Everyone enjoys a tailgate party, and most of the times you can’t have a proper tailgate party without a proper grill. You can’t go to a tailgate party with any type of grills if so, you may find it really troublesome and bothersome and may even end up quitting after finding out how difficult it is to grill while on the move. Thus, if you don’t know what you really need, I prepared you our top recommendation for tailgate grills.
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Blackstone Grill
Contents
Tailgating or camping, fishing trip or weekend cookouts, Blackstone Grill is the perfect choice for all of them. The grill is easy to set up and transport while providing multiple setup combinations. The grill measures 52 x 24 x 38.5 inches and it is equipped with foldable legs. Its large cooking space (around 512 square inches) allow you to cook large quantities of foods in one go. Blackstone grill has a sturdy built which includes a heavy-duty grill box with vents, handle, cast iron grill grates, and cold rolled steel griddle with a strong powder coat finish. Also, the grill is equipped with two burners, each burner controlled independently. One burner is a stainless-steel H tube burner with the ability to produce 15000 BTUs and the other one is an iron cast burner which can produce 20000 BTUs. The only downside of this grill is the weight as it measures around 75 pounds.
Pros:
Easy to set up.
Extremely big cooking space.
Multiple setup combinations.
Durable built.
Multiple burners.
Cons:
Quite heavy.
A bit pricey.
Weber Q1200 Grill
Weber Q1200 Grill is a propane fuelled grill that is able to produce 8500 BTU per hour heat. It has a modern yet compact design with a height of 15.5 inches, a width of 40.9 inches and a diagonal of 16.5 inches. All these providing a cooking space of 189 square inches. The grill is equipped with a built-in thermometer, foldable side tables, porcelain enamelled cooking grates. Moreover, for a better carrying experience uses light materials which makes it weight around 26 pounds. Also, the grill is durable as it is built with cast aluminum. Weber Q1200 Grill uses liquid propane as fuel. The grill is available in a wide variety of colors to match your style. This grill is suitable for tailgating parties, camping and even for a weekend grill at home.
Pros:
Quite big cooking area.
Equipped with foldable tables and thermometer.
Porcelain enamelled grates.
Easy to transport.
Sturdy and durable built.
Various colors option.
Cons:
May be quite expensive.
Heavier than other small/compact grills.
Char-Broil Grill2Go
If you are looking for a compact grill that still has a quite generous cooking space, then Char-Broil Grill2Go may be the perfect choice for you. The grill is sturdy and durable as it is made of cast aluminum and stainless steel. Grill2Go can be easily transported as besides its compact design (measuring around 23 x 15 x 14 inches), it is equipped with handles that allows you to easily lift and carry the grill. It has a total cooking space of approximately 200 square inches of stainless steel grates. The grill is compatible with 1lb propane tanks. It uses a TRU-infrared technology for an even heat distribution that results in juicier and evenly cooked foods.
Pros:
Sturdy and durable built.
Easy to carry and transport.
Compact design.
Quite cheap.
Good sized cooking space.
Specially designed carrying case (sold separately).
Cons:
The grates may not provide a stick-free experience.
May not let you cook on low temperatures (<650) if attached to a 20/30 lb tank.
Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet
With Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet, you will benefit of 145 square inches of porcelain enamelled grates that will grant you a stick free experience while evenly distributing the heat. While offering a rather big cooking surface, the grill’s design is quite compact measuring 18.5 x 16 x 11.5 inches. The grill is easy to transport as it weighs only 17 lbs making it perfect for tailgating parties. Moreover, the briefcase-style design makes it even easier to be transported as the carrying handle will allow you to easily lift and carry the grill. Also, the grill is equipped with folding legs for increased stability. As regarding the fuel, Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet is a propane powered grill.
Pros:
Easy to store.
Compact design.
Lightweight built.
Equipped with a handle for easy lift and carry.
Porcelain enamelled grates.
Foldable legs.
Quite large cooking area.
Fairly cheap.
Cons:
Some customers complained about the lock melting.
Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler
Measuring 19.5 x 26.8 x 21.8 inches, Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler easily provide 218 square inches of cooking space making it possible to cook up to 10 burgers at once on the cast iron grates. It uses charcoal as fuel which guarantees genuine flavours for your dishes. The grill is equipped with a removable ash pan for an easier cleaning process. Moreover, the charcoal tray can be adjusted as it has 3 different heights for higher or lower heat. The lid has a built-in thermometer that allows you to easily keep the temperature on the right level. Also, the smokestack and the large air dampers on the side guarantees better airflow control and makes it possible to keep the temperature to the perfect level without any trouble. The grill is equipped with rubberised side handles which allow you to easily transport the grill. With all of these, Oklahoma Joe’s Rambler is perfect for tailgating and camping.
