Spec me a Barbecue

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
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Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I got the barbecue bug now....so looking to move onto the little league away from disposable and wondering what sort of equipment I would need.

Coal
Lighter fluid
Webley charcoal chimney (does it have to be this one? B&Q sell a similar looking one for £10)

but what barbecue should I get and what to look out for? Size? square one, round one?

Ideally I'd like one where it doesn't take up too much room and can be pushed around and may be put in the shed if needed.

I guess something may be easy to clean? How do you clean it anyway. Disposable is easy, once I am done I put water over it and bin the whole thing. Do you shovel out the used coal with a proper barbecue?

I don't really want to spend that much money, under £50 ?

Would that get me something that I can leave outside all year round and not rust over the winter?

In case it all goes wrong, I have a fire extinguisher at home in case of emergencies :D
 
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Oh, so you can get an attachment later to change the base? That's cool

I guess I could get a oven thermometre and save money. I don't have a thermometre in the disposable one and not killed myself. I just make sure the meat comes off the bone when cooking chicken and always lean on the side of caution with meat anyway. Rather over done than under cook.
 
Will keep an eye out on a Weber One Touch then, doubt I will get the premium. Will go to B&W later to see them all in person too.

Question though, how do you control the heat, like the distance between the coal and the rack at the top? Is the Weber rust proof? or do you guys buy the cover for it?
 
So in a round bowl, it is split in half. You put coal in 1 half but you can either put food directly on top of that half of the BBQ for direct heat or the other half for indirect heat with the lid on (I guess this is where the thermometre comes in useful).
So do you ever use the entire surface of the BBQ?
 
FrenchTart said:
Having oil/fat/sauce land on the coal isn't actually a bad thing as the smoke given off helps add a nice flavour to the food. Some people get a bit of cheap mince or some other low quality/cheap meat and leave it over the coals whilst the rest of the food cooks indirectly. You waste that bit of meat but the other meat benefits from the additional smoke.

Personally I tend to just use wood chunks. I've only properly tried applewood and mesquite with any kind of frequency. I've found applewood to be the best so far. You don't absolutely need the wood chunks/chips but they can definitely improve certain dishes.
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When you say wood chunks, you mean burn it with the coal?

Won't that create a constant flame? Like a log fire and burn the food?
 
physichull said:
I've got the 47 cm one, and unless your are REALLY into your barbequing, then the 47 is fine. If you, like me, just grill the odd burger, chicken, sausages, etc, then its the perfect BBQ and its small enough to easily store in the shed. I rarely cook for more than 6 people either so its pretty much perfect for me. True its a little bit more onerous to clean out, but I can live with that given the price leap for the other models.
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That's what I am thinking, 47cm is plenty big enough. I mean a disposable one cooks enough food for 2 so the 47cm is a bit too big in terms of capacity for me personally.
 
Glaucus said:
It can't be to big, you need space for indirect grilling, and even if direct grilling, you need space for a cool area to pull stuff of.

If you are going to do rubbish English bbq then save the money and buy a £20 bbq with no lid or anything else. If your interested in bbq then get a 57cm kettle.
It doesn't mean you have to fill the whole thing up with charcoal.

And as said you can bbq all year round. BBQing doesn't mean you have to sit outside.
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It can't be too big like a manion can't be too big for 1 person to live in. I live by myself so I would say 90% of the time using it will be just for me. The other 10% of the time it may be 4 people.

47cm will work perfectly for me, I really think it is a waste of money getting the 57cm one.
 
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