Home - The Best Portable Charcoal Grills in 2023

The Best Portable Charcoal Grills in 2023

by Alexander Wong

In today’s busy culture, it is imperative that we are able to bring as many comforts of home with us on all of our journeys. That’s why finding the perfect portable charcoal grill is essential to ensure your trips are enjoyable, no matter how long or short.

We have been grilling and smoking for over twenty years, so we have learned a thing or two about the importance of grilling, even on the go. In order to assist you in finding the best portable charcoal grill for camping or RV use, we have reviewed the highlights and features of the grills on the market and compiled a list of the best portable charcoal grills.

Top Portable Charcoal Grills Reviews

1. Weber Smokey Joe 14-Inch Portable Grill

Weber Smokey Joe 14-Inch Portable Grill

The Weber 10020 Smokey Joe 14-Inch Portable Grill is simply grilling at its best. This grill provides you with a small stature for easy transport, with a large grilling capacity to accommodate all of your guests. Whether tailgating or camping, this grill is the perfect complement to any day out with friends.

We believe that this Weber Smokey Joe portable grill is the best portable charcoal barbecue you can purchase. It is lightweight and compact making it extremely easy to transport and store, particularly while on the move. The simplicity of the design allows for consistently well-grilled food with every use.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 9.5 pounds
  • Dimensions: 14.2 x 14.5 x 17 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 147 square inches

2. Weber Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill

Weber Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill

The Weber 121020 Go-Anywhere Charcoal Grill features plated steel legs that swivel out and up, securing the lid and providing perfect compactness for storage and transport. This is an excellent grill to provide a taste of home while camping or tailgating.

The Go-Anywhere grill from Weber is a small and portable charcoal grill that is great for those individuals that are looking for easy setup and storage capability. It poses a durable construction with ample cooking space, making it an excellent accessory for any camping trip or outdoor adventure.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 15 pounds
  • Dimensions: 12.2 x 21 x 14.5 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 160 square inches

3. Char-Griller Smoker Side Fire Box Portable Charcoal Grill

Char-Griller E82424 Smoker Side Fire Box Portable Charcoal Grill

The Char-Griller Smoker Side Fire Box Portable Charcoal Grill can be used as a tabletop grill or as a horizontal Texas-style smoker. It features a removable ash pan, heavy steel construction, and cast iron cooking grates. This grill provides extreme versatility for the avid griller or smoker enthusiast.

This easy-to-assemble and use Char-Griller box charcoal grill is perfect for anyone who is looking for options with a portable griller. With features like the ability to use it as a smoker and an easy-to-clean ash/charcoal drawer, we believe this to be a great portable charcoal barbeque grill option.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 40 pounds
  • Dimensions: 18.5 x 17 x 16 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 250 square inches

4. Cuisinart CCG-190RB Portable Charcoal Grill

Cuisinart CCG190RB Inch BBQ

There is no mistake that the Cuisinart CCG -190RB was made to be transported. With its three-lock hood and lightweight construction, this grill is a must-include in our tabletop charcoal grill reviews list and should be a top contender for those individuals that are looking for a simple, portable tabletop grill.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 2 pounds
  • Dimensions: 14.5 x 14.5 x 15 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 150 square inches

5. Char-Broil GRILL T/T CHAR BLK

GRILL T T CHAR BLK

The Char-Broil Portable Tabletop Charcoal Grill is an excellent choice for those grillers that are looking for a quick and easy set-up portable grill. This grill features heat-resistant handles, and quality steel construction and works with lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes.

This compact portable charcoal grill is a great purchase for the griller who is looking for an easy option to take along on a camping trip, in an RV, or to the beach.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 7.5 pounds
  • Dimensions: 17.5 x 11 x 12.6 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 187 square inches

6. Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler Portable Charcoal Grill

Oklahoma Joe's 19402088 Rambler Portable Charcoal Grill

The Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler Portable Charcoal Grill features heavy-duty steel construction along with thick cast-iron grates. The tray is height-adjustable providing versatility for all of your grilling wants and desires. The side handles are very sturdy, making this grill an easy and durable option for camping, trips to the beach, or tailgating.

The Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler portable tabletop grill is a large portable charcoal grill. We believe that the sturdy design and heavy-duty construction will provide an excellent option for grillers who need a larger cooking capacity but still want the ability to move their grill from place to place.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 53 pounds
  • Dimensions: 26.7 x 19.5 x 21.8 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 218 square inches

7. BESPORTBLE Charcoal Grill Folding BBQ Grill

Portable Stove Charcoal Grill Folding BBQ Grill

The Besportble Grill works with charcoal and contains a large grilling surface. It is extremely portable, with the ability to fold flat into an included travel bag. Extremely lightweight and constructed of food contact grade stainless steel, the Wayfarer grill is an outstanding option for the avid outdoorsman.

The Besportble is a lightweight, foldable option that can be used as a fire pit or a grill. Its stainless steel construction folds up flat and fits perfectly into the supplied travel bag for easy storage and transport. The large capacity grill surface is ample enough to allow you to grill for all of your friends, family, and neighbors.

Size and Weight

  • Weight: 10 pounds
  • Dimensions: 22.4 x 19.7 x 2.8 inches
  • Cooking Surface: 370 square inches

Factors to Keep in Mind While Charcoal Grilling

Just like with any type of cooking, it is imperative to keep several factors in your mind to help ensure the best results possible. Here are a few factors that you need to keep in mind when charcoal grilling to help ensure that you can properly control the grill’s temperature.

Don’t Get Trigger Happy with Vent Adjusting

Although adjusting your grill’s vents is an important aspect of properly grilling, you do not want to overdo it. Before you start fiddling with the air vents to help control the temperature, you want to aim for the grill to have a stable temperature for at least twenty to thirty minutes.

After all, you cannot adjust the temperature properly if you do not have an accurate read on the temperature you are starting at.

Once you have adjusted the airflow, you want to wait for around twenty minutes to see the change in temperature that you have adjusted.

However, it is important to know your grill and once you do, adjusting the airflow of your vents will be easier for different situations.

Indirect Cooking vs Direct Cooking

Many people do not realize that it is possible to indirectly and direct cook on a charcoal grill, but they need to be approached differently. It is all based on preference, but you should know the differences between these two forms of cooking to know which one will best fit your methods.

Although it is possible to slow-cook something over direct heat, it is still recommended to use indirect cooking for slower meals.

It is important to understand that charcoal grills can cook more than just burgers and steaks. However, you must know your grill and its limitations. Regardless of your techniques knowing how to control the temperature of your charcoal grill might be different than your friend’s grill.

We hope that the information provided above can help you to get a better understanding of how to control the temperature of your charcoal grill, but we are not perfect.

If you have any secret techniques that you use, please let us know because we are always looking for new and helpful information and grilling techniques.

Grilling with charcoal is the purest form of cooking out there. Food grilled with charcoal is tender and has an authentic flavor and aroma. Once you have finished grilling your food, the charcoal lit in the grill will continue burning unless you extinguish it yourself.

Therefore, knowing how to put out a charcoal grill is vital in preventing a fire disaster. This is because a hot charcoal grill will cause severe burns to children or people who touch it. Suppose you left your grill burning, and an animal knocks the grill over spilling hot charcoal on your backyard. Avoid damaging your property or harming your family by following these steps on putting off the charcoal grill.

Things to Consider When Buying

Cost

While more expensive grills may come with all the bells and whistles, you may not necessarily need them to achieve your desired results

Size

Do you want a compact or larger travel-size charcoal grill? Will it satisfy all of your cooking needs, large or small?

Temperature Controls

Determine if the control regarding temperature is easy for you, as your cooking could be affected if you are having trouble in this area.

Safety

Be sure that you understand how the grill works in order to ensure optimal safety while in use. Look for a grill that makes you feel confident in its sturdiness. Also, keep your exhaust damper open any time the grill is in use, and do not dump the ashes until they are fully extinguished.

Other

Is it easy to use and assemble? Are there any accessories that help set
up or clean up? How long with this grill last?

How to Control Heat on a Charcoal Grill

Have you ever been grilling or cooking to find out after an hour that your food isn’t being cooked fast enough or come back to it being burnt because of temperature issues? Do you understand how to control the temperature of your charcoal grill to ensure your food cooks to perfection?

We have had some of these issues in the past. Therefore, we have come up with some helpful information on how to control the temperature of your charcoal grill.

Four Ways of Controlling Heat in A Charcoal Grill

There are many techniques that people can choose to help maintain the temperature in their charcoal grill, but there are four techniques that are recommended for the best situations.

Adjust Your Grill Vents By Decreasing or Increasing Airflow

Many people get confused about airflow when grilling because different types of grills require different techniques. For instance, with a gas grill, the more airflow the cooler the grill will be.

