Fold a real grill down to 20 pounds for a campsite, a tailgate or a balcony too small for a cart.
also: camping grill, tailgate grill, travel grill
The basics
What to know about grills & smokers
Fire on one side, food on the other
Fire on one side of a metal box and food on the other describes everything in this group, from a 20 pound tabletop unit to a 500 pound offset smoker. Grilling and smoking differ only in distance and time. Food set directly over heat at 450 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit cooks in ten minutes and comes off with a crust. Food set beside the heat under a closed lid at 225 to 275 degrees for eight hours is smoking, which is slow roasting in wood smoke. Most machines here do both once you move the fire. Size is quoted in square inches of primary cooking grate, and that number, rather than the fuel, decides how many people eat at once.
The four parts that matter
Four parts do the work whatever the badge says: a firebox that contains combustion, a grate that carries food above it, a lid that traps heat and smoke, and vents or valves that meter air. Gas answers a knob in seconds. Charcoal and wood answer air instead, so a bottom intake vent sets how fast fuel burns while a top exhaust vent pulls draft up through the chamber. Both take ten to twenty minutes to show a result. Pellets hand that job to a motor, feeding compressed hardwood into a small fire pot by auger while a fan and a controller chase a set number. BTU per hour, printed largest on gas grills, counts fuel burned rather than heat delivered, so a thin firebox under a loose lid posts a huge figure and still stalls in a cold wind. Divide instead: about 80 to 100 BTU per hour for each square inch of primary grate is plenty at home. Lighting only half the grate is what makes any of these cook properly, because a hot zone to sear over and an unlit zone to finish over is how a thick chop reaches the center before the outside turns to carbon.
Work out the cooking area
Run the arithmetic first. A quarter pound burger needs about 30 square inches once you leave room to turn it, so a 360 square inch kettle cooks a dozen at once. Roughly 100 square inches per person covers a mixed cook with vegetables alongside. Match the machine to a real week: four dinners a week points at gas or electric, ready in ten minutes, while twice a month points at charcoal, ceramic or an offset, where tending fire is part of what you bought. Siting decides more than either. Nothing here may run indoors, in a garage with the door open, in a screened porch or under an eave, because propane, charcoal, wood and pellets all give off carbon monoxide, a gas you cannot smell that reaches lethal levels in an enclosed space before anyone feels unwell. Makers print a minimum of 24 to 36 inches from combustible surfaces, and fire services ask for 10 feet between a lit grill and siding, deck rails or anything overhead. Renters need one more check, since many fire codes bar charcoal and propane from balconies in multifamily buildings and permit electric only. Where nothing outdoors is possible, the grill pan covered under Cookware is the indoor stand in, and it will never add smoke flavor.
Speed, flavor and control
Speed, flavor and control never arrive together. Gas puts dinner out in twenty minutes and gives a milder taste, since drippings vaporizing off metal bars make less smoke than burning wood does. Charcoal returns that flavor and charges you twenty to thirty minutes of chimney time at the front plus a pan of ash at the back. Pellets deliver an unattended overnight cook that holds within 10 to 15 degrees, then stop near 450 to 500 degrees, short of what a hard sear wants. Ceramic covers 225 to over 700 degrees and weighs 150 to 250 pounds, so it stays wherever you first set it. An offset makes the heaviest smoke on this list and asks for a log every 45 to 60 minutes across a twelve hour cook. Running costs follow the same shape. A 20 pound propane tank holds around 430,000 BTU and runs a 40,000 BTU grill for roughly ten hours. By comparison, a 20 pound bag of pellets lasts seven to twenty hours depending on the temperature you hold.
Lift the lid
Weight is the first signal, because steel thickness drives everything that follows. Lift the lid and let it drop. A heavy one seats flat and holds temperature, while a tinny lid rings, rocks and streams heat out of the gap. Carry a magnet for the stainless, which grips 430, the cheaper grade that stains and rusts at welds, and slides off 304, the grade that survives salt air. Grates settle the rest, since solid stainless rod near 8 millimeters and cast iron store enough heat to mark food, where thin plated wire flakes its coating inside two seasons. Read the warranty as a confession: ten years on burners beside one year on everything else names the parts the maker expects to fail. Confirm too that grease drains to a removable cup you can reach, and that burners, grates, igniters and gaskets are sold as spares, because a grill with no parts channel is a five year purchase.
Heat does most of the cleaning
Heat does most of the cleaning. Run the grill on high for ten to fifteen minutes after cooking and brush the grate while it is hot, since carbonized residue releases above about 500 degrees and welds itself on below that. Grease is the other half of the job and the real hazard, so empty the drip cup and scrape the firebox floor every two or three cooks, because pooled fat turns a flare up into a fire that will not go out. Water ends most of these in the end. Let the grill cool completely before a cover goes on, as a cover over warm metal traps condensation and rusts the box from inside. Empty charcoal ash after every session too, since ash holds moisture against the bowl. Store spare propane outdoors and upright, never in a garage or basement, and brush soapy water over the hose fittings each spring, where bubbles mean a leak you fix before lighting anything.
Buyer checklist
Before you buy grills & smokers
Measure the space, check compatibility and include cleaning and running costs in the decision.
01
Measure the space and access
Check the product, clearance, doorways, cabinets, sockets and storage space, not just the advertised width.
02
Confirm compatibility
Induction cookware, replacement filters, voltage, plugs and dishwasher safety can decide whether a product works in your home.
