Which grill for camping?

[Andy.Craig]

We have an upcoming 3 day camping trip and I am looking for a grill to cook the normal items. Burgers, steak, veggies, chicken, etc. I have a 22inch mastertouch and 18inch wsm. Here are my options...

1. Use the bottom of my wsm
2. Breakdown my mastertouch and pack in the car
3. Buy a smokey or jumbo joe
4. Buy an 18inch kettle and assemble at site and break it down on way home


How easy do the legs come out of the kettles?

Any feedback would be awesome!

 

[J Grotz]

On your 18, do you have that button to push to release the legs? If so I would take the 18 or the WSM bottom. If you want a Smokey Joe, you’ll need to get a used one. I ordered a Smokey Joe from Weber on 7/21. It hasn’t shipped yet. I called Weber this week and they said they have it in stock, but they’re backed up on shipping.

 

[Brad Olson]

How many people are you cooking for? When you say "chicken" do you mean bone-in pieces like thighs or lightweight cuts like BSCBs?

 

[Brian_D]

Is there fire restrictions where you are camping? I did that--took my smokey Joe camping to big bear - couldn't use charcoal due to fire restrictions. Couldn't find a portable gasser to save my life on that trip! Next time I went camping, I had a gasser!

 

[Andy.Craig]

There are not restrictions. It will be just 4-5 people. Cooking tri tip maybe, wings, chicken thighs, breakfast on a cast iron.

 

[BobJ]

I traded in my Smokey Joe for a Jumbo last winter for camping, it's easier to cook for 4 and easier to do indirect. I suppose the base and lid of the WSM would work but the JJ is more conductive to being portable, locking lid an all. I have an 18" kettle, to me it'd be too big to hassle with although if you are staying local that may not be an issue. When we camp we travel long distances. I started using lighter cubes for traveling too.

 

[DrewZ]

I'd suggest finding a cheap used 18.5 kettle. If you're feeling adventurous, you can cut down the legs so that they fit inside the kettle. Here's the one I use at my cabin. I added the lid bale from a 1st-generation Outrider to make it even easier to move around.

 

[Brad Olson]

There are not restrictions. It will be just 4-5 people. Cooking tri tip maybe, wings, chicken thighs, breakfast on a cast iron.

I was going to suggest a Go Anywhere but I don't think it'd have the surface area you'll need. However, there's the option of buying 2 GAs...

 

[Bruno]

I picked up a Q-2200 a couple weeks ago from Costco, I can’t wait to take it camping. It is portable but a great size for 4.
It came with a cart and adapter hose for $289

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

If you're in a somewhat big city, should be plenty of used kettles for sale for cheap. Drew's 18" above looks amazing, very cool little grill.

I don't cook low and slow or complicated cooks while camping. I usually just bring a grate and some fire bricks and cook over a fire.

I did just pick up a charcoal Go Anywhere and plan to give that a try next time. Plan of setting up something like this guy did. Very cool to have everything packed into one unit

 

[JimK]

I picked up a Q-2200 a couple weeks ago from Costco, I can’t wait to take it camping. It is portable but a great size for 4.
It came with a cart and adapter hose for $289
View attachment 10842

Saw that bundle at my Costco. Even though I have an older 120 that I never use, I was tempted.

 

[MikeLucky]

We have an upcoming 3 day camping trip and I am looking for a grill to cook the normal items. Burgers, steak, veggies, chicken, etc. I have a 22inch mastertouch and 18inch wsm. Here are my options...

1. Use the bottom of my wsm
2. Breakdown my mastertouch and pack in the car
3. Buy a smokey or jumbo joe
4. Buy an 18inch kettle and assemble at site and break it down on way home


How easy do the legs come out of the kettles?

Any feedback would be awesome!

So, I have 2 grills that are my absolute camper accessories. As for charcoal, the Jumbo Joe is a necessity. It's the same size as an 18 kettle and it has the lid bale that flips up to hold the lid on and the contents inside. You can use the JJ to cook dinner then afterwards just pull the upper grate and throw some logs right on the lit coals and now you have your fire pit for the evening. When the night is over and it's time to go to bed you just put the lid on, pull the lid bale on the handle to lock it up, and close the vents. The fire burns out safely and cleanly and in the morning you just need to dump the ash and lock it all back up for transport very cleanly. You can keep the small chimney, tongs, firestarters, etc. inside it for transport as well since the lid locks. I even keep a single char basket in there for full 2 zone cooking.






