{"id":12578,"date":"2022-04-26T12:41:48","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T17:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/?p=12578"},"modified":"2024-05-03T06:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T11:02:17","slug":"z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/","title":{"rendered":"Z Grills Cruiser 200A Portable Pellet Grill Review {I Like It!}"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I picked up Z Grills Cruiser 200A\u00a0 a few weeks ago and have had a blast seeing what I could do with this portable pellet grill.\u00a0 I have mainly been using this guy on the tailgate of my truck so I could get a feel of what it would be like to take it on a camping trip or down to an LSU football game.<\/p>\n<p>Stick with me and I will give you a quick review of the Z Grills Cruiser 200A so you can figure out if it is the right grill for you!<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12579\" src=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Cruiser fits great on a tailgate\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Cruiser-fits-great-on-a-tailgate-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_65 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#How_Big_is_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\" title=\"How Big is the Z Grills Cruiser 200A?\">How Big is the Z Grills Cruiser 200A?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Physical_Dimensions_of_the_Cruiser\" title=\"Physical Dimensions of the Cruiser\">Physical Dimensions of the Cruiser<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Cooking_Capacity_of_the_Cruiser\" title=\"Cooking Capacity of the Cruiser\">Cooking Capacity of the Cruiser<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Hopper_Size\" title=\"Hopper Size\">Hopper Size<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Things_I_Love_About_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\" title=\"Things I Love About the Z Grills Cruiser 200A\">Things I Love About the Z Grills Cruiser 200A<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Great_Smoke_Flavor\" title=\"Great Smoke Flavor\">Great Smoke Flavor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#The_Grill_is_Easily_Portable\" title=\"The Grill is Easily Portable\">The Grill is Easily Portable<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#The_Grill_is_Cool_Underneath\" title=\"The Grill is Cool Underneath\">The Grill is Cool Underneath<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Where_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A_Could_be_Better\" title=\"Where the Z Grills Cruiser 200A Could be Better\">Where the Z Grills Cruiser 200A Could be Better<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-cruiser-200a-portable-pellet-grill\/#Overall_Impressions_of_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\" title=\"Overall Impressions of the Z Grills Cruiser 200A\">Overall Impressions of the Z Grills Cruiser 200A<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Big_is_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\"><\/span>How Big is the Z Grills Cruiser 200A?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are three important size aspects in a portable grill:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Physical Dimensions<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Cooking Capacity<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Hopper Size<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s look at each in a little more detail.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Physical_Dimensions_of_the_Cruiser\"><\/span>Physical Dimensions of the Cruiser<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Since we are looking at a portable pellet grill then we need to talk about size.<\/p>\n<p>If you are interested in how much room it will take up in your storage space then it has the following dimensions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Width: 25 inches<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Depth: 20 inches<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Height: 13 inches<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Cruiser weighs 40 pounds when empty but it will end being full of pellets at some point which will put its weight at just under 50 pounds.<\/p>\n<p>I can pick this grill up and move it around pretty easily by myself but, if I had to carry it for a significant distance then it would nice to have a second person help.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Cooking_Capacity_of_the_Cruiser\"><\/span>Cooking Capacity of the Cruiser<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Even though this is a portable grill it has a surprising large amount of cooking area.<\/p>\n<p>In the video below I show how you can easily fit a dozen chicken drumsticks (over four pounds) onto the grill with no problem.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xu1Dc_hWHXw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Cruiser is also large enough to handle an eight pound Boston Butt.\u00a0 I butterflied the butt to get more smoke flavor into the meat and it still fit on the Cruiser with no problems.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to smoke ribs on this grill then you will need to cut them in half first.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12580 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Z Grills Cruiser 200A\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Seven-Pound-Pork-Butt-on-the-Z-Grills-Cruiser-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hopper_Size\"><\/span>Hopper Size<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The pellet hopper on this grill can hold 8 pounds of pellets which is the same hopper size you get on the <a href=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/z-grills-600d3e-open-flame-grill-review\/\">mid sized Z Grills 600D Series<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Eight pounds of pellets is plenty of fuel to grill chicken, brats and burgers.