BEST FOR CAMPING
Camp Chef PG100
$176
FUEL: Propane,
16.4 ounce
COOKING SURFACE:
11" x 18", nickel-plated
steel rod
BURNERS: One→ This single-burner
grill is built to handle
the rugged conditions
of travel cooking, with
steel rod foldout legs
and two substantial
clasps securing a stain-
less-steel lid. Camp
Chef claims it puts out
12,000 BTU, but its
heat is uneven—our
bread test revealed
comparatively cool
corners and front edge
due to the lack of uni-
form heat dispersion
from just one burner.
Otherwise, that’s a lot
of heat available to a
small grill surface, good
for quick heating of hot
dogs or thin burgers.→ The Lodge is a
rugged and beautiful
thing, a cast-iron
hibachi built for a
lifetime of cooking.
Its construction is
potbelly-stove sim-
ple: A sliding front
damper lets in air,
a pivoting (lift-off)
door provides access
to load charcoal. The
chief benefit of the
design, we found,
is conduction. The
cast-iron grid is as
much a heat sink as
the rest of the hiba-
chi, and when you
get the grill good
and hot, it will sear
with a vengeance.
For all the bene-
fits of this design,
there are drawbacks.
First, there’s no
lid, so forget about
convection cooking.
Second, without a
lid (and a damper
in it), temperature
is difficult to con-
trol. It’s either very
hot—or not. Finally,
the fuel bed is not
easy to access. You
have to tuck some
coal in through the
side or else remove
the food, lift off the
grill with a fork, and
insert charcoal. If
you’re a fan of cast-
iron cooking and
relish its challenges,
this is your grill.BEST FOR
BURGERS AND DOGS
Weber Q1200
$209
FUEL: Propane 16.4
ounce
COOKING SURFACE:
12 ½" x 16 ½", enameled
cast-iron grid
BURNERS: One
→ The Q1200 is compact
and light, the most con-
venient portable grill we
tested. This one gets the
job done almost entirely
through both convection
and conduction. Its single
burner provides high heat
to a porcelain-coated
cast-iron cooking grid
that functions much like a
189-square-inch grill pan.
Narrow slots in the grid
provide a path for drip-
pings. With the lid down,
you get reliable convec-
tion cooking as hot air
circulates over the grid.
The bread test confirmed
good heat distribution,
rating somewhere
between the perfection
of the Cuisinart and the
Camp Chef. But because
you can’t control heat
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
BEST FOR
INSTAGRAM
Lodge Cast Iron
Sportsman’s Grill
$157
FUEL:Charcoal
COOKING SURFACE:
9" x 17 ½",
pre-seasoned
cast-iron grid///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////as well, you’ll need to
either carefully monitor
your food or save this
one for burgers and hot
dogs: It will dry out or
burn chicken and more
substantial cuts of meat.
For added convenience,
Weber sells a separate
stand – nice for when you
don’t have a table to put
the grill on.September 2019 47