Almost synonymous with Australia is the BBQ, add to that the ease of cooking on a BBQ while camping and you have one of the most popular cooking methods of campers in this country for generations.
Gone are the days when the best bush BBQ was a wire grill balanced over some coals on an open fire being used to burn sausages. Today there is a wide range of portable and camping BBQs where you can control the fire, flame and temperature quickly and easily to produce whatever style or type of BBQ food you can dream up.
If you love to BBQ or love to cook while camping then sit back and read on as we review the best and easiest to use camping BBQs and grills for you to take on your next camping adventures in Australia. Whether it's gas or wood, we have you covered.
| Gasmate Voyager Portable BBQ | Dometic Portable Gas BBQ CPB101 | Weber Traveler Portable Gas BBQ | Weber Baby Q (Q1000) LP BBQ | Ozpig Big Pig Cooker & Heater |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Best Value  |  |  | Our Pick  |  | |
*Using coupon CRCSAVE20 | |||||
58 x 50 x 66 cm | 57 x 42 x 45 cm | 110.8 x 58.4 x 94.5 cm | 68.6 x 52.1 x 59.7 cm | 73 x 49 x 135 cm | |
Steel body, cast iron cooking Plate | Steel body, cast iron grill and hot plate | Cast iron cooking grills, porcelain enamelled lid and cook box | Cast iron cooking grills, cast aluminium lid and body | Powder coated steel | |
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | N/A | |
LPG | LPG | LPG | LPG | Wood, heat beads | |
Rotary Piezo | Electric | Electric | Electric | Manual | |
9 kg | 9.2 kg | 28 kg | 11 kg | 41 kg | |
1 year | 1 year | 2-5 years (different sections) | 2-5 years | 1 year |
Best Camping BBQs and Grills Australia
Gasmate Voyager Portable BBQ
Best Value
BBQs today in Australia have progressed from a simple metal grill laid over some coals. Both the threat of fire danger and the development of our cooking techniques have moved BBQs to a more contained, easier and safer style with legs, lids and easy gas heating.
The Gasmate Voyager Portable BBQ is a classic new design based on these ideas.
The Gasmate can be carried easily from your vehicle, placed down and connected to a gas bottle in no time. The Voyager Portable BBQ has a cooking surface that is split between a grill and a hot plate allowing different techniques and foods to be cooked at the same time.
The lid allows it to be turned into an oven of sorts, however burning from the grill is an issue.
Customer reviews are mostly very happy with this BBQ as it's at a good price and performs very well. It is a little flimsier than some of the other more expensive models and the lid allows air inside making it difficult to cook in windy conditions.
If you are new to BBQs of this style or are on a budget, then the Gasmate Voyager is a great option for you to develop your BBQ skills and churn out delicious food.
Dometic Portable Gas BBQ CPB101
Best For Small Groups
Along with the same style as the Gasmate Voyager is the Dometic Portable Gas BBQ. The BBQ is more expensive, but much more sturdy and is made with quality materials with solid construction. It has foldable legs so if you don’t have a support table, you can cook easily standing up.
The Dometic is very suitable as a camping gas BBQ. It has a split cooking surface with a grill and a hot plate. It also has a lid so you can use it somewhat as an oven too.
It has wings or side tables that fold out, allowing you more space to set your ingredients or food waiting to be cooked. Overall this BBQ performs very well.
The lid space is a little small, so using it as an oven is not overly recommended, however, the grill works very well and you can cook up complete meals for couples or small families very easily and quickly.
Customer reviews are all very positive, even though there aren’t that many as this BBQ is relatively new. The price is good, the BBQ is quality made and it’s hard for you to go wrong with the Dometic Portable Gas BBQ.
Weber Traveller Portable Gas BBQ
Best For Large Groups
Weber is a brand name in this country that has been around for years and is well known to maintain high standards in both the quality of their BBQs and the quality of the food they can produce. The Weber Traveller is no exception and this big grill is simple and easy to use and can have you churning out perfectly cooked food in no time.
This camping BBQ is designed for a larger group and the huge cooking plate can hold up to 15 burger patties at a time (or over 30 sausages). With this kind of cooking surface, it’s clear you can cook for the whole footy team or a couple of large families at once.
It does have a lid, but this doesn’t really work as an oven in a classical sense. However, it does ensure more even heating when using it as it has been designed to create airflow in a certain way which aids both your cooking and the flavour of your food.
There are no negative reviews, everyone who has bought and used this BBQ has been very happy – provided you have over $600 to spend and routinely cook for larger groups.
