Grilling is one of America’s favorite pastimes. There are few greater experiences than enjoying a bright and warm summer’s day outside with family and friends. Cooking and grilling lets you get some tasty, smoky food prepared for lunch or dinner.
Anyone who enjoys using a grill on a regular basis can tell you that no two grills are made the same, and some are certainly better than others. Various factors go into deciding what makes a good grill. These can include unique and exciting features, a robust and durable design focuses on perfecting the basics, or merely a handful of subjectively useful features that make the grill a delight to use.
Today we will look at five of the best gas and charcoal combo grills, highlighting their features, pros, and cons, and then finally give a recommendation or two as a conclusion.
Table of Contents
Gas and Charcoal Combo Grills Reviews
Royal Gourmet 3-Burner Gas and Charcoal Grill Combo
Our first combo grill is made available to us from the famous brand Royal Gourmet. This grill has some exciting features and creates a sort of benchmark for the rest of this review.
Review
This large combo grill stands 43.7 inches tall and 63.8 inches wide, making this quite sizable for a grill. Opening up the lid, you’ll find a cooking space that is a total of 742 square inches, which is very much sufficient for most grills and cookouts. Alongside the grills, you’ll find heavy-duty folding side tables on either side to give you some additional working space.
There are three stainless steel burners, which are highly durable with a long lifespan and a BTU output of 27,000 that helps contribute to high levels of heat retention and even cooking. When working with charcoal, there’s an easy to pull out slide-out ash pan to make cleaning up much more manageable.
Additionally, there is a firebox made from organic silicone and is tolerant of up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit of heat. It’s also pretty portable, with two casters and two wheels making it convenient to move. The double-layer stainless steel and built-in thermometer allow you to quickly seal in the heat while measuring and monitoring it as needed while cooking. Finally, the temperature can be controlled using the height-adjustable charcoal pan and two air vents, one on the lid top and the other on the front.
There are a few issues with this grill that make it less than desirable, however. The main problem is with the construction of the grill. The stainless steel is incredibly thin and flimsy, much more like aluminum is practice. Additionally, this flimsiness means that the metal will also discolor very easily and potentially become damaged without much interaction. The other parts suffer from the same flimsiness and can easily be broken.
Pros
- Large cooking surface with additional working space
- Quickly moved around with wheels and casters
- Can reach high levels of heat
Cons
- Very flimsy construction
- Thin metal sheets are easily warped and discolored
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Char-Broil Gas2Coal 3-Burner Grill
Our second option is a hybrid charcoal and liquid propane combo grill from the company Char-Broil.
Review
This grill takes a different approach to the previous one. Whereas the Royal Gourmet was a true two-in-one option where there were two grills side-by-side, this is instead a single grill that can switch between either a gas grill or a charcoal grill. This switch is quickly and easily done without the need for tools, so you can enjoy the speed and convenience of using a gas grill or the smoky flavors that you associate with charcoal grilling.
The gas burners are made with a familiarly durable stainless steel to provide a longer lifespan. Three gas burners burn at 40,000 BTU’s with a single side burner burning at 120,000 BTU’s. These, working in tandem with porcelain-coated cast-iron cooking grates, ensure you can bring the heat. The cooking grate, in particular, has a size of 540 square inches, with the main area being 420 square inches and the warming rack being 120 square inches.
The main points of concern are with the single-grill nature. This means while you can switch between gas and charcoal grilling, one has to suffer, and unfortunately, it’s the charcoal side. The charcoal pan is relatively small, so you’ll have to deal with the heat far quicker than you might expect, so you might end up accidentally burning your food.
Pros
- Easily swap between gas and charcoal
- Multiple gas burners for cooking
- Large cooking area with warming rack
Cons
- Single-grill nature means that the gas grill is heavily favored
- The charcoal grill heats up very quickly, which can lead to unexpected burning
Oklahoma Joe’s Charcoal/LP Gas/Smoker Combo
Our third addition to this review follows a similar design to the first Royal Gourmet with different grilling surfaces for each of the grill types, with an additional third bonus surface.
Review
This is the largest option we’ve seen so far, standing tall at 50.6 inches. This black steel construction is like a behemoth compared to the other options, with a total cooking surface space of 1,060 square inches. The primary cooking surface is 750 square inches and covers the main chamber. In total, six grates are made of cast-iron and coated with porcelain to make them durable and able to withstand and retain high levels of heat.
Off to the side, you’ll find a 310 square inch firebox chamber. The gas grill component is powered with three 12,000 BTU burners for a total of 36,000 BTUs of gas grilling power being put into the gas shell. A single smokestack channels the smoke out the back while each chamber has an accurate temperature gauge. The firebox also brings an air damper for more convenient cleaning.
This is by far the most solidly built option we’ve seen. It’s well made, so there is little in the way of design flaws. The only consideration is that there is a rust issue as the paint can chip away easily. This can be averted by regularly oiling all the hard to reach bits, so there is a bit of maintenance required.
Pros
- Well made and designed, with three separate chambers for each type of grill
- Large cooking surface
- Very strong gas heating
Cons
- Rust issue
- Requires regular oiling and maintenance to keep strong
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Char-Griller 5050 Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill
While we saw a significant increase in size and strength in the previous option, this option is by far the largest on the list. The Char-Griller takes the cake as being the strongest and largest option on the list.
Review
This charcoal and gas combo grill is signified by its size and strength in its gas-powered grill. This grill stands at 50 inches, which is pretty impressive. The real shocker comes from the massive cooking space of 1,260 square inches of porcelain-coated iron-cast grates that provide excellent heat-retention while remaining easy to wipe off and clean.
Both the charcoal and gas sides feature built-in warming racks and temperature gauges that give you some control over your cooking. There is an additional cast-side burner for even more cooking space. The gas side, in particular, is particularly powerful, with a collective 40,800 BTUs that can quickly shoot up to 500 degrees without an issue. The charcoal side has a double bottom construction for better efficiency, while a grate lifter makes tending the charcoal much easier.
Much like the previous option, there is a rusting problem as it can very easily break apart if left unattended. The additional cover is also not good at protecting against the weather.
Pros
- Huge cooking space
- Quickly heats thanks to high BTUs
- Double bottom construction for heat distribution
Cons
- Vulnerable to rusting
- The cover is not effective
Char-Broil Standard 1010 3-Burner Combo Grill
Our second Char-Broil option is larger with a more robust gas grill, and it also happens to be our last that we’re looking at.
Review
This particular grill stands 46.8 inches tall, so it’s still quite tall and stands amongst the larger of the grills we’ve looked at. The actual grill space is on the smaller side, at only 505 square inches for the primary cooking area.
The gas grill side features three separate burners, with a primary lidded burner of 36,000 BTUs and two side burners of 12,000 BTUs for a total of 60,000 BTUs. The grates themselves are the now-familiar porcelain-coated cast-iron, so it’s easy to clean and retains heat very well.
The main issue is with the charcoal side, where the material feels a lot flimsier. Additionally, the lack of a smaller, removable tray makes cleaning a lot more of a hassle than it should be.
Pros
- Very high BTU total
- Heats up fast and retains heat well
- Easy to clean
- Tall and robust build
Cons
- The charcoal side feels flimsier
- Ash cleanup is annoying and tedious
Conclusion
In conclusion, we’ll leave you with two recommendations. Our definitive winner is the Oklahoma Joe model, as it has some of the best features with the fewest drawbacks. A good runner up the Char-Broil Gas2Coal as it is very versatile but has a challenging to control design.
