Are you a fan of smokey charcoal flavor but still want to have the speed and efficiency of a gas grill?
Now, you can have just one grill that gives you the quick grilling of a gas grill or the flavor of charcoal grills. Hybrid grills have been designed to do both.
The issue with hybrid grills is finding one that does both gas and charcoal grilling well. We have researched some of the best hybrid grills on the market, to provide you with a selection of the top charcoal gas grills models, giving you the ability to choose which one is the best for you.
Table of Contents
- 1 What is a Hybrid Grill?
- 2 Can You Use the Charcoal and Gas Sections at the Same Time?
- 3 Quick Consideration List
- 4 Our Top Picks for Charcoal Gas Combo Grills
- 5 Best Hybrid Grills Comparison Table
- 6 Reviews of the Best Hybrid Grills
- 7 Why You Should Buy a Propane and Charcoal Hybrid Grill
- 8 Why you Should Cook on Charcoal and Gas at the Same Time
- 9 Things to Know Before Buying a Hybrid Grill
- 10 Disadvantages of Hybrid Grills
- 11 Conclusion
What is a Hybrid Grill?
A hybrid grill is an outdoor cooking grill which has the ability to cook with more than just one fuel option. Basically, you have both, a charcoal and gas grill on the same unit.
They are different from some infrared grill, which only use gas. Infrared models use either gas or charcoal.
So, with a gas and charcoal combo, you get to enjoy the best of both worlds. The gas gives you convenience and ease of use while the charcoal offers a higher level of involvement and more smokey flavor.
Can You Use the Charcoal and Gas Sections at the Same Time?
In most models, you will be able to use charcoal and gas combo at the same time.
Most hybrid grills are designed to have two separate chambers; So, there are two independent sections with separate lids, one operating with charcoal and the other one is gas fueled.
While most hybrid grills have separate section, there are models which combine the charcoal and gas in one chamber, so you have to choose between one type or another.
Quick Consideration List
Our Top Picks for Charcoal Gas Combo Grills
#1 - The first hybrid grill featured in this list is Char-Broil Gas2Coal. Its gas side features three main burners, providing about 40,000 BTUs and one side burner, providing 12,000 BTUs. It has 540 square inches of total cooking space and features porcelain coated, cast iron cooking grates. The charcoal tray is stored below the burners which make the coal light up quickly and fast.
#2 - The Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 is probably the best all in one grill you can find in the market. You can use this product as a gas grill, charcoal grill or smoker, all at the same time. It has a total cooking space of 860 square inches and its gas burners provide up to 30,000 BTUs.
#3 - The third option to consider is the Char-Broil Charcoal Gas Hybrid Grill. It features three stainless steel burners, providing about 30,000 BTUs, one side burner providing 12,000 BTUs and a total cooking area space of 545 square inches. Other features worth mentioning are the temperature gauge and the electronic ignition system.
#4 - The Char-Griller 5050 Duo is a hybrid gas and charcoal combo grill proving a total of 1260 square inches of cooking space, separated between 438 square inches for the gas side and 580 square inches for the charcoal side. Its burners provide 40,800 BTUs on the main and 12,000 BTUs on the side. Both types of the grill can be used at the same time without any issue.
#5 - The last option to consider is the Char-Broil Standard 1010. This product has a charcoal grill with adjustable grates and 36,000 BTUs coming from the main burner of the gas side. Both types of grill have in total 1010 square inches of cooking space and it features a temperature gauge and a easy-to-access charcoal tray and ash pan.
Best Hybrid Grills Comparison Table
Name | Editor's Rating | Price Range | Cooking Space | Main Burners Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | (Editor's Choice) | $$ | 540 Sq. Inches | 40,000 BTUs | |
 | (Editor's Choice) | $$$ | 860 Sq. Inches | 30,000 BTUs | |
| $$ | 545 Sq. Inches | 30,000 BTUs | ||
| $$ | 1260 Sq. Inches | 40,800 BTUs | ||
| $$ | 1010 Sq. Inches | 36,000 BTUs |
Reviews of the Best Hybrid Grills
The Char-Broil Gas2Coal Hybrid Grill provides a generous cooking area of 420 square inches and a warming rack that is about 120 square inches. It has porcelain-coated, cast-iron cooking grates for easy cleaning and stainless steel burners for durability.
The three main burners offer a total of 40,000-BTU's and are ignited by a reliable electronic ignition system.
The side burner provides a total of 12,000-BTU's and when you are not using the side burner, you can close the lid and use it as a food prep area. There is also a large, painted, metal shelf that can be used as a prep area on the other side of the grill.
On the lid, there is a temperature gauge to monitor the pre-heat status and the interior temperature of the grill.
