UK’s best barbecues: Understand differences between charcoal, gas, and grills

We chose the ComoGrill XL smoker grill as our number 1 charcoal barbecue for the simple fact that it offers everything you need to have a great garden cook-out, while still staying in a price range that is affordable to the masses. Once assembled, which took us about an hour or so, it has dimensions of 124 x 66 x 113cm, and stands at a very comfortable height for the average person to use without having to stoop too much. The main grill area measures an impressive 57x42cm, giving you plenty of space to cook up a feast and a half.

On either side of the main grill, you’ll find two good-sized shelves that come in really handy when you’re plating up, or simply to sit your sauces and such on so that they’re close at hand. If not needed, these shelves can be quickly folded down and this is a great space saving feature for storage purposes.

To help you keep control of the cooking process, ComsoGrill have designed this charcoal barbecue with an adjustable coal tray that can be raised or lowered using the large, metal, crank handle located right at the front of the grill, just where you need it.

Thanks to well placed air vents, it doesn’t take long for the CosmoGrill charcoal barbecue to get up to a good cooking temperature, and if you grab the large metal handle and close the heavy duty hood, you will see from the built in thermometer that this thing can get very hot, very quickly. You’ll have no problem searing steaks and chicken on this grill, that’s for sure. I’m often disappointed when I try to use lower priced charcoal barbecues as smokers, but I was really happy with this one. With the lid closed, there was still enough space between the wring rack and main grill to smoke decent sized pieces of meat, and if you want to smoke something larger, it only takes minutes to remove a couple of screws and the rack itself.

The CosmoGrill XL and smoker is definitely one of the most solidly built charcoal barbecues I’ve ever seen for the price. Simply outstanding for under 200 pounds, and definitely worth investing in, the CosmoGrill XL deserves its place in our best charcoal barbecues list.

Another feature packed product, that is priced very fairly, is the VonHaus charcoal barbecue, on sale for around 30 pounds less than the CosmoGrill XL, which this model has obviously taken more than a few ideas from. The first thing I noticed is that although the basic shape and layout of the VonHaus charcoal barbecue is similar to the CosmoGrill, it has a more contemporary aesthetic, with a few extra shiny pieces of metal, and angular edges. Personally, I have to say that I did prefer this to the more traditional look of its competitor.

There are other differences too, such as the handle for raising or lowering the coal tray. Instead of using a crank handle that you turn, the VonHaus charcoal barbecue uses a mechanism that resembles a car gearbox, and you simply slot it into or out of one of the presets as you wish. It’s very simple, and I liked it.

Access to the coal tray is gained through a large handled hatch on the front of the barbecue, and this makes refilling it, and removing it for cleaning, very easy indeed.

The main grill comes in two pieces that you just slide in next to each other, in addition to this, the cast iron cooking grates have been porcelain coated to prevent food sticking to them, and to fight rust and corrosion. The cooking area is large, and you will be able to cook enough for a large group of people without having to worry about space on the grill, and if it does get too crowded there, you can always pop a few things on the warming rack.

There is no chimney on the hood of the Vonn Haus, but there are extra vents in the side of it to go with the one on the side of the main grill, and a clearly visible, built-in thermometer. The vents can be closed off for when you want to use the barbecue as a smoker, and in that respect, it works quite well, especially when used with wood chips as a fuel source.

Other cool little features are the bottle opener on the front, a lower rack for storing plates and such on, and a pair of plastic wheels to get about on. The wheels won’t get you over muddy hills or anything like that, but they’re fine for moving the barbecue from the garage to the patio for your party.

With its durable, heavy steel construction, porcelain coated, cast iron cooking grates, and top-class powder coated paint finish, this Char-griller gas barbecue is something that is built to last. It has a 438 square inch cooking surface cooking surface with two powerful burners providing the heat. The main three burner tubes burner kick out a whopping 40,800 BTU, while the smaller side burner produces 12,000. That’s much higher than your average gas barbecue.

Ignition is electric and instantaneous, and the grill gets up to a nice cooking heat really quickly. On top of that, I found that the heat was spread really evenly over the cooking surface, with no real cold spots to be found. In my experience, that’s a good sign of quality.

That quality is easy to see in every aspect of the Char-griller E3001 model; the dials for controlling the burners feel very durable, the side shelves and base of the grill are really stable, and the hood is robust. Even the small chimneys in the lid feel like they’ll last for years to come.

What I found really surprising about this gas barbecue is that even though it is extremely solid and well made, the manufacturers have somehow managed to keep the weight down to only 100lbs. This makes wheeling it around a much easier task than I thought it would be, and that was a nice surprise.

Durable, reliable, mobile, and with an even distribution of heat from the excellent burners, this gas barbecue is definitely worth the slightly higher than average price tag attached to it. You pay for what you get, and this is real quality.

CosmoGrill are here again with yet another affordable barbecue that ticks all the boxes. Featuring four main burners that can be ignited individually, this grill gives you excellent control over the heat distribution along the large, main cooking surface, and the fact that they are ignited by a piezo lighter means that they spark up first time, every time.

In addition to the four main burners, there is a side burner that you can use for cooking up sources and side dishes to go with your mains. All of the burners are powerful, and heat up nice and quickly.

To keep all this heat trapped inside when you need it, CosmoGrill have given this gas barbecue a double walled metal hood, complete with an integrated thermometer so you can keep track of what’s going on inside.

Made from a combination of enamelled and stainless steel, this is no cheap piece of junk. It may be a bit fiddly to assemble, but once you’ve got past that part, the CosmoGrill 4+1 gas barbecue is solid as a rock, and as durable as they come. If you’re looking to wow your neighbours, this is a good choice of gas barbecue. The dark black finish and sleek lines make it one of the best-looking models out there, and the little touches of stainless steel are just the icing on the cake.

Again, this is a very capable barbecue with great build quality and features. I knocked it down a point for taking a while to assemble, but to be honest I was just being picky, and it could have been done much quicker with a bit of help.

To say the Tefal Optigrill XL is packed with features is a bit of an understatement. Using technological advances, this electric barbecue completely eradicates the guesswork involved when trying to cook the perfect steak, chicken breast, or pork chop. There are nine preset cooking modes to choose from, and the buttons for these are clearly marked on the machine with images depicting the type of food that that particular preset is best used for. You just pop your food in, press the button, and wait for the machine to do the rest.

Tefals ‘automatic sensor cooking technology’ is very clever stuff. It will not only automatically detect how many pieces of meat are on the grill, but also a built-in thickness sensor will figure out how chunky your pieces of meat are and adjust the cooking times to suit.

If you want to take things into your own hands, no problem. Manual mode will allow you to choose from four different temperature modes that are, again, clearly marked and easy to understand. It doesn’t matter if you’re cooking meat, fish, or grilling a panini, the Tefal Optigrill XL will do it all, and do it extremely well. And if that wasn’t enough, you can monitor how well cooked the things on the grill are getting using the colour coded cooking level indicator. Rare, medium, or well done, it’s up to you, and has never been easier. I tried out all three, and I was impressed with the accuracy.

With an 800 sq.cm cooking surface to play with, you’re never lacking space, and cleaning is made as simple as the cooking process thanks to removable, and dishwasher safe, cooking plates. Priced very fairly at the time of writing, this solidly built bit of kit is a must buy for anyone looking for the best electric barbecue. Top-notch, effortless cooking.

This is one of the few electric barbecues that actually resemble a classic barbecue shape and not a countertop grill. Having said that, the George Foreman indoor outdoor BBQ grill does give you the option of separating the top section and using it that way. I tried out both ways and I found that I preferred having standing up while cooking, but it was very convenient just to take the whole grill section and place it on the table when the food was done.

Getting different kinds of food just right on this excellent electric barbecue was a piece of cake, and I made good use of the variable temperature controls to produce some mouthwatering grilled seafood for the missus and neighbours, and then some cracking burgers for the kids.

The George Foreman indoor outdoor electric barbecue gives you 1500 square centimetres of cooking surface to play with, and this makes it a good choice for buyers with more than one child, or those who entertain regularly. You don’t have to be a tech whizz kid to operate this model. In fact, you only have to know how to plug in the thermostat and turn the dial to adjust the heat, and you’ll be cooking away.

I am always impressed with the cooking plates on George Foreman branded grills, and this one didn’t disappoint me either. They are high quality, easy to remove, and thankfully a doddle to wipe clean using a bit of soap and water. The plates are angled nicely, and this allows the grease from the meat to run down and be collected in the integrated drip tray. This tray can be removed and cleaned too, of course.

At one point during testing this cracking (not so) little electric BBQ out, the wind starting kicking up in the garden and my delicious looking fish fillets were in danger of getting covered in dust and other debris, so I just popped on the lid and kept an eye on the temperature using the built-in thermometer.

This electric barbecue would suit people who are looking for convenience, but still want that classic barbecue look. With minimal controls, a large cooking area, and a design that makes cleaning and maintenance as straightforward as can be, it’ll make many a busy parent very happy, I’m sure.

Femor’s BBQ grill is the product to go for if you go camping in larger groups, whether it is you and the kids, or just friends, as the 73cm x 33cm grill will enable all you tent dwelling super chefs more than enough space to feed everyone. I loved the way that the folding legs can make this portable barbecue go from standing 72cm tall, to being almost flat and ready to slip into the car boot, in seconds.

Made from high quality 430 stainless steel, it is built to fight off rust, and stands surprisingly stable on its long legs. I must say, I really did prefer to be standing upright while cooking on our lake district camping trip than having to crouch down like last year. The old knees are certainly grateful.

Featuring a good sized mesh grill, a non-stick pan, storage basket and plate, and coming with a set of tongs, the Femor portable grill is excellent value at the current price.

For all you solo campers, backpackers, and fishermen out there, the Fennek portable picnic grill is here for you. It might seem a little on the pricey side for such a compact charcoal grill, but it has a build quality that is second to none in its class, and will see you get plenty of use out of it over the years to come.

Have no doubt, this is an amazing piece of engineering. When fully folded up, it resembles a small laptop computer, with dimensions of 11.6” wide by 7.6” deep and being only 0.98” tall. However, in no time at all, it can be popped up into a decent sized portable barbecue, with easily enough space to cook for two people.

There are other products out there that have a similar folding design and are on sale for a fraction of the price, but I have tested a lot of them out and I can honestly say that the build quality of this product is by far superior to all of them. The heat resistant stainless steel will not only stop your portable barbecue from warping, but it will also fight off rust too.

One of my favourite features of this product is also one of the simplest. It has a removable lid which comes in handy when the weather inevitably changes for the worse, and will stop your burgers from getting a good soaking.

If you go fishing a lot, or just go camping as a couple or even alone, I would say this is the perfect portable barbecue for you. Very durable, not too heavy, and folds up so small, you can slip it into your backpack and forget about it.

One of the most durable portable gas barbecues out there, the Char-Broil X200 is something you don’t have to be overly careful with, which is good for a clumsy you-know-what like myself.

Powered by 16.4 ounce propane canisters, and using Char-Broils ‘TRU-infrared cooking system, this portable gas barbecue delivers a great cooking performance with a nice even distribution of heat and prevents any flare-ups from occurring. This all adds up to evenly cooked food that remains juicy and succulent, instead of feeling dried out like a 10 year old boot.

The push button ignition system is a god send when trying to start the barbecue up outdoors in windy weather. Just a push of the button and the stainless-steel burners burst into life. If it starts to rain, you can rely on the heavy duty hood to keep everything on the grill bone dry, and you don’t have to worry about things burning as long as you keep an eye on the thermometer.

Through my tests with this portable barbecue, I can confirm that the fuel consumption is very good, and you won’t have to swap tanks over too frequently. Please be aware that there are no gas tanks included with this barbecue, so you’ll have to buy them separately, but they are easy to come by and not expensive.

An incredibly solid, and hard wearing portable barbecue, with top class cooking performance, the Char-Broil X200 is well worth shelling out for if you’re going to be getting a lot of use out of it.

Just looking for something simple, inexpensive, but does what you need it to reliably? Then the crusader table top gas barbecue might be a thing for you.

Priced at around 35 pounds at the time of writing this article, it is one of the cheapest portable gas barbecues out there, and as such you shouldn’t expect the same build quality as with the Char-Broil X200. However, for the price it is decent, and certainly not flimsy. You will need to pay a bit more and purchase a regulator and either a propane or butane bottle or tank to connect to this model, but once set up it does its job admirably.

It comes with some free ‘lava rocks’ that will give you the same smoky taste of a charcoal barbecue, and help to keep the heat up and more evenly spread once the rocks themselves have got up to temperature. There aren’t that many of these rocks included, but you can buy more, quite cheaply, and it’s something I’d recommend.

The 42 x 27cm cooking area is big enough to cook 4-5 burgers on at a time, and you’ll find that as the fat drips through the cooking grate and onto the lava rocks, it burns up, adding more flavour and reducing the cleaning needed afterwards in one swoop.

The Crusader portable gas barbecue isn’t the most fancy product out there, and I wouldn’t expect to hand it down to my kids after I’m gone, but for the price it is definitely worth considering for your next camping trip.

When it comes to barbecue products, Weber is right up there at the top of the heap, continually producing the best barbecues and smokers out there. Anyone who has owned a Weber barbecue, and that long list includes myself, knows how durable these products are. I recently bought a new Weber barbecue and handed my old one down to a friend and it looked almost as good as the day I bought it; that was 5 years ago! This smoker is cut from the same cloth and is sure to keep you happy for years to come.

It’s not just the build quality that people appreciate about weber smokers; it is how well they do what they are made for. In the time I spent testing this smoker out, I used it to produce the most delicious smoked ribs, brisket, and ham, and all of them turned out fantastically.

The temperature control is excellent, and just by adjusting a couple of vents, you can really dial it in and get the heat just as you want it. Once you’re happy, you can walk away and be sure that the temperature won’t deviate. I even left it overnight, and was rewarded with the most tender, slow cooked pork I’d ever had the pleasure of feasting on.

Without a doubt, this is a smoker that will put a smile on your face every time you see the results, and for that alone, I think it is worth every penny.

Ok, so I know I said