With the weather improving and everyone, including me, being stuck at home most of the time it’s only natural to start thinking about gardens and things you can do in them.
Over the past couple of years I’ve managed to get my herb garden going and I’ll hopefully get a usable crop from my berries this year. The herbs are growing, even in places that I didn’t plant them (I’m looking at you mint that I never planted in that far corner!) And yes, I do now own a garden shed as well, though its roofing needs a bit of work.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking more and more about getting a barbecue. I’ll admit I didn’t know much about barbecues and I still don’t, but I hadn’t realised that there were so many different types to choose from.
Fuel type
So to start with there’s the choice of fuel:
- Electric
- Gas
- Charcoal
While electric has its attractions I don’t think there’s much point in getting one. I’ve already got a George Foreman grill which, while smaller, would do the same thing. One of the reasons you barbecue meat is to get that “barbecue taste” and I’m not convinced you can get that from an electric barbecue.
So really the question of fuel type comes down to choosing between gas and charcoal.
Gas has a degree of convenience, but it lacks the flexibility of flavour.
Charcoal options take a bit longer to heat up, but that doesn’t bother me. The options around flavour based on the type of wood you choose is attractive.
But that’s where I’m hitting a brick wall.
When you go looking at what’s available, either in person or online, there’s a huge range of options available with prices and options that are simply dizzying.
I’ve been trying to narrow down the choices by setting a few criteria.
Size:
Most of the time I’m only cooking for myself, but I would expect to be cooking for up to 4 people when things get back to something close to normal. I definitely don’t need a huge barbecue that is aimed at feeding 20 people.
Ideally whatever I end up with should be able to either fit into my garden shed when it’s not in use or be stored outside under a cover. With the winds we’ve been getting over the last couple of years I think putting it in the shed makes more sense.
I also want something that has its own stand so I won’t have to either put it on a table or spend my time bent over, so it needs to be at waist height.
Cleaning:
If it takes me hours to clean up after I cook then I’ll be miserable.
Also being able to clean it easily is important.
Which brands are good?
I’ve heard positive things about Weber, but I’ve also heard plenty of good things about other brands.
Which brands should I totally avoid?
Is gas okay? Or do I need to use charcoal? Is charcoal really that much better than gas?
What other considerations are there?
I’ve just invested in a Weber Spirit 320 and so far I’m loving it although at €695 it’s at the top end price wise. I went for the gas option and size wise it’s great for our family of four. Highly recommended. Good luck
Colin
Thanks
Any reason why you opted for gas over charcoal?
Michele
We actually got a Weber Spirit 310 (might be the US version of Colin’s 320?) at the beginning of last summer and we love it. It’s very easy to clean and the left “shelf” flips down for more compact storage. There’s just 2 of us and it has plenty of capacity without being too big. Went with gas over charcoal because I’m impatient (this bad boy heats up in a snap). I thought the “flavor bars” might have been a bit of a gimmick but actually give really good flavor and I don’t miss charcoal.
Brian
The 310 is available here as well. https://www.weber.com/IE/en/barbecues/gas-barbecues/spirit-series-/46410674.html
What exactly are flavour bars?
Michele
Yeah that looks like mine. The “flavorizer bars” (not a TM as far as I know) are these long tent-shaped things directly beneath the grill grate that catch and burn the juices for smokiness you might otherwise get from charcoal.
Second slide show link under “Explore the Features” on the link you sent above shows them.
Brian
Ah interesting. There wasn’t any real explanation as to their function. I finally found a blog post that explains it a bit better:
https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/burning-questions/flavorizer-bars-replace-em-or-keep-em/weber-30521.html
Michele
Weber are great but expensive. So you have to be prepared to clean it properly each time otherwise it won’t be useable is a few years.
The gas V charcoal debate goes on and on. Personally I don’t notice any difference in flavour (and I believe if you did a blindfold taste test 99/100 people wouldn’t know the difference) but some say they do.
I switched to gas years ago for the convenience and have never gone back. It’s also a lot cheaper to use gas than keep buying charcoal.
I would say you go 1 of 2 ways with BBQ choice. Either pay big money, take good care of it, and it’ll last; or get the cheapest thing you can, and accept that you may get 3 summers out of it, but you’ll be needing a replacement soon enough.
A mid priced BBQ will still only last a short time.
Oli
The gas v charcoal debate is fascinating. Apparently in some circles if it’s not using some form of charcoal it’s not a barbecue but a grill!
I’m happy to spend on something that will last which is why I’ve been looking at Weber and a few other options. Some of the ceramic options look amazing, but also come at a crazy price point.
Thanks
Michele
I am currently having the same dilemma. I had a gas bbq for years and loved it mainly for the convenience, but to be honest I didn’t really get that bbq flavour. I bought a cheap charcoal one last year to try out but it hasn’t got a lot of use due to the fact that it takes a long time to heat up properly and also because I ran out of charcoal and couldn’t get any in my local supermarkets recently! Gas has the edge in that sense but I am tempted to go for a decent charcoal one to get the best flavour (IMHO). Good luck with your search.
