Portable & Tabletop Grills

Everything in this group fits in a car trunk. Legs fold or lock away, the lid latches down over the grate. Total weight runs 10 to 30 pounds around a cooking area of 150 to 250 square inches.

Two fuel paths dominate. Gas models run on a 1 pound disposable propane canister, which holds about 21,600 BTU and feeds an 8,000 to 10,000 BTU burner for roughly two hours, and many accept an adapter hose to a 20 pound tank where the maker allows it. Charcoal models take about half a chimney of coals in a shallow bowl. Thin metal is the constant across both, since these bodies store almost no heat. That means a breeze or a lifted lid costs you 50 degrees quickly and cooking with the lid down matters far more than it does on a heavy cart grill.

A full size gas grill does all of this at four times the area and none of the mobility. Electric grills answer the balcony question better where flame is banned, because a portable propane grill is still an open flame under most fire codes. Flat top griddles also come in tabletop sizes, and a 17 inch plate travels the same way for people cooking breakfast rather than burgers.

Campers, tailgaters, boat owners and anyone with a balcony too narrow for a cart are the buyers. Two to four people is the capacity, since 200 square inches cooks six or seven burgers and then everybody waits. Cooking regularly for six makes this a second grill rather than the only one. Tabletop models also need a stable non combustible surface with clearance underneath, because the base gets hot enough to scorch a plastic table.

Work the lid latch and the leg locks with one hand, since both get used while you are carrying something else. Weight under 25 pounds is the line for a single trip from car to site. A cast iron grate holds heat that thin wire never will, at the cost of a few pounds. Disconnect the canister before transport, never move a grill with warm coals inside, and check the hose for cracks each season, as rubber left in a hot trunk hardens and splits.