Weber Baby Q (Q1000) LP BBQ
Our Pick
Another entry from Weber with the famed Weber Baby Q. This model has been around for a long time and once you get used to cooking with it, it is simply amazing. It’s made from quality materials and its design has been copied by competitors now for years.
This is my BBQ of choice and I have had one for many years. You can straight up BBQ with it and the hot grill is large enough to feed a family.
What makes this BBQ special is it comes with an internal standing grill that sits on top of the heavy grills and allows you to roast food just like an oven without fear of burning. Except the food tastes better as the lid is designed to be closed when in use and distributes the heat and BBQ smoke and flavour evenly.
With the addition of a pizza stone (or some terracotta tiles) you can turn it into a pizza oven or cook great bread in it as well, not to mention baked pies and desserts – all with this BBQ flavour that permeates the food.
Customer reviews are overwhelmingly positive with the only negative reviews coming from people using it with the lid open to grill, which isn’t what the instruction manual recommends.
It also comes with its own cookbook for more cooking ideas too. This BBQ is a fantastic little performer for grilling, baking or even smoking for two or ten people.
Ozpig Big Pig Cooker & Heater
Best For Versatility
No list of BBQs is complete unless an absolute unit of a cooker is included and here it is: the Ozpig Big Pig Cooker. The huge 41 kg wood-fired BBQ is an upgrade of an older model and includes the ability to cook not only multiple dishes at once, but at multiple temperatures too.
It does this by having a large central wood fire with grills on the top and on the side so you can conceivably grill chicken skewers on top while slow cooking a casserole on the side.
You can also cook directly over the open fire at the top to infuse those smoky and woody flavours into your food. Given its size, it can produce quite a lot of food at the same time, making catering to larger groups easy.
Did we say it is large and heavy? Its size makes transporting it an issue, so it’s not practical for a quick night away for a couple, but can be the central cooking and heating unit for long stays in one spot with a bigger group, especially if it gets colder at night.
If you are up for it, then this BBQ could be your dream cooker given its abilities, but it might be better suited to the backyard given its heft.
What To Look For When Buying Camping BBQs and Grills
There are a lot of BBQ options on the market these days and to better understand what best suits you and your needs then you need to take into consideration the types of food you like to eat and the number of people you usually cook for.
Cooking Styles
Throwing cheap steaks or Coles snags on a grill while out camping is about as cliché as its gets in Australia, but is this the extent of your palate?
If this is all you want to eat every time you go camping, then the first three BBQs we reviewed: the Gasmate Voyager, Dometic Portable and the larger Weber Traveller are all designed as a hot grill first and foremost.
They do have lids, but they work as a direct heat grill to cook your food. Vegetables and a range of foods can easily be cooked this way as it is quick and easy, but it's also easy to burn if you are not careful.
The Weber Baby Q and the Ozpig Big Pig are different as they are designed to cook food in multiple ways using direct and indirect heat to grill, slow cook or even smoke foods – giving you more options in your cooking repertoire and the chance to impress your friends.
Then again, maybe you don't even need a BBQ to begin with - a camp oven or portable stove might be better suited to your cooking style.
Size
Smaller BBQs are lighter, cheaper and easier to move around, but they are limited by the amount of food you can cook at one time. The Gasmate, Dometic and Weber Baby Q are all only capable of cooking up limited quantities of food at a time.
The Weber Traveler and Ozpig are both much larger and can be used to cater to much bigger groups, but they are not as easy to use for a small group given the large cooking areas or the time it can take to get them set up and hot.
Camping BBQs and Grills FAQ
Are charcoal or gas grills better for camping?
The majority of BBQs on this list are gas as it's safe, simple and instant – which can be important when cooking food.
Wood or charcoal can often provide smokiness that can change depending on the fuel that adds distinct flavours to your food, but they take a while to light, heat up and be suitable for cooking.
Neither is better, but gas is more popular as it's much easier to use and does not come with a fire hazard, which in summer in Australia – is very important.
Final Thoughts
We Aussies love to BBQ, we have been cooking this way at home and out in the bush now for generations and with our love of food, likely generations more.
Cooking today is not just about eating, but can be a whole experience and BBQs like the Weber Baby Q for small cooking or the Ozpig for larger cooking offer varied and personable styles of cooking techniques.
There is no reason today to not eat healthy and tasty food while out camping and with any of these BBQs along with a good cookbook or some new ideas - you can easily be churning out flavoursome food for your friends and family while out camping or in your backyard over the weekend.
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Note that while every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this page, there may sometimes be errors. Check all specifications with the manufacturer before purchasing any product.