Mary
Which make gas one do you have?
I’m not overly concerned by it taking time to heat up as I’m well used to the sous-vide which takes anything from an hour to two or three hours to cook stuff 🙂
Michele
I think there are a few more things to think about. How high a temperature do you need? If you’re looking to get well over 250c that’ll influence the design and build. Thinner (cheaper) gas bbqs will struggle with that.
Do you want to do tin can chicken – you’ll need a lot of vertical height.
Do you want a smoker option?
Gas is really handy and easy, but you don’t have the flavour of the charcoal. You can add lava rock, or use wood chips on the grill beside the food.
Charcoal is great (an hour after you planned to cook in my experience 🙂
I went with gas, and we use the bbq all year round, at least once a week. more in the summer. When I bought our current gas one I kept our last kettle charcoal one for lazy summer days when we’d have loads of time and want the extra flavour.. it’s been 3 years now and it’s never made it out of the shed.
For my next one, it’ll be gas, and smaller. Probably something like the Weber Spirit E210.
I have a Weber Spirit which is about 15 years old. I’ve replaced the flavorizer bars with stainless steel ones and the grilling bars with the heavier cast ones. I bought a OEM cover when it was new and is still going strong in spite of blowing off the grill in a gale and landing in the next door neighbor’s yard.
Weber isn’t the cheapest, but if treated to a bit of tlc every so often, will last.
I am of the opinion that the difference between charcoal and gas isn’t in the taste, but definitely in the convenience.
Brian
Which model do you currently have?
Temperature – I hadn’t really thought about that. Why would I need higher than 250c?
Tin can chicken – interesting – hadn’t thought of that either.
Smoker – I’ve seen some with them built-in and others where you can add them on, so was sitting on the fence on that.
With gas I can see the overall attraction, but which kind of gas do they use? Is it easy to get?
Michele
The grills I had in South and North America all used propane in the cream colored tanks. In Spain the gas is butane and comes in an orange tank. The adapter to connect the tank to the grill is different, but as far as I can see, that’s it.
When you set the grill up for the first time, there is usually a very simple mixture control like a Bunsen burner to adjust the flame.
The cast metal grill bars take about 10 to 15 minutes extra to come to temperature, but in my humble opinion the more solid heat they provide gives a better grilled product.
You might want the high temperatures for pizza, for example. You can get pizza stones designed for some bbqs and I hear they work really nicely. I’ve not tried it as mine doesn’t really go much higher than the oven.
For the gas, it’s mainly the regulator to watch out for. The gas itself isn’t as important (propane is probably better then butane, specially if you’re using it in winter) but you may also get BioLPG. I would make sure that I was using a patio gas setup, as all the petrol stations and co-ops have them. You can generally change the regulator anyway. A propane regulator is the same as a patio gas one.
Around here, if you ask for patio gas in the shop, they’ll know what you mean. If you start into asking for propane, it can get complicated.
The best description I found online for gas types is this one: https://www.flogas.ie/residential/lpg/lpg-bottled-gas/which-bottle-should-i-use.html
One final wrinkle is that you might want to get the standard 12kg cylinder if you’re not moving it much, but you can get smaller 6kg ones too (you can also get larger). I have a friend that swapped all his 12kg ones for the smaller ones for portability.
Add approx €35 to the cost for the deposit on the cylinder for the first gas purchase. (so approx €70 day one 35 thereafter)
I have a simple 3 burner one from Woodies. It’s branded Omaha. I didn’t go with the side plate as I prefer the extra space to rest raw/cooked food.
Thanks – that’s very helpful
Michele
Brian
Ah yes that makes sense about the pizza.
Thanks for the added explanation about the gas.
Michele
Had the same dilemma recently and ended up settling for the Weber Master Touch charcoal. The Gourmet BBQ System (GBS) of the Master Touch means you can insert different grates such as searing grate, pizza stone and even a wok. Although Gas is more convenient, i just didn’t see myself using on a daily basis and i kind of like the ritual that goes into preparing a BBQ (although be sure to pick up the Starter Chimney as it will make life a lot easier and you’ll be ready to cook in 15 mins). Weber is also built to last and comes with a 10 year guarantee, so although a little bit more expensive it saves having to replace every couple of years like i used to in the past.
Micah
Thanks – very helpful.
How hard was assembling it?
Michele
I am usually terrible at assembling things but i used an app called BILT. Gives a 3D walkthrough of how to assemble the BBQ – very handy.
Micah
Downloading it now! I find that a lot of the instructions are terrible so I often end up resorting to YouTube videos to show me, but that app looks like it might solve the problem for me!
Thanks
Michele