Secondly, I have a Q1200 gasser. The last few trips we've made were to places that were under a burn ban so the Q was a godsend. That little bastard gets to 600 degrees in a snap and is great to cook on. I have a griddle that replaces half the grate for cooking breakfast and grilled veggies. And, the side tables fold in for portability. You can use the 1lb bottles or get the hose to use a 20lb tank. Great little grill.








The Q1200 runs $210 brand new, JJ $70 brand new, griddle for the Q runs $40.

 

[Bob Walters]

For me, camping means escaping the luxury of modern life and going a little more primative. Not completely cave-man style, but somewhat back to nature. So I leave my refrigerator, TV, washer, dryer, vacuum, stove, and microwave at home. I leave my grill(s) at home too and just bring a cooking grate and perhaps a bag of charcoal. For cooking, assuming the law allows it, I just build a fire using found wood or charcoal and figure out a way to support the grate on stones or a couple of logs. There is a certain satisfaction in going Old School for a change, and that's what camping is all about as far as I'm concerned. A fourteen hour smoked brisket is not something I need to do while camping.

And when it comes to bacon and eggs for breakfast, there is nothing quite like cooking bacon in an iron skillet placed directly on a wood fire followed by eggs fried in the bacon grease while your percolator coffee pot (preferably one of those blue enameled versions with white speckles) is doing it's thing right on the coals too. It's not quite the same if you do the same job on a gas fired grill.

 

[Bill - MO]

If you are only cooking for 3 or 4 people the Weber Go Anywhere is fantastic. If you cut the top grate in half or buy a replacement grate that splits in half then it is easy to store things inside.

If you are Looking at 6 or more people then 18" Weber Outrider or a 18" Weber Midget Kettle would be the way to go. The outrider is the older style of the now current Jumbo Joe. I think it works better because it sticks closer to the kettle style grill with a deeper bottom. If you watch the marketplace you can find them for $20 to $50 depending on condition. The only down side is the top grate is an odd size so you might need to go to Killa Grilla for a forever replacement.

If you aren't wanting to bother with charcoal I would probably recommend a Weber GA Gas with a griddle top or a small Blackstone griddle. I have a 22" Blackstone griddle that is fantastic for those quick cooks. I can do a whole pound of bacon in one run or have sausage going at the same time as eggs/pancakes. They also come in handy for smash burgers. I am not sure I would go with the 22" if you are camping in a small group though as it can get a bit heavy. For me it is fine because it is going to be 95% home use with the occasional cook away from home.

 

[RDean]

For me, camping means escaping the luxury of modern life and going a little more primative. Not completely cave-man style, but somewhat back to nature. So I leave my refrigerator, TV, washer, dryer, vacuum, stove, and microwave at home. I leave my grill(s) at home too and just bring a cooking grate and perhaps a bag of charcoal. For cooking, assuming the law allows it, I just build a fire using found wood or charcoal and figure out a way to support the grate on stones or a couple of logs. There is a certain satisfaction in going Old School for a change, and that's what camping is all about as far as I'm concerned. A fourteen hour smoked brisket is not something I need to do while camping.

And when it comes to bacon and eggs for breakfast, there is nothing quite like cooking bacon in an iron skillet placed directly on a wood fire followed by eggs fried in the bacon grease while your percolator coffee pot (preferably one of those blue enameled versions with white speckles) is doing it's thing right on the coals too. It's not quite the same if you do the same job on a gas fired grill.

Here is the percolator of my youth! We had a couple of the blue ones but they never seemed to be able to make coffee quite like this guy.

 

[Jacob - Grillin’]

Depends on the camping style, kids, etc. If it's "quiet/relaxing" camping, personally I'd bring the WSM and something to low and slow while sitting back.

For us, with two kids running around crazy, boating and all that... By the end of the day I am SUPER happy to have my Q220 and stand. Pre-kids we would hike in to camp and the go anywhere was perfect for that.