Consumer Reports Ranks This Portable Grill The Best

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Compact and travel-friendly, portable grills can be worth the investment if you enjoy cooking in the great outdoors while on family vacations and camping trips. These nifty appliances feature clever space-saving designs, like snap-down shelves or detachable legs, so they can be quickly packed away or opened up when another adventure calls. But which one is worth the outlay and can stand the test of time? According to Consumer Reports, the best portable grill is the Broil King Porta-Chef 320, which secured the top spot based on its convenience, even heating, preheat performance, temperature range, and indirect cooking.

Beating competition from the Napoleon TravelQ, WeberQ, and Coleman RoadTrip, the Broil King Porta-Chef features three stainless steel burners, each with its own temperature knob to provide direct control. This allows you to create different zones on your barbecue for making the perfect cheeseburgers or lower the temperature accordingly for grilling at high altitudes. 

The reversible cast iron cooking grid can be flipped depending on what you're cooking (one side for searing and the other for basting), and just beneath it is an undulating metal plate called "Flav-R-Wave" that captures any drippings and vaporizes them so they infuse back into the food. The grill also has folding side shelves, secure lid pins to keep the top shut, and snap-in legs that can be detached and stored inside the base for easy transport, making it ideal for last-minute picnics, tailgating, and beach days.

The Broil King Porta-Chef 320 is available on Amazon for $399. While its Amazon ratings are a bit lower than Consumer Reports, the grill still gets mostly positive reviews. For instance, one Amazon reviewer said, "This was an A+ grill. I have used grills for over 20 years and this is by far the best one. Consumers Report gave it a high rating and I agree with them. This grill was economical, easy to clean and has prepared our food in an outstanding fashion." 

Others spoke favorably of the sizable amount of grill space (just under 300 square inches), the attached side shelves, the heat control, and the quick assembly. Meanwhile, one reviewer said, "Spending as much in our RV as we do, this was the perfect portable grill we could find. The top warming rack was the deciding factor as there are many out there but not with the warming rack." 

Set just above the main grill, the elevated chrome-coated warming rack provides an extra 135 square inches of space, making it useful for cooking or toasting items that don't require direct heat, such as foil-wrapped vegetables, grilled tofu, or burger buns. The grill also comes with a 10-year warranty on the cookbox, a five-year warranty on the burners, and a two-year warranty on the parts and paint.