03
Count the ongoing costs
Energy, water, filters, pods, bags and replacement parts can outweigh a small difference in purchase price.
04
Check cleaning and repair
Removable parts, accessible seals and available spares usually make long-term ownership easier.
Count square inches against the crowd you feed. A quarter pound burger needs about 30 square inches with room to turn, so 200 square inches feeds two or three people, 400 covers a family of four with sides. Past 600 you are cooking for a party.
Measure the pad, then add the swing. A three burner cart runs 50 to 58 inches wide with the shelves up, the lid wants 18 to 24 inches of clear space above and behind to open. The whole thing still has to stand 10 feet off the house wall.
Weigh the move before you buy the mass. A ceramic kamado runs 150 to 250 pounds and a full offset passes 500. That means a level pad and two people, while a cart grill on 8 inch wheels crosses a lawn alone.
Check the gate and the path. Most grills ship boxed but assemble to 50 inches or more across, so a 36 inch gate or a narrow side return decides whether you build it in the yard or in the driveway and then cannot move it.
Time the routine rather than the recipe. Charcoal needs 20 to 30 minutes in a chimney before the first steak lands and a pellet grill needs about 15, so getting home at 6:30 means eating at 7:15, where gas and electric hold the line at ten minutes.
Plan where the fuel lives. A spare 20 pound propane tank has to stand upright outdoors and never in a garage or basement. A 20 pound bag of pellets needs a sealed dry bin, since damp pellets swell and jam the auger.
Care
Caring for grills & smokers
Burn the grate clean on high for ten to fifteen minutes after every cook, then brush it while the metal is still hot. Carbonized food lets go above roughly 500 degrees Fahrenheit and cements itself in place once things cool.
Empty the grease cup and scrape the firebox floor every two or three sessions. Pooled fat is what feeds a flare up into a grill fire. A fire inside a closed grill is smothered by shutting the lid and the gas, never by water.
Wait until the metal is stone cold before the cover goes on. A cover trapped over warm steel holds condensation against the box and rusts it from the inside faster than rain ever would.
Oil cast iron grates thinly after cleaning, using an oil with a high smoke point. Bare iron flash rusts within a day in humid air, and that rust transfers straight onto the next thing you cook.
Leave charcoal ash for 48 hours before it goes into a metal container with a lid. Coals hold enough heat to start a fire two days later, which is how a bag of ash burns down a shed.
Brush soapy water over propane fittings at the start of each season and after every tank change. Bubbles at a joint mean gas is escaping, and a hose or regulator is a cheap part next to a fire.
Questions
Common questions
How many BTUs do I actually need on a gas grill?
Stop reading the headline number and divide it. About 80 to 100 BTU per hour for every square inch of primary grate is enough, so a 450 square inch grill wants roughly 36,000 to 45,000. A big figure on a thin firebox under a loose lid simply burns more gas, since BTU counts fuel consumed rather than heat that reaches the food.
Can I use a grill on an apartment balcony?
Check your local fire code and your lease before you buy anything, because many codes bar charcoal and propane grills from balconies of multifamily buildings and allow electric only. Distance rules often apply within 10 feet of combustible construction. Where open flame is banned, an electric grill on a 1500 watt outlet is the workable answer, and it still stays outdoors.
Should I buy gas or charcoal?
Let your calendar answer. Grilling most weeknights rewards gas, which is ready in ten minutes and shuts off instantly. Weekend cooking with time to spare rewards charcoal, which needs 20 to 30 minutes of chimney start and delivers smoke a burner cannot. Plenty of households buy gas first and add a 22 inch kettle later, since a kettle is the cheapest real cooker in the category.
How far from the house does a grill have to be?
Fire services ask for 10 feet between a lit grill and siding, deck railings, fences or anything overhanging, while manufacturers print a minimum of 24 to 36 inches from combustible surfaces. Take the larger number. Never run one under an eave, on a covered porch, in a garage or in a screened space, since combustion gases include carbon monoxide and need open air.
Why is my chicken burnt outside and raw in the middle?
Direct heat is doing all the cooking. Anything thicker than an inch or needing more than 20 minutes has to finish in an indirect zone. That means food placed beside the fire rather than over it with the lid down. Light half the grate, sear over the hot side, then shift the food to the unlit side and close the lid until the center reaches temperature.
How do I stop my grill from rusting?
Rust starts where water sits and where coatings break. Empty ash after every charcoal cook, since ash holds moisture against the bowl. Put a cover on only once the grill is completely cold, because a cover over warm metal traps condensation. Oil cast iron grates after cleaning, and test stainless with a magnet before buying, as the magnetic 430 grade rusts at welds where 304 does not.
Is a pellet grill a real smoker?
It burns real hardwood, so yes, though the smoke runs lighter than a wood fire produces. An auger feeds pellets into a fire pot while a fan and controller hold a set temperature within 10 to 15 degrees for twelve hours unattended. The catch is heat. Most stop near 450 to 500 degrees at the grate, under what a hard sear needs, and the whole machine dies without a 120 volt outlet.
How do I tell when a propane tank is running low?
Weigh it or wet it. Every tank stamps a tare weight, meaning its empty weight, on the collar, so a scale reading minus that number gives you the propane left out of 20 pounds full. Otherwise pour warm water down one side and feel for the cool line, which marks the liquid level inside. A full tank runs a 40,000 BTU grill for roughly ten hours.
