A good grill is the centerpiece of every perfect tailgating loadout, and pellet grills are about as good as it gets when it comes to maximum grilling convenience, efficiency, and predictability. The problem is most pellet grills are big, heavy, and hardly portable. But there are plenty of great portable pellet grills (and portable pellet smokers) on the market. We’ve short-listed seven of our favorites in this round-up of the best portable smokers worth buying in 2024.
Traeger Tailgater
Traeger has been a long-time favorite brand here at The Manual. The Tailgater takes everything we love about Traeger’s best-in-class full-sized grills and shrinks it down to a semi-portable package that’s perfect for tailgating. That includes a 300-square-inch total cooking surface (enough room for a dozen burgers or two whole chickens), an eight-pound pellet hopper, and a wide temperature range (with a max 450°F), making it versatile for smoking, baking, searing, and everything in between. Foldable legs make it ultra-portable for toting it from home to tailgate and back again. Just plug it into any 120-volt power source, whether that’s a residential outlet, a generator, or a portable power station, and you’re ready to roll—er, grill.
Green Mountain Grills Trek
Pellet grills, especially the best pellet grills, tend to be pricey. Green Mountain Grills’ Trek is one of the year’s most affordable models that still boasts all of our essential must-have features. The cooking surface is roomy enough for grilling up a bunch of burgers or two full racks of ribs with a wide temperature range between 150°F to 550°F with precise 5° increment controls. It powers up easily from any 12V or 120V AC power source, from wall outlets to portable solar generators, so it works just as well at home, while camping, or tailgating. Plus, it even features a digital WiFi controller, so you can control and monitor your cook from any Android or iOS smartphone.
recteq Road Warrior
If maximum cook space and high heat are the two most important deciding factors when shopping for a portable pellet grill, recteq’s Road Warrior is your man. The aptly named smoker boasts a spacious 460-square-inch cooktop (expandable up to 510 with the optional add-on grate) and one of the widest heat ranges of any grill in our roundup: 200°F – 700°F. The 14-pound hopper keeps the cook going for hours and hours, and built-in wheels make for easy tailgate transport.
Z Grills Cruiser 200A
For the ultimate in portability, we love Z Grills’ Cruiser 200A. At roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase and weighing a surprisingly featherweight (relative to other pellet grills) 22 pounds, it’s the most compact in our roundup. Despite its pint-size footprint, it boasts a decent 202 square inches of cook space. The eight-pound hopper is enough for hours of tailgate cooking, and the 160-450°F temperature range gives you plenty of versatility for smoking, grilling, and searing. Plus, you can’t beat the sub-$300 price tag!
Pit Boss Sportsman Portable Pellet Grill
Pit Boss balances portability, versatility, and usability with its Sportsman Portable Pellet Grill. It features an easy-read digital control panel, making it dead-simple to use, even for pellet grill noobs. The porcelain-coated cast-iron cooktop is super easy to clean, and a ten-pound hopper means you can let it run pretty much all day without having to babysit it. What we love most, though, is the durability. You’ll pay for the privilege of owning this model, but it’s virtually guaranteed to last for years of epic tailgating soirees.
Country Smokers Pellet Grill
True to its name, Country Smokers’ Traveler is one of the most portable pellet grills we’re proud to recommend this year. The tabletop-friendly design lacks legs and weighs just over 50 pounds which makes it small and lightweight by pellet grill standards. A tiny five-pound hopper also helps keep the design tidy enough for easy tailgate-friendly transport. Bonus: A built-in 100-watt inverter means you can easily run this model off a standard 12-volt DC outlet like those found in any modern vehicle.
Traeger Ranger Tabletop Pellet Grill
For maximum tailgate-friendly portability, Traeger’s streamlined Ranger is purpose-built for tabletop grilling. The 280-square-inch cooktop is tidy, but roomy enough for most small- to mid-sized tailgate outings. It boasts large, cast iron grill grates that make for easy clean-up. The built-in digital controller makes for easy grilling, too, with a dozen different direct and indirect heat settings. Plus, it’s WiFi-capable, so you can keep tabs on your cook remotely without even getting up from your favorite camp chair.
Should I get a portable pellet grill or a portable pellet smoker?
Pellet grills and pellet smokers are similar but not identical. Determining which type is right for you depends on your grilling needs and, to some extent, level of grilling expertise. Pellet smokers, including portable pellet smokers, are purpose-built for slow-smoking foods. They’re not intended for grilling. Portable pellet grills, on the other hand, work much like their gas-powered counterparts. They’re capable of both smoking and grilling, meaning they’re especially great for everything from backyard barbecues to campsite cookouts to tailgate grilling.