Pros:
Compact and durable built.
Large cooking space.
Great price – quality ratio.
Airflow control.
Equipped with a thermometer.
Cons:
A bit heavy for its dimensions.
The grates may not provide a stick free experience.
Cuisinart CCG190RB Charcoal Grill
Cuisinart CCG190RB is a budget-friendly grill that measures 14.5 x 14.5 x 15 inches which ensure around 150 square inches of cooking space. It is equipped with chrome plated grates that allow you to enjoy a stick free cooking experience. It is ideal for tailgating and camping as it is easy to carry and does not use much space, thus it can be easily set up even if you are short on space. Also, it benefits of a three-lock system for easy and safe transport. Moreover, it is equipped with an ash catcher which makes every cooking session safe and mess-free. The dual venting system allows you to easily control the temperature. Cuisinart CCG190RB uses charcoal as fuel and guarantees you genuine flavoured foods.
Pros:
Really compact built.
Easy to transport.
Temperature control.
Budget-friendly.
Easy to setup.
Chrome plated stick-free grates.
Cons:
Cooking area quite small.
Does not have a built-in thermometer.
Buying guide
With all the grills available on the market, it became harder and harder to find something suitable for you for real. Moreover, you can be easily disappointed by your purchase if you do not take into account some vital points that make your experience a pleasure. Thus, I prepared a list of the most important checkpoints when you are planning to buy a grill.
Material used
Most of the times, grills are built with sturdy and durable materials, but some of them may present additional equipment that may not be built with heat resistant materials. Therefore, you should avoid purchasing grills which has components that are not made with heat resistant materials as cooking with high temperatures may cause the additional equipment (or in the worst case even some parts of the grill) to melt. Thus, you should focus on choosing a grill which is solely made of materials such as stainless steel, heavy-duty steel, cast iron.
Size
For tailgating parties, the size of the grill is quite important. It is nearly impossible to use a big grill while tailgating, therefore you should focus on choosing smaller grills that are easy to transport and won’t require too much space. Sometimes, having a small cooking space may be quite troublesome, but a grill with a cooking space around 200 square inches can be the perfect choice as it can easily fit around 10 burgers without any problem.
Fuel type
Having a charcoal grill may be a bit troublesome when you are tailgating as not everyone enjoys the smoke produced by burning charcoal. Thus, the best option for tailgating may be the propane fuelled grill. However, if you want to enjoy genuine grilled foods, then the charcoal grills may be the perfect choice for you.
Additional Equipment
Some grills may provide foldable side tables, foldable legs and even carrying equipment which can prove really helpful in different situations, especially the side tables when you are short on space. However, you should make sure that the extras attached on the grill are built with proper heat resistant material and won’t melt during the cooking session. Thus, be careful not to be fooled by the “professional” looking grill when it may be possible to prove itself horrible after the first use.
Budget
It is not necessary for a grill to be expensive in order to provide great food. A grill is just a tool and every great dish is due to the cook’s skill. Expensive grills may look fancier and may provide some benefits such as easier temperature control or additional accessories and systems, but the quality of the food is solely the cook’s responsibility as the burgers won’t cook themselves if you are buying an expensive grill.
Our charcoal grills better than propane grills?
Not really, it depends on your preference. You can easily cook great food with both charcoal and propane grills. However, the charcoal grill will have a genuine smoky flavour due to the smoke emitted by the burning charcoal. As the cooking method is exactly the same it won’t be much of a difference and as everyone’s tastes are different it is up to you which one you prefer. As regarding the fuel, it may be more convenient to carry some propane tanks rather than carrying charcoal bags. Also, the process is less messy as you won’t have to deal with ashes if you are using a propane grill.
Are big grills suitable for tailgating?
Most of the times big grills are quite bothersome for tailgate parties as you may be short on space. Having to transport a big sized grill is also a headache especially if you are going to bring along some foldable tables and chairs. Moreover, the weight of big sized grills may even require two individuals to carry and set-up. Thus, smaller grills are easier to operate at tailgate parties and are way easier to fit and transport. So, most of the times big grills are not suitable for tailgate parties.
Conclusion
In conclusion, finding a grill that suits your needs may require a bit of research beforehand. But it is not impossible, especially with the market offers available nowadays. Prior to buying you must think about three sets of features (Must have, Should have and Could have). If the grill presents all the features from your must-have set, then you won’t be disappointed with the purchase, if the grill has all or some of them should have set then even better, you can rest assured as something better may be impossible to find. And finally, if the grill has the features from all of the three sets, then you found the perfect grill for you.
