The product dimensions, 20.5 x 21.5 x 25.3 inches, are relatively smaller, occupying a lot less space when compared to the other portable grills. But you do need to consider the fact that the portability with this grill is not that great, it’s not a child play of course. Ignoring the weight and portability, the negatives, mostly the positive weigh over the negatives, the reason this grill made it into this competitive list. The cooking area is 153 sq inches, sufficient enough for a few people. Kamado grills are often known for the temperature maintenance, one of the big positives for this grill, grilling the food in with slow searing giving a rich flavor. Frying meat becomes amazingly favorable with this charcoal grill, as it goes all the way from 200 degrees Fahrenheit to 700 degrees Fahrenheit, searing slowly and steadily.
Pros:
- Decent temperature and heat control.
- Large surface area for cooking.
Cons:
- Poor portability.
- Too overweight compared to the others of the kind.
#4. Weber 40020 Smokey Joe Premium
Weber 40020 Smokey Joe Premium completely resonates to the thoughts one have about a portable grill. Just name it, from portability to lightweight and large cooking area. I have to sum it up in one word; this budget portable charcoal grill is simply amazing. Though this unit is relatively smaller when compared to the other portable charcoal grills from Weber, it performs much above what one may expect with a portable grill at the price range it comes.With the product dimensions of 15.4 x 15.6 x 9.2 inches, this portable gas grills weigh only nine pounds! Yes, you read that right, even a kid might pull it off from the ground like a teddy, and it’s so lightweight that carrying this grill on hiking and camping won’t feel like you have some extra pile over your shoulders.
The Weber Burger Press can accommodate five burgers at once, which further own the question of cooking space this grill offers, in spite of the small size.The two dampers allow you to control the temperature in and out, the vents with holes ensure even supply of air inside, giving a different flavor to your grilled food. The rust-resistant porcelain enameled lid and bowl retain heat without giving peels, as guaranteed by the Weber. When it comes to durability, Weber ranks on the Everest, so there is no question on durability, you are good to go with it considering the reliability.
Pros:
- Weighs only nine pounds.
- Easy to carry around.
- Amazing durability.
Cons:
- Some elements can break off if high-pressure is applied.
#5. Char-Griller E22424 Table Top Charcoal Grill
When you look up to the pictures of this grill, you’ll find it much different in looks than any other portable grill in this list. But there are plenty of reasons, accounting for this grill to get into this list! Char-Griller E22424 will leave an impression in your mind with the fact that the whole grill is constructed on cast iron, which accounts for its durability for at least a couple of decades! For those who don’t know, Cast Iron is supposed to be the finest form of iron, after pig iron of course.
The cast iron grates give a premium vintage look to this portable grill, a lot of common problems from the grilling community has been kept in mind before manufacturing this unit, which is quite evident from the amazing features we are going to discuss here.The product dimensions, 18.5 x 16 x 17 inches, are more or less the same when compared to any other portable grills, but the grill weighing 40 pounds, is a bit on the higher side. Fortunately, that’s the only negative for this product. The cast iron grates offer you a cooking area of 250 square inches suffices easily for half a dozen people’s food, and there is a lot you might want to cook in a go with this grill.
An effective solution for cleaning the ash on the grill, unlike the other portable grills, has been solved utterly with this grill. The cast iron grates are designed in such a way that you can take away the ash anytime you want to from the grates, justifies the weird look huh?
Pros:
- Relatively larger cooking surface area.
- Lets you clean the ash at any moment.
Cons:
- Portability is comparatively less because of the product weight.
#6. Cuisinart CGG-180TS Charcoal Grill
Being one of the only portable charcoal grills from Cuisinart, you don’t need to be suspicious about anything related to this grill. One of the most crucial points for which this grill has made it into the list is its performance with the price it comes.
Cuisinart CGG-180TS is currently the best low budget portable grill available in the market, manufactured on the stainless steel making the cleaning mess much easier for you, and this charcoal grill is easy to carry while traveling and gets perfectly with small accommodating places.The product dimensions, 18.5 x 16 x 11.5 inches, are quite similar to the high-end grills manufactured by Weber, but the product weight is a factor where it beats even its top-most competitor Weber. Weighing only 13 pounds, this charcoal grill is super easy to carry around without any mess.
The cooking area of 145 square inches you get with this grill is sufficient enough to get six steaks in one go, impressive? The porcelain enameled coating on the grates, with foldable legs, gives absolutely a pleasant grilling experience.
Pros:
- Very lightweight, more comfortable to carry around.
- Large cooking surface area.
Cons:
- Features are not at par with the high-end grills.
#7. Quick Grill Medium Original Folding Charcoal BBQ Grill
This grill might not appeal to you as much as any other grill did on this list, the reason being is the simplicity, which rules out all and makes it a unique product on the list. The grill was specially manufactured for hikers and travelers.
The grill weighs incredibly low- 4 pounds! Yes, you read that right, just four pounds. With no fancy features, unlike the other high-end grills, this one lets you grill essential edibles, which is quite a lot for hungry Homo sapiens tired after a hiking day. The 13 x 12 x 13 inches product dimensions are quite higher for a four-pound portable grill, but because this grill is super easy to assemble with no assistance, it has to be that huge.
For outdoor activities, fishing, hiking, or a random day at the park, this grill could be super handy for you to take this with yourself to instantly plan a four hamburgers meal in a go with this grill!
Pros:
- Easy assembly
- Super light to carry around
Cons:
- A little expensive
These were 7 of the best portable charcoal grills available in 2019. I hope this helped you find the right one for you. These type of grills can be beneficial for outdoor activities like camping or fishing. Hope you have a great experience with the grill you buy. Happy Grilling!