Gas BBQ's - CONFUSED!

jonewer

Does anyone know anything about gas BBQ's?

I'm totally confused by the lack of reviews online and/or contradictory reviews. Some people say BBQ x is the best thing evar! and others say dont touch it with someone else's.

NNNNAAARGHH! :mad:

I'm tempted to just go for a Weber as its a good brand but they're far from cheap for what you get.....

Anyone out there give their opinions or advice on whats out there?

Thanks!

lindyloo47

We have a weber. Had it a few years now and it is still as good as new. We have looked after it though, keep it covered, and put it away in the winter. Had a home base one before and it fell to bits quite quickly. Think you do get what you pay for. What ever you choose, hope you enjoy using it.

snailsontour

Ahhhhhhhhhhh - BBQ's. Don't talk to me about BBQ's.

Here's what I've got:
1. An all singing all dancing gas CADAC Carri Chef Delux. This wee beastie comes with all a gal needs to cook anything - or so they tell me.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=carri+chef&!!!!!googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=9666287748&ref=pd_sl_5y2mrhormp_b
2. The mini gas CADAC - smaller more portable baby sister of the above - comes complete with all sorts of things including a paella pan!
3. A Cobb BBQ. This is supposed to be the bees knees, it uses charcoal or special Cobb things.
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/50243/Cobb-Barbecue-Cooking-System
4, A good old Weber - well not mine really, I bought it for my dad (83) to cook his steaks on!

So what would I recommend? Good question. I'm not keen on the gas BBQ's, yes they are convenient, but somehow the food doesn't have that 'je ne sais pas'. The Cobb is pretty good - you can do anything with it and can even bring it in doors if/when it rains.

But, I find a good disposable handy as the worst bit of the BBQ is the cleaning lol.

Clowance

we bought a cheap gas bbq for the first time last year, no particular make, but the food is not quite as nice. However, because of the instant nature of it, we are much more likely to have a bbq after work rather than wait for an hour for it to heat up. Also, ours doesn't have lava rocks and we thought it may be better with them? What do people think about lava rocks?

martinthebandit

I suspect it comes down to how much you are going to use it.

If its a lot then an expensive one (like a weber) that will give years of good service is probably worth it.

If its only a few times a year then you would struggle to beat disposable ones.

But thats just my opinion

jonewer

snailsontour wrote: »

Ahhhhhhhhhhh - BBQ's. Don't talk to me about BBQ's.

Here's what I've got:
1. An all singing all dancing gas CADAC Carri Chef Delux. This wee beastie comes with all a gal needs to cook anything - or so they tell me.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=carri+chef&!!!!!googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=9666287748&ref=pd_sl_5y2mrhormp_b

Thanks, How does the food taste though - seems to me like a gas fired frying pan rather than a BBQ.

kaya

bbq flavour is created by the oil from your food dripping onto the hot coals and smoking, a gas bbq without coals is not a real bbq, a gas bbq with added rocks/coals is as good as any non gas unit but heats up a lot quicker, i think i used penrock for my coals but they didnt come with the bbq, i brought them seperatly from bnq

real1314

kaya wrote: »

bbq flavour is created by the oil from your food dripping onto the hot coals and smoking, a gas bbq without coals is not a real bbq, a gas bbq with added rocks/coals is as good as any non gas unit but heats up a lot quicker, i think i used penrock for my coals but they didnt come with the bbq, i brought them seperatly from bnq

What he said.

Basically you've either got charcoal - which is mainly carbon in a solid form, or Gas - which is mainly carbon in a liquid/gas form. Both have a few other organic compounds in them.

But, if you've not got lava rocks, then you've got an upside down gas grill.

With lava rocks the hot fat hits the rocks and burns creating the barbeque flavour.

What does a charcoal bbq smell of with no food on it? A fire.
:cool:

Clowance

thanks for the info re lava rocks, next question: if the gas bbq does not specifically mention it can use lava rocks, can you still use them (or is this a stupid question!) ?

jonewer

This is the thing though - its easy to accept that lava rocks are good but then you read about how flavouriser bars are even better than lava rocks... which really has me scratching my head.

jonewer

well, I ended up going for one of these

http://www.outbackdirect.co.uk/bbq/Outback_Gas_Barbecues.html#aO_2fBSPC_2dHOOD_2d3B_2dBB

Homebase had it 1/3rd off plus another 20% on voucher so final price was around £250 inc. cover and 10kg gas tank.

Havent assembled it yet but will report back when I do!