This grill measures 52.5" wide x 24.6" deep x 47.5" high, and weighs about 115 pounds. Char-Broil offers a five-year warranty on the burners, a two-year warranty on the firebox and lid, and a one-year warranty on all other parts. The grill is a value-priced, hybrid grill and is worth the price.
A rotisserie attachment, the Char-Broil Universal Rotisserie, is available for purchase separately.
To convert it to charcoal is very easy. You don't need any tool or other equipment. The charcoal tray is stored below the red Gas2Coal logo. Set the grates aside, and insert the charcoal tray. Spread charcoal evenly over the tray. Reinsert the grates. Then, light the three gas burners. Close the lid and let the charcoal heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Shut off the burners, and wait five minutes for the coals to become white. Now, you can start grilling. Also, Char-Broil stated that the design of the charcoal tray will reduces flare-ups.
Things We Liked
Things We Didn't Like
This Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 Grill allows you to sear meat on the 12,000 BTU Infrared Side Burner with its porcelain-coated cast iron cooking grids.
You can also use this grill as a propane grill, charcoal grill, or smoker. All four units are independent, have a total cooking area of 860 square inches, and can be used at the same time.
The 30,000 BTU propane grill portion has porcelain-coated grids and warming rack, three burners that can be controlled independently, and is designed to reduce flare-ups. The burners are easily started with an electronic ignition system. It is large enough to cook 20 hamburgers at once. You can also cook vegetables and delicate foods on the warming rack.
The charcoal grill portion also has porcelain-coated cast iron cooking grids, and you can control the heat by adjusting the charcoal tray and the dampers. You can use charcoal or wood chunks in the smoker. The grease and ash pans can be removed for easy clean-up.
The grill provides two condiment racks and two shelves for storage. It measures 82" long x 23" deep x 53.5" high, and weighs about 218 pounds. This grill is priced on the high end, but it is worth it.
Things We Liked
Things We Didn't Like
The Char-Broil Charcoal Gas Hybrid Grill is a three burner gas grill with charcoal component.
Its three main stainless steel burners offer 30,000 BTU's in total and the side burner about 12,000-BTUs. It also features a temperature gauge, an electronic ignition system for the burners, porcelain-coated cooking grates, a swing-a-way warming rack and a side shelf for food prep.
The main cooking area is about 370 square inches, and the total cooking area is 545 square inches. It is a great option for small footprints.
You can use the gas burners to light the charcoal and add wood chips for more flavor. The charcoal tray is not adjustable and one thing that many users find disturbing is the access to the propane tank which is on the side.
It measures 33.5" x 30.5" x 20" and weighs about 87 pounds. As for the price range, It is a medium-priced grill.
Things We Liked
Things We Didn't Like
The Char-Griller 5050 Duo Gas and Charcoal Grill provides 438 square inches of cooking space plus a warming rack on the gas grill side, and about 580 square inches of cooking space plus a warming rack on the charcoal grill side, so, a total of about 1,260 square inches of cooking space.
Both sides of the grill are independent, so, If you want, you can use both sides/types at the same time.
The gas grill side has an electronic ignition system, dual smoke stacks to promote even heating, and three burners totaling 40,800 BTU's. The side burner provides about 12,000 BTU's.
The Char-Griller comes with easy-to-clean, porcelain-coated, cast-iron grates; chrome-plated warming racks; stainless-steel heat gauge; a grate lifter; and an ash pan. For better temperature control, the grate height can be adjusted. The bottom is double-insulated for more efficient cooking. For storage, it provides a condiment basket and a shelf. It measures 60" X 25" X 50" and weighs about 160 pounds.
Also, if you want, you can purchase the 2-2424 side firebox separately for smoking.
Things We Liked
Things We Didn't Like
The Char-Broil Standard 1010 Combo Hybrid Grill has a charcoal grill with an adjustable grate; a three-burner, 36,000 BTU gas grill; and a lidded 12,000 BTU side burner, which can be used at the same time with the gas part of the grill.
Both sides have 505 square inches of cooking space each for a total of 1,010 of cooking space. There is a access door for the charcoal tray and the ash pan. The cast iron grates and the swing-away warming rack are porcelain-coated.
It includes a temperature gauge, measures 66-3/4" long x 24-1/4" deep by 48" high, and weighs about 140.7 pounds. Also, It is valued at an affordable price point.
Things We Liked
Things We Didn't Like
Why You Should Buy a Propane and Charcoal Hybrid Grill
There are a few reasons why you should buy a propane and charcoal hybrid grill:
Save Space
One of the main reasons why you should go for this combo is because you are going to save some space. You have probably noticed that, unless you go for a small portable grill, most grill models are large in size, taking a lot of room in your house. And taking it in consideration that some people have two types of grills, then it requires even more space.
Having a two-in-one hybrid grill will save you tons of space by combining two grilling units into one. In addition to that, you can set up a fixed position for the unit, so you won’t have to move around when you need it.
Save Money
As I said before, a lot of people purchase two different grills, spending extra money. Investing into a combo grill will save you a lot of money, especially if you go for high quality model.
Also, you can take advantage of fuel offers and save money on charcoal and gas. Charcoal prices go down on specific months and gas prices go higher or lower, depending on the market. You can take advantage of that and only pick the needed fuel when the prices are low, saving some money.
More Cooking Options
Having the versatility of hybrid grills means that you are not limited to one single fuel option, allowing you to make the choice of what type of food to cook and what method/fuel to use.
For example, gas can be used in any weather and whenever you feel like using, so you can enjoy grilled foods all year, no matter the weather or country.
And in the other side, when you want to enjoy your cooking experience, slowly cooking food on charcoal while talking to your friends, on a sunny day, then the charcoal chamber may come in handy.
More Cooking Space
As I mentioned in the upper section, hybrid grills have either two separate chambers or one big cooking chamber. As a result, you will get more cooking space and preparing area.
You don’t have to try and fit everything in a small surface because you can decide to grill a few on the gas chamber, while a few others letting slow cook on the charcoal chamber.
Why you Should Cook on Charcoal and Gas at the Same Time
Cooking on charcoal and gas at the same time will allow you to take the advantages of both options.
First, since gas fires up faster, you can quickly cook any food if you are looking for a quick snack and don’t want to get involved too much in the process. So, it will offer you speed and convenience instead of taking time to fire up the charcoal.
Secondly, you can choose to cook your meat on low and slow over charcoal chamber and then transfer to the gas side of the grill to give it a quick high heat sear, taking advantage of the maillard reaction. If you wouldn’t have a gas side, you would either wait for the charcoal to reach a high temperature or skip the finishing high sear completely.
The third benefit of having gas and charcoal at the same grill is that you will have more cooking space, and as a result, you can cook more food at the same time. This would be useful especially if you host parties or family gatherings frequently.
With such a hybrid grill, you have twice the cooking area of a normal grill because of the two chamber design. Also, if a lot of people are present, you can choose to cook some foods quickly over gas and only use charcoal for those who really want the charcoal flavor in their food.
Another benefit is that you don’t have to worry much about running out of fuel. If it happens for one source of fuel to run out, you can simply switch it to the other type and still continue to grill your food.
Things to Know Before Buying a Hybrid Grill
When it comes to picking a good grill, it has always been gas or charcoal. Each type of grill has its advantages and disadvantages, but with the recent technological developments, new products are entering the market. That's where hybrid grills come to play.
What are Hybrid Grills?
Hybrid grills are a combination of both gas and charcoal that are built for people or outdoor cooking enthusiast that cannot decide which grilling type they prefer more.
This kind of grill promises to provide you with the fund and flavour of charcoal cooking and as well as the speed and ease of use of cooking with gas.
They give you versatility without taking up as much space as two different grills would.
So, what factors should you consider before buying a hybrid grill? We have compiled a list with a few different factors that we think are important to consider when picking this kind of grill.
How Much Power Do You Need?
Grills Power is measured with BTUs or British Thermal Unit. This is the amount of heat that is required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. (Source: BTUs Explained) The BTU of each grill allows you to know the amount of heat the burners are going to produce and also the amount of fuel you will be burning within the same period of time.
Based on different researchers and actual expert recommendation, BTUs are not the only factor to consider when picking a grill. It doesn't mean that higher the BTUs the better the grill.
You have to consider also the amount of heat produced per square inch of cooking space. This way, you will end up with a grill which doesn't have flare-ups and cooks the food evenly. This also called the 'heat flux'.(Heat Flux Explained) A good amount of heat flux is about 80-100 per square inch of cooking space.
All the products we mentioned on this list have a good proportion of BTUs power with their square inch of cooking space, making sure that you will get evenly cooked food, without flare-ups.
How Much Cooking Space Is Enough?
Most of the people buy a hybrid grill to save space and not to have two different grills but purchasing a hybrid product which has a small cooking area, will probably save you some space but will make you wait every time you decide to use it.
To find out how much cooking space is enough for your needs, first you have to think about how many people you will usually cook for. Most of the grills included in this list have more than enough cooking space to prepare for 3-4 people on a regular basis or for a small family party.
Usually, 400 square inches of cooking space can easily cook up to ten 4-inch burgers, so try to have that in mind as reference when reading the cooking space details of the product.
