The Best BBQs in Canada of 2023

The Napoleon Charcoal Kettle Grill was our favourite charcoal option in our test group. It aced our cooking tests and its design features set it apart from the competition. For starters, it sits on four legs instead of the standard three that most kettle barbecues come with; making it both sturdy and stable. Its ash bucket is larger than most and has a wide-grip handle that keeps your hands nice and clean as you remove the ashes. Clipping the ash bucket into place was a bit tricky at first, but once we figured it out it stayed put without problem. Finally, there’s the wide, round rim that rests in the middle of the coal bed while you’re cooking. Initially, we thought this rim was designed to keep the briquettes out of the center of the barbecue. However, we quickly realized that the rim’s metal heated up along with the coals, distributing the heat evenly throughout the grill.

When it came to cooking on the Napoleon, we had no complaints. It proved capable of holding 12 to 13 burgers at a time and created a gorgeous overall char when we cooked over direct heat. Raking the coals for indirect heat was nearly effortless; its wire cooking grate had hinges on each side that allowed us access to the briquettes underneath. Additionally, the vents on the top and bottom of the grill were easy to open and close. All of this worked together to create an ideal heat distribution for indirect heat cooking. Being able to control the airflow is important when cooking over charcoal; the bottom vents control the heat of the fire, while the top exhausts hot air and smoke out of the barbecue.

The Masterbuilt Thermotemp XL Propane Smoker was—by far—our favourite smoker to use during the tests. It was the very definition of set-it-and-forget-it: Hook up the propane, turn the dial to the proposed temperature, hit the ignition switch, and away you go. An internal sensor adjusts the flame to maintain the target temp, all without any fiddling around to keep it there. Not only that, but the wood chip bin that infuses the smoke into your food was large enough to hold two hours of chips at a time. That means you don’t have to run outside to keep feeding the smoker every hour, freeing you up to hang with your guests at the party, stay inside and watch football, or do anything else your heart desires while your food cooks.

When it came to overall construction and design, we were pretty impressed. The smoker has four removable racks, which can hold six turkeys, eight racks of ribs, or eight pork butts. It also looks gorgeous with a large viewing window, but not at the expense of functionality. The two doors latch firmly into place, and we loved how the handles didn’t get hot to the touch as we used the unit. The top door gives you access to the food, and the bottom door opens to the water pan and wood chip bin, allowing you to refill the chips without releasing the heat in the smoking chamber. They really thought through the process while designing this smoker—the propane hookup even includes a tank fuel level gauge so you know how much propane is in the tank. Overall, this thing was solid and sturdy, and we have no reason to believe this smoker wouldn’t last five years or longer with proper care.

That’s not to say there weren’t a few hiccups along the way. This smoker took over an hour to build with a lot of frustrating, unclear steps. It was so complicated, we accidentally omitted an essential part of the ignition hookup. When we got ready to season the smoker (turning it to high heat for an hour to remove any odours and coatings from the production process), the smoker wouldn’t stay lit. Luckily, that provided the opportunity to test Masterbuilt’s customer service, which turned out to be top-notch. They walked us through the troubleshooting steps, and the smoker was up and running in no time at all.

In the end, the Masterbuilt created a smoke-flavoured, super tender brisket that tasted better than the competition. Easy to use and it created a delicious product? Yup, that’s why the Masterbuilt Thermotemp XL Propane Smoker was an easy choice for our pick for Best Overall.

During testing, the Weber Q 1200 immediately pulled away from rest of the portable barbecues we cooked with. It has cast-iron grilling grates, giving us beautiful, well-defined grill marks on the burgers we cooked on it. Although it only has one burner, it was able to deliver a surprising amount of heat and consistently at that: heat distribution across the Q 1200’s 189-square-inch cooking cast iron grilling grates proved even enough to allow for great grilling, cooking food evenly over its entire grilling surface. This is a barbecue that offers enough space to cook for a small crowd (we easily fit six burgers on its surface,) and packs up compact enough to disappear once your meal is done.

When it comes to features, the Q 1200 was one of the few portable barbecues we tested that had side tables that were sturdy enough to hold a plate full of food. The plastic side tables fold in to keep the grill compact for portability, although you will want to let the Q cool down before stowing them away to keep them from melting. It’s a good idea to stow the tables when the Q isn’t in use; as it's light enough that the wind can catch the tables and blow the whole thing over! That lightweight came in handy when it came to carrying the barbecue, and its handles were cool enough to hold even after cooking over high heat.

It was the small features that made the Weber Jumbo Joe stand out from the competition. Most of the charcoal barbecues we tested had no problem cooking delicious, smoke-infused burgers and chicken drumsticks, but the quantity of food they could handle was minimal. The Jumbo Joe, with its 240-square-inch cooking surface, allowed us to cook in quantities that rival a full-sized product. It could easily fit ten burgers, a few racks of ribs, or a whole chicken, and it offered enough room to arrange the coals into an indirect heat pattern. This allows for heat control which, as every great outdoor cook knows, makes for fabulous outdoor cooking. The locking lid really put it over the top, giving us an easy handle to transport the Jumbo Joe. We felt safe enough moving the barbecue while it was still hot, but you’ll want to close down the bottom vents to prevent coals from spilling out, just in case.

As with its larger Weber kettle siblings, the Jumbo Joe’s stainless steel grates were easy to clean, as was the large ash catcher bucket clipped in underneath the barbecue. The vents were well located and easy to open and close. Being able to control the airflow is important when cooking over charcoal; the bottom vents control the heat of the fire, while the top exhausts hot air and smoke out of the barbecue. And while its size may have made it bulky and hard to transport, Weber’s round, kettle design kept it from being intimidating.

For the price, you really can’t go wrong with this portable option. It’s large enough to use as your primary barbecue if you have a small outdoor space and portable enough to bring with you to tailgating events or camping. Because of that, we have no hesitation in naming it our Best Portable Charcoal BBQ.

Although large and pricey, the Cuisinart Griddler Deluxe offers a lot of cooking options for your money. In addition to being used as a closed BBQ, the two sides open up to form two separate surfaces for those times when you want to increase the number of burgers you can grill at once from six to 12. The plates are reversible with a grill pattern on one side and a flat surface on the other. With both sides open and the flat surface in place, the Griddler Deluxe turns into a griddle, although there is a gap between the two halves that limits the number of pancakes you can cook at once. But, all in all, this is a very versatile product.

The Griddler browns quickly and evenly. Longer cooking items like paninis and chicken breasts came out crispy with beautiful grill marks. Using the high heat sear function, burgers were grilled perfectly.

In addition, this Cuisinart has lots of special features. You can select different temperatures for each plate, which is particularly helpful when it’s in the open position. You can cook the bacon on medium on one side and scramble the eggs on low on the other. During preheating, the knobs glow red, then change to green when the selected temperature is reached. An innovative lever on the side of the machine allows you to adjust the distance between the two plates so that you can avoid crushing your burgers as well as press down on a grilled cheese sandwich, but not so hard that all the cheese oozes out. The plates are particularly easy to snap in and out and they can be washed in the dishwasher. In the back of the grill, a drip tray slides into place. Not only is the manual thorough, it contains recipes that you actually want to prepare.

*