However, charcoal grills are the exact opposite. You want more airflow in a charcoal grill because it will make the grill hotter.

You do this by opening vents on a charcoal grill to help increase airflow.

There are two main thoughts when it comes to airflow:

Although both of these ideas can be used, the first one is recommended by most grilling professionals because it is easier to get an accurate read on the temperature.

However, regardless of the way you choose, you need to make sure that you never fully close the exhaust damper that is found on top of the grill because gases and smoke do need to be able to escape.

Use a Grill Shield to Help Lower the Grill’s Temperature

Sometimes you realize that your food is grilling faster than you need to, and at this point, you will need to lower the grill’s temperature. Creating a grill shield is a simple way to do this.

To do this, you will need aluminum foil. Then you will fold it over a time or two before slipping it under the food that you are worried about burning.

Adjusting the Distance Between the Coals and Your Food

The closer your food is to the actual coals the hotter the grill will be. Therefore, If you realize that your food is cooking too slow, you can position your food to be closer to the coal, but if your food is cooking too fast, you will want to put some distance between the food and the coals to help reduce the amount of heat that the food is receiving.

Build a Two-Zone Fire

You can have one of the best charcoal grills, on the market, but knowing how to control the heat of your grill is important.

Building a two-zone fire can help to create a cooler zone for food that needs longer to cook thoroughly. How do you build a two-zone fire? Here are a few steps to follow to do this technique correctly:

This will help with indirect and direct grilling because you never know what will happen during your grilling session. Having a two-zone fire will allow you to maneuver between indirect and direct cooking as you see fit.

How to Put Out a Charcoal Grill: 5 Steps

Shut Down the Charcoal Grill

Put on heavy-duty gloves when you have finished your grilling session to prevent getting burnt by the hot grill. Start by removing the rack from the charcoal grill and slowly closing the lid.

Close the two vents which are located at the top and at the base of the charcoal grill.

Closing the vents will cut off airflow to the chamber, thus blocking oxygen from fueling the fire.

Leave the grill for 48 hours to cool down so that all the embers are completely burnt. During this time, make sure your charcoal grill is safe and out of harm’s way.

Remove the Ash and Briquettes from the Grill

After 48 hours, your charcoal grill is now cold, and you should proceed to remove ash and briquettes. Some grills have ash dumps; use them to get out ash from the chamber. If not, scoop the ash with an ash-removal basket. Tip the ashes onto a sheet of aluminum foil to dispose of them away.

Wrap the aluminum foil carefully and dispose of it in the metal trash can as any burning ember can burn through a plastic garbage can. Use the long grill tongs when handling the wrapped aluminum foil to avoid getting burnt.

Place the bucket of water beside the charcoal grill, and use the long-handled tongs to place the briquettes inside the bucket.

Instead of waiting for the briquettes to cool off, you could remove them together with the ash and place them in an inflammable bowl. Do not put the briquettes and ash in the same bowl.

Avoid Water

Even though pouring water over the grill will put it off, you are not supposed to do that. Do not pour water onto your charcoal grill while it’s showing any signs of heat. Only use water if you must pack up your barbeque for camping.

Clean the Charcoal Grill

After removing the ash and briquettes from your grill, it now needs a deep cleanse cleaning. Cleaning the grill is essential in eliminating built-up grease and ash.

Return Leftover Briquettes

When the hot briquettes have completely cooled down, put them back inside your grill using the long-handled tongs.

What to do with Coals after Grilling?

After grilling, Coal that is not used up is worth saving for the homeowner. If you want to be economical, follow these steps on how to reuse charcoal.

For the best grilling results, mix the reclaimed charcoal with unused charcoal on your next grilling session. Cheap briquettes won’t be best to reuse since they crumble when they are wet.

After the summer, you may find yourself with a half-empty sack of charcoal. Since summer is over, you are probably wondering what to do with the charcoal. Please don’t throw it away.

Knowing how to put off a charcoal grill will save you fuel considerably and keep you, your family, and your property safe from harm’s way. Enjoy a safe and frugal barbecue.

Conclusion

We believe the Weber Smokey Joe portable grill is the best portable charcoal grill on the list. It has a small footprint with a large cooking capacity, making it easy to transport while being able to accommodate all of your cooking needs. As always, Happy Grilling!

5/5 - (1 vote)

You may also like