Also, hybrid grills come in two different shapes. There are models with one cooking chamber, and there are models with two cooking chambers.
I would recommend getting a grill which has two different cooking chambers. Models with two individual cooking chambers will allow you to use the charcoal and the gas grill at the same time. With two different cooking methods at the same time, you can prepare lots of food quickly or cook two completely different recipes without worrying about the other part.
Easy Temperature Control
One factor which I think is also very important is the temperature control. Some hybrid gas charcoal grills do not feature temperature control adjustments at all. No dampers and vents mean that the temperature control will be difficult and as a result, the heat produced will be retained inside your cooking chamber.
You should understand that not every grill needs to have adjustable vents for controlling the temperature. There are models which have more advanced temperature control options or have a complete adjustable charcoal tray, making it very easy to control the heat.
Accessing The Charcoal
If you are going to buy a hybrid charcoal gas grill, then you should consider how you are going to access the charcoal tray of the grill. You don't want to remove ten burgers from the cooking tray just to add more coals inside.
That's why I recommend going for a product with two separate cooking chambers. The charcoal chamber will be much bigger, and you will have no difficulties to access the charcoal.
Maintaining
No matter how good of a grill you pick. Even if you go for the most premium durable model on the market, still it will need maintenance.
Maintaining a grill is probably the most important thing to do, and the main maintenance you can do is cleaning it up after using. So, going for a grill which will make the cleaning up process easier will save your lots of time and money.
Slide-out ash dump pan is a perfect example to start with when looking for a grill which is easy to maintain and clean.
How to Clean Your Grill
If you are not a big fan of cleaning, then you can skip a charcoal model as they generally need more cleaning, and go for a smokeless indoor grill instead.
Other Features
Cooking power, cooking space and grilling type are some of the traditional factors that you should consider when picking your hybrid grill.
But, there also a lot of other features, which are more like additional features and are not as important as the upper mentioned ones.
You can decide to look for a product which offers you tons of storage for storing cooking tools or other additional tools which you will need during the cooking.
Side shelves are also important for a lot of people, especially if they are foldable. You can decide to open or not them, based on your needs. With this kind of side shelves, you can save tons of space especially if you place your grill in a tight spot. You can use them when you are preparing a side dish or just to place some ingredients and then close them when you don't use.
Easy to access propane tank and charcoal tray are also some additional factors to consider when picking a hybrid grill.
Overall, these are some of the factors to consider when picking a hybrid gas charcoal grill. Some of them are more important, and some of them can only be considered only by some people. Either way, you will see that on a long run, considering most of the factors mentioned in this list will save you a lot of headaches and money.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Grills
Just like anything, there are advantages and disadvantages of hybrid grills:
- More Maintaining – As you have more cooking space and bigger unit, there will be more area to clean and maintain. You not only have to maintain the gas grilling grates and clean the grease but have to remove the ash tray from the charcoal chamber.
- Not so Portable – Since a hybrid grill is chunky and come in big dimensions, it won’t be easy to move them around the house. They are heavy and pretty bulky, so the best option would be to create a permanent place and position the unit there. This way, you won’t have to move around the grill before each use.
- Quality – Since you are having two different models into one unit, a lot of manufacturers lack to create two different high quality grills. Most of them tend to focus more on one type and then add the second type as an additional option, causing the quality to drop for the second one. Most of the issues you will face is the lack of air vents and temperature control, especially on the charcoal grills. Also, a few manufacturers to save the producing costs and keep the price low, they use lower quality construction materials when compared to their single fueled models.
Conclusion
The Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 LP Gas and Charcoal Smoker Searing BBQ Grillwork is the winner for the best charcoal gas grill. You can use the charcoal grill, the gas grill, the smoker, and the infrared side burner at the same time.
It has a total cooking area of 860 square inches, and the gas burners and side burner provide a total of 42,000 BTU's.
If you don't clean it regularly, It can have a rust issue, but if you keep it covered and pre-treat it with a rust-proofing material, you can alleviate some of this issue. The Char-Griller 5050 Duo Gas-and-Charcoal Grill has a larger cooking area and more BTU's. However, it has more of a problem with rust, and an additional fire hazard issue.
The grates on the Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 grill are easy to clean and the three burners can be controlled independently.
This Smoke Hollow grill is on the high-priced end. So, if you are looking for something a little less expensive, consider the CharBroil Gas2Coal grill. It offers 540 square inches of total cooking area and 52,000 total BTU's. You do have to choose between cooking on gas and charcoal, but the conversion to charcoal is quick and easy.
So, the Smoke Hollow 4-in-1 LP Gas and Charcoal Grill is our top choice as the best hybrid grill, but the CharBroil Gas2Coal grill is an economical alternative.