Portable Barbecue
A portable barbecue grill will give you the freedom to barbecue wherever and whenever the mood strikes you. Instead of relying on expensive and unhealthy fast food or just-add-water camp food, you can eat real steaks, burgers and ribs anywhere you can make room enough for a portable barbecue.
Portable barbecue grills come in several different styles, but your most basic choice is between a portable charcoal grill and a portable gas grill. Each type of portable barbecue has advantages and disadvantages.
Charcoal grills are often seen as the better choice for flavor, although a properly made gas grill will also give excellent flavor. Charcoal grills tend to be less expensive, although the cost of charcoal adds up over time. Charcoal must be lit far in advance of when you plan to start cooking, often 45 minutes or more, depending on whether you need direct or indirect heat. Charcoal can often be hard to light, although a charcoal starter is an inexpensive way to get your charcoal evenly burning right from the start.
Charcoal is also potentially very messy and requires more clean up. You will also be limited in how quickly you can cool the grill to pack it up and in how long you can cook before the charcoal burns out.
A gas grill is easier to clean, lights reliably and quickly, and is easier to cool off when you need to turn it off and pack it up. Gas grills can cook as long as you have propane, and most are available with an adaptor hose that will allow you to hook up to a 20 pound tank for some serious grilling time. This can come in handy if you are cooking for a crowd. Since a gas grill is easily adjustable with a flick of the dial, you can easily change up how you are cooking and for how long.
Look carefully for the features that are important to you in any grill. Some have a lid lock, making it easier to keep them from spilling if they tip. Some have built in tool clips for your accessories. A good venting system is important for even cooking. A few portable barbecue models have built in side tables so you have extra work space no matter where you are.
Either way you choose to go, a portable barbecue can make camping, tailgating, and picnicking a lot more enjoyable. Some portable grills can also fit into a cart, so you can use them as a backyard grill in between use as a portable barbecue.
