The Best Portable Burners

Powerful and easy to adjust, this burner was the quickest to boil water in the lineup. It provided excellent cooking with no hot spots; searing heat for juicy, well-browned burgers; strong flames for stir-fry; and steady power when deep-frying light, crispy zucchini sticks. The dual fuel option was key: We used its 31-inch flexible hose connector to hook up a propane tank and stow it far from the burner so that we could use cookware of any size and weight safely without fear of overheating a butane canister. This model only struggled when maintaining a low flame to keep cheese fondue molten and creamy for an extended time, but performed a bit better than most of the other gas models in this task. Textured pan supports around the flame held cookware of all sizes and shapes securely, and the whole top lifts off for scrubbing in the sink. One caveat for this and all gas burners: It should be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.

This gas model is dual fuel, meaning you can use butane or propane. It cooked evenly and had plenty of power for searing burgers or making stir-fry, even letting us deep-fry successfully in a large Dutch oven (when hooked to a propane tank). It even did a decent job keeping fondue creamy for about as long as any of the gas burners, though the flame went out once when we turned it down very low. The propane connector was just 9 inches long and made of rigid metal, with a trick to the way it attaches that stumped us until we called customer service for help. Even then, it took some effort to screw on, and the short length meant we couldn’t move the propane tank as far from the heat as we’d prefer, though it felt minimally acceptable. We liked this model’s extra wind guard around the burner, and that the top comes off for easy cleaning. One quibble: Its fuel compartment cover sits ajar, instead of closing snugly as other burners did (a second copy was the same), leaving an impression that it’s not well-built. Like all portable gas burners, this model should be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.

This petite, surprisingly inexpensive electric-coil burner had enough power to do well in most cooking tests, producing even, deep browning on burgers in a 10-inch skillet, sizzling stir-fry in a wok, and creamy fondue in a saucepan. Unlike the other electric models, it was able to boil water, but it took three times as long as the gas burners. An important note: The manual warns not to use pans weighing over 10 pounds. All of our recommended Dutch ovens are too heavy (and a full stockpot is also heavy)—so we could not deep-fry on this burner. It also says it works best with smaller pans close in size to the burner, which is 5¾ inches diameter. We were able to use a 12-inch skillet, but heat was concentrated in a 6-inch circle at the center of the pan; smaller cookware heated more evenly. This model performed so well overall that we decided to overlook these weight and size limitations, but there are a few disadvantages to bear in mind.

Powerful, intense heat gave us even browning, exemplary stir-fry, and golden crusts on juicy burgers. It was easy to make fondue on this burner, but holding it in good condition was another matter: It was too hot even on its lowest setting, and became greasy and broken. When we tried to set it very low, the flame went out more than once. We couldn’t use a large skillet or deep-fry in a Dutch oven on this burner because they would overhang and potentially overheat the butane canister; it does not have a dual-fuel option. The pan-supporting prongs were grippy and felt secure when we stirred food, and we liked its extra wind-guard surrounding the burner; overall, this burner’s construction felt solid and well made. The whole top removes for easy cleanup. Like all portable gas burners, this model should be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.

Although it had much lower power than the other gas burners, this model held its own for most of our cooking tests, falling short with poor heat control when we wanted to hold fondue at a low setting: Cheese grossly overheated into a bubbling, greasy mess, and the flame frustratingly went out whenever we tried to turn it down. Cleanup was also harder with this burner, because its top didn’t lift off like the other gas models, while a deep groove all around its surface collected and held onto drips and crumbs. It is not dual-fuel, so pan size is limited to no more than 9 to 10 inches across; larger pans might cause the butane canister to overheat and potentially explode. Like all portable gas burners, this model should be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.

This weak burner never boiled water, even after 50 minutes, because power kept cycling off before it reached 212 degrees F (repeated tests gave us the same results). We didn’t bother trying to deep-fry. Hamburgers steamed instead of browned, coming out gray and rubbery. It also struggled when we tried to cook fondue, though once we managed it, the burner successfully kept the fondue on a low setting so it stayed creamy for 1½ hours. It did surprisingly well with a basic stir-fry, but cooking went much more slowly than on gas or induction burners. It also cooked unevenly, with heat concentrated in a 3-inch circle at the center of the burner. The slick glass surface of this burner let pans slide around as we stirred, and the wok felt insecure and tippy. Its steel body became very hot whenever we cooked, and cleanup was difficult: The more we tried to clean it, the streakier it looked.

“It’s like stir-frying in slow motion,” complained one tester about the lackluster performance of this weak burner. We thought its cast-iron burner plate seemed to have potential, but stir-frying wasn’t the only time we found its cooking sub-par: Water never boiled because the power kept cycling off and cooling down whenever temperatures topped 200 degrees. Hamburgers emerged wet and gray, because they steamed rather than seared. The wok felt tippy and unstable on the flat burner. The appliance’s surface got and stayed very hot whenever we cooked and delayed any attempt to clean it afterward. Its one saving grace was that it could hold fondue at a low enough temperature to keep it creamy and unbroken.