Packed size and cool-down time decide whether it travels twice · review
A 14-inch kettle with 196 square inches, dual vents and three lid locks, at a stated four pounds.
What we would actually buy Four pounds, a locking lid and 196 square inches for forty dollars — the only grill here that addresses the thing that ruins a car boot: three lid locks for transport. Cuisinart sells it twice on this shelf under two references.
That combination is what makes this grill unusual on this shelf.
Everything else here either has no lid and is light — the Zarkind and the Minxchen fold flat — or has a lid and is heavy:
Six times lighter than the next lidded grill here.
Three durable lid locks keep the camping grill secure during transport for mess-free portability.
The problem is real and specific. A charcoal kettle has a loose lid, and a grill loaded into a car after a cookout still holds fine ash that has not settled. Tip it once and the ash is in the carpet, the blanket and the cooler.
Zarkind answers the same problem differently — the whole thing folds into a fitted bag. Nobody else on this shelf answers it at all.
Everything the two cheaper grills here cannot do.
With dual adjustable vents — one intake, one exhaust — the fire can be throttled. Cuisinart puts it correctly: precise temperature management for low-and-slow or high-heat grilling.
That means roasting with the lid down, holding a temperature, and finishing a thick cut after searing it. The Minxchen at $19.99 and the Zarkind at $39.90 have no lid, so they are braziers: direct heat only.
A fixed charcoal tray. Three grills on this shelf let you move the fire instead of the food — the Royal Gourmet with 3-level fire grates, the Feasto between two layers, the Oklahoma Joe’s with a height-adjustable tray. On a grill this small that matters more than on a big one, because there is no room in 196 square inches to push coals aside and build a two-zone fire. Vents are the only other control.
Chrome-plated wire rather than cast iron. Chrome resists rust and cleans easily, which the listing says. What it does not do is store heat: cast iron on the Feasto and the Oklahoma Joe’s holds and returns heat, so it marks food harder and recovers faster when cold food lands on it. That is also exactly why those two weigh 11.8 and 22 kilograms.
No thermometer, where three grills here have one.
Cuisinart lists CCG190RB and CCG190 on this shelf, both at $39.99, with identical bullets and identical specifications.
The catalog data differs: 907 g (32 oz) against 1,905 g (67.2 oz), 356 mm (14 in) against 368 across.
Four pounds is 1,814 g (64 oz). So this listing’s 1,905 g (67.2 oz) agrees with the maker’s own bullet and the other one’s 907 g (32 oz) does not.
No warranty on either — true of seven of eight grills here.
On sale at around $40 on the American Amazon store at the time of checking.
Prices and availability are what Keepa reported on the date this page was updated; both move.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 4 October 2026. The live price is at the top of the page.
| Diameter | 14 in |
|---|---|
| Cooking area | 196 sq in, chrome-plated grate |
| Cost per square inch | $0.20 |
| Stated weight | Only 4 lb, in the maker’s own words — about 1814 g (64 oz) |
| Catalog weight | 1905 g (67.2 oz), which agrees with the stated 4 lb |
| Vents | Dual adjustable, for low-and-slow or high heat |
| Lid locks | Three, to keep the lid secure during transport |
| Firebox | Enamel-coated |
| Ash | An ash base |
| Grate | Chrome-plated, stated to resist rust |
| Stated uses | Camping, tailgating and small outdoor spaces |
| Dimensions | 368 × 368 × 381 mm (14.5 × 14.5 × 15 in) |
| Charcoal tray height | Fixed — not adjustable |
| Thermometer | None |
| Warranty | Not published by the maker |
| Amazon reference | B00B58A0QK |
| EAN | 0817096011588 |
Because the alternative is grey ash through everything you own. A charcoal kettle has a loose lid, and a grill thrown in a car boot after a cookout contains fine ash that has not finished settling. Tip it and the ash goes into the carpet, the picnic blanket and the cooler. Cuisinart is the only maker on this shelf to address it: "Three durable lid locks keep the camping grill secure during transport for mess-free portability." Zarkind solves the same problem a different way — the whole grill folds flat into a fitted bag — and nobody else solves it at all. On a grill sold specifically for camping and tailgating, it is a more useful feature than it sounds.
For two to four people over one load of charcoal, yes. It is the smallest published figure on this shelf, but the spread is narrower than the prices suggest: 196 here, 218 on the $199 Oklahoma Joe’s, about 197 calculated from the Minxchen’s dimensions, and 265.5 of actual grilling on the $99.99 Feasto. Oklahoma Joe’s puts a usable number on roughly the same area — "up to 6 burgers, 6 steaks, or 12 bratwursts" on 218 sq in — which is a sensible way to picture it. The Feasto claims 16 burgers on 265.5 sq in, which works out at 16.6 square inches each against Oklahoma Joe’s 36.3; one of those two is optimistic, and it is not the one with the warranty.
Because Cuisinart sells it under two references, and the pair are worth comparing because one of the weights is wrong. CCG190RB and CCG190 both appear on this shelf at $39.99, with word-for-word identical bullets, the same 196 sq in, the same three lid locks, the same dual vents and the same "Weighing only 4 lbs". What differs is only the catalog data: 907 g (32 oz) against 1,905 g (67.2 oz), and 356 mm (14 in) against 368 mm (14.5 in) across. Four pounds is 1,814 g (64 oz) — so the 1,905 g (67.2 oz) figure on this listing is consistent with the maker’s own bullet, and the 907 g (32 oz) on the other one is not. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day; they are the same grill.
Close prices, same category: comparable cookware and knives. We keep only the specifications all of them publish, because a column with gaps compares nothing.
| Model | Price | Cooking area | Thermometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisinart CCG190 | $40 | 196 sq in, chrome-plated grate | None |
| Cuisinart CCG190RB | $40 | 196 sq in, chrome-plated grate | None |
| Zarkind ICP-A003 | $40 | Not published by the maker | None |
| DNKMOR A-09 | $44 | Not published by the maker | Fitted to the grill |
Tailgating and camping — a proper lidded kettle that travels without making a mess
Amazon reports what buyers took in the month before this page was last checked: at least 200.
The figure is a floor, rounded by Amazon, and read through Keepa — it says what buyers picked, not what a maker claims.
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for cookware and kitchen knives and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
Tabletop portable charcoal grill and smoker in solid metal with premium chrome wire mesh, a chimney in the lid, a fitted thermometer, a wood top handle, one chrome cooking grid and one charcoal pan
A lidded tabletop smoker with a chimney and a thermometer at 2948 g (104 oz), for forty-four dollars.
Best for: A tabletop smoke — a lid, a chimney and a gauge without the eleven kilograms
≈ $44
14 in portable charcoal kettle with a 196 sq in chrome-plated grate, dual adjustable vents, three lid locks for transport, an enamel-coated firebox and an ash base, at a stated 4 lb
The 14-inch Cuisinart kettle under a second reference — same price, same specification, a different catalog weight.
Best for: The same job as its twin — buy whichever of the two references is cheaper on the day
≈ $40
354 sq in tabletop charcoal grill comprising 265.5 sq in of grilling and 88 sq in of warming area, with cast iron grates, a two-level charcoal tray, a mechanical thermometer, a damper and chimney, heavy-gauge powder-coated steel and three silicone-wrapped handles
The only grill here to separate grilling from warming area: 265.5 square inches of fire and 88 above it.
Best for: The largest real cooking surface on this shelf, with a gauge and a warming tier
≈ $100
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
