You want charcoal with a starter chimney. You’ll never willingly go back to a gas fired grill.
No, not really. Charcoal would be ok for home use. Not for portable grill for me.
See, you have to understand the reasons I ended up with a portable grill and what I’ve put this grill through…
Back when I worked for Autozone as a hub driver (working 12+ hour days because there were three 4 hour runs in a day for my route), someone got insistent that we take a 1 hour lunch. More often than not, runs were late because parts weren’t pulled in time and most drivers just grabbed food on the run or packed a sandwich. Nobody really wanted to add another hour to the work day. So when the demand that we take a 1 hour lunch came down, it didn’t take long for me to make a plan. The cheap portable grill that my parents had for summer trips went on the truck and I started cooking lunches on my tailgate and would walk next door to the beer store to get a cigar to have with my lunch.
Well, those cheap portable grills aren’t really intended for daily use so I burned out two of them in short order. March of 2016 I bought a brand new CharBroil portable grill and a hose to adapt to a 20# cylinder. That was a game changer, brand new it would easily soar to 650*, which meant that properly searing a steak was possible. It heats up quick and cools down relatively quick so I could pull it onto my tailgate, cook lunch, eat lunch, and slide it back in the bed. All well within an hour. Can’t do that with charcoal really. That became my thing even when I changed jobs. That grill has traveled a lot with me and I’ve learned to cook almost anything on it. I lost track of how many 20# cylinders I’ve emptied with it. Even used cast iron skillets on it.
Lisa’s work uses a flat top grill in the kitchen for the majority of stuff they make and since flat tops are becoming popular, and after seeing how versatile they are, I’m thinking that’s my next portable grill. It would largely eliminate the need for a skillet for some things. So for a handy, portable grill, I think gas is the ticket. At least when you use it as often as I do. At home, my parents have a big 4 burner grill, but most of the time we don’t really need it. My parents split a burger for dinner. I’ll usually eat just one burger at home. No need to fire up the big grill for two burgers, so my portable one gets used. My only requirements for a new grill is I want multiple burners (one burner is tricky for cooking stuff that does better with low or indirect heat) and I would prefer it be USA made.
Few years back Tractor Supply had a sale running on these portable Blackstone grills, gas, half was a traditional grill and half was a flat top. I’m still kicking myself for not getting one. Especially because they don’t make them anymore from my understanding.
If you get one with a frame for the traditional grill feel, make sure you buy one with wheels. I went “cheap” on my Blackstone and pretty much never used it because it was a pain in the ass and didn’t feel like adding wheels so now it’s my brother’s.
I’m looking for either a “table-top” type or something with folding legs. At home it will sit on an old grill stand and out and about it will likely sit on my tailgate. I want portable, something I can easily move around on my own without wheels. If it has a folding stand to it, that’s cool, frees up the tailgate, but it’s not required for me. Somewhat compact is. Right now I’m leaning towards a 2-burner Blackstone. Possibly a 2-burner Camp Chef. Really like the 4-burner Camp Chef, but it’s a little out of my current budget and it’s arguably bigger than I need at nearly 3’ long for a cooking surface. Does have a folding stand and side trays that fold out though.
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