\u00a0 You could even get away with smoking a chuck roast for 5-6 hours as long as you stir up the pellets every couple of hours to make sure they are sliding into the auger.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Things_I_Love_About_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\"><\/span>Things I Love About the Z Grills Cruiser 200A<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The main things that I love about the Cruiser are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Great Smoke Flavor<\/li>\n<li>Easily Portable<\/li>\n<li>Cool Underneath<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Great_Smoke_Flavor\"><\/span>Great Smoke Flavor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The number one factor that I look for in a pellet grill, portable or not, is how well does it perform.<\/p>\n<p>In the cooks I have done so far I have been able to get crispy skin on chicken cooked at high temperatures and wonderful smoke flavor on pork butts cooked low and slow.<\/p>\n<p>I love that this little grill can out down such a great smoke ring on a pork butt!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12582 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Z Grills Cruiser 200A\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Smoked-Pork-Butt-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Grill_is_Easily_Portable\"><\/span>The Grill is Easily Portable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>I love that I can take a highly capable pellet grill with me wherever I want to go.<\/p>\n<p>If you are in an area that doesn&#8217;t have power you can always use an inverter to plug it into you car or use a portable lithium ion power pack like a Jackery.<\/p>\n<p>I also appreciate that the grill has handles on both sides so you can easily pick it up.\u00a0 I know that it seems obvious that a portable grill would have carrying handles but if you look at the comparable Traeger Ranger you will see that Traeger&#8217;s portable grill does not have handles.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Grill_is_Cool_Underneath\"><\/span>The Grill is Cool Underneath<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Even when the Cruiser is running at its top temperature of 450F it is cool enough underneath the grill to use on a plastic or wooden table.<\/p>\n<p>I really like using he Cruiser on the metal tailgate of my truck (it&#8217;s the perfect height!) but I also like knowing that I could use it on a park bench without doing any damage.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A_Could_be_Better\"><\/span>Where the Z Grills Cruiser 200A Could be Better<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are two areas where I the Cruiser could be improved upon.<\/p>\n<p>The first issue is that the control panel comes with a spot to plug in a meat probe to monitor the internal temperature of your meat without opening the lid.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the grill does not come with a meat probe and you cannot buy a compatible meat probe from the Z Grills website.<\/p>\n<p>I tried using a couple of the meat probes I have lying around but none of them fit into the opening on the control panel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12583 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Z Grills Cruiser 200A\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/gnne\/2022\/04\/Portable-Z-Grill-Control-Panel-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The second issue is that the pellet hopper is located inside the grill body.\u00a0 This means that you have to open the lid and lose all of your heat anytime you want to stir the pellets or add more to the hopper.<\/p>\n<p>It would be nice if you could access the pellet hopper without having to open the grill.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Overall_Impressions_of_the_Z_Grills_Cruiser_200A\"><\/span>Overall Impressions of the Z Grills Cruiser 200A<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Z Grills Cruiser is a fun and fully capable portable pellet grill.<\/p>\n<p>The grill is large enough for most everyday needs and will easily feed 4-6 people.<\/p>\n<p>The Cruiser is easy to transport, looks great and is a blast to use.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to check out the Cruiser for yourself then <a href=\"https:\/\/shareasale-analytics.com\/r.cfm?b=1450846&amp;m=93090&amp;u=1726109&amp;afftrack=&amp;urllink=www%2Ezgrills%2Ecom%2Fcollections%2Fportable%2Dseries%2Fproducts%2Fzpg%2D200a%2Dportable%2Dpellet%2Dgrill&amp;lplid=hbbvmoZvFFlMluXHQCzeSA%3D%3D&amp;shrsl_analytics_sscid=11k7%5Fbh4ch&amp;shrsl_analytics_sstid=11k7%5Fbh4ch\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here is the link to the Cruiser over at the Z grills website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I picked up Z Grills Cruiser 200A\u00a0 a few weeks ago and have had a blast seeing what I could do with this portable pellet grill.\u00a0 I have mainly been&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12579,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12578"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12578"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13695,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12578\/revisions\/13695"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bbqdryrubs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}