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Memorial Day can’t come soon enough–mostly because it kicks off my two favorite seasons: summer and grilling season.
I’ve always loved grilling, and once I started testing grills for Good Housekeeping in 2019, I became even more obsessed. Growing up, my family mostly used charcoal grills, but gas grills (especially good ones!) are easier and faster to use. I’ve also grown to love smoking meats, especially on a pellet grill or kamado grill, which offer a largely hands-off cooking experience.
Our top picks:
In the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen & Cooking Lab, my team and I have tested more than 90 grills since 2011, across all fuel types and sizes, from full-sized to portable. Here are the ones I recommend the most.
Other notable grills we tested
The Ninja Woodfire: This small electric model can grill, smoke, air fry, roast, bake, broil, and dehydrate. While it can get quite hot and cool quickly, the grill results reminded us too much of air-fried food.
The Ninja FlexFlame: A GH analyst has been using Ninja’s first outdoor gas grill for over a year, and she’s a fan, though it doesn’t heat as evenly as our top picks. In addition to grilling, it can also be used as a smoker, griddle, and pizza oven.
The Napoleon Rogue Pro: This powerful grill features a beautiful design and wavy stainless steel grates that help prevent food from falling through. It seared food well in our tests, but we had to keep it on low heat to help prevent flare-ups.
The PK300 Portable Cast Aluminum Grill: We like that this portable grill has thick walls yet remains lightweight and easy to handle. The large cooking area is easy to set up for indirect cooking, and the grill can be used as a smoker with four vents for better temperature control and air circulation. It’s quite pricey, though.
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(Hearst Owned)How we test outdoor grills
I, along with the experts in the Kitchen Lab, have tested more than 90 grills since 2011, including gas, charcoal, kamado, pellet, electric, and portable models. (And that number doesn’t even include indoor grills!)
When we receive new grills to test, we note how easy and time-consuming they are to assemble, but we don’t score the process since it’s easy enough to buy grills pre-assembled (which we recommend!), and everyone’s skill level (and patience) is different.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)
To test grills, we assess performance and ease of use.
✔️ Heat distribution: We cover the surface of gas grills with sliced bread and heat them on medium to identify hot spots.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)
✔️Steak: We cook a steak on high heat to assess how well it sears, how quickly it cooks, and if it causes any flare-ups.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)
✔️Chicken: We cook chicken thighs at a lower temperature to assess how the grill performs during a longer cook.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)
✔️ Pellet grills: For pellet grills, we run the same cooking tests and also evaluate how consistently they maintain low smoking temperatures for foods like ribs.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)
✔️ Ease of use tests: We also assess ease of use, including clarity of instructions, assembly, and thoughtful features like shelves, tool holders, thermometers, wheels, and ignition systems.
✔️ Consumer testing: After we complete our testing, we set the grills up in consumer homes for long-term testing and feedback.
Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou
(Good Housekeeping / Nicole Papantoniou)What to look for when buying the best grill
✔️ Fuel type: The first thing to consider is what type of grill you’d like. The two main types are gas and charcoal. Gas is easy to use, while charcoal is trickier to master but delivers a smokier taste. There are also kamado grills that use charcoal and pellet grills that use wood pellets. Some grills can do both–gas and charcoal.
✔️ Size: Consider how much room you have to use and store your grill, as well as how many people you’re cooking for at a time. Three- and four-burner gas grills are ideal for families of four or fewer people but can still handle the occasional party. A 22-inch diameter is standard for charcoal grills. If you don’t have much room, consider a portable grill, which is typically much smaller but still gets the job done.
✔️ Accessories: While side shelves and tool holders may not seem important, they make the grilling experience smoother. We also like shelves underneath the grill for storage, a quality set of wheels, and tank holders for gas grills.
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(Hearst Owned)What type of grill is best?
When buying a new outdoor grill, the two biggest players are gas and charcoal, but kamado, pellet, and electric grills are also fair game. When selecting a grill, consider how often you’ll grill, how much storage space you have, which flavors you prefer, and how much time and attention you want to spend cooking.
Here are the basics on each:
✔️ Gas grills are popular for good reason. They offer excellent temperature control, ignite with the push of a button, heat quickly, and are easy to clean. It’s the go-to option for no-fuss grillers who plan to barbecue frequently. Remember that you’ll need fuel from a propane tank or a natural gas line.
✔️ Charcoal grills use briquettes or lump charcoal as fuel. Charcoal is more hands-on and takes time to heat and cool down, but it imparts a better, smokier flavor than gas because it often gets hotter. It’s best for grilling purists.
✔️ Kamado grills use charcoal to heat but are often made of ceramic and have thicker walls than traditional charcoal grills. They can reach very high temperatures, like a pizza oven, and retain heat well for low-and-slow smokes.
✔️ Pellet grills are a growing category. They use electricity and hardwood pellets made out of wood scraps to heat. Pellets provide a delicious, authentic hardwood flavor to food, but can be costly.
✔️ Electric grills plug in and can’t be beaten for ease of use or convenience. Just don’t expect steaks or burgers cooked on an electric grill to taste like those from an authentic BBQ, though they’re improving.
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(Hearst Owned)Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Nicole Papantoniouis the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen & Cooking Lab, where she oversees all kitchen appliance content and testing. This is her sixth season testing grills for Good Housekeeping, and she has had her hands on 40 grills and counting. She’s a trained cook, recipe developer, and grilling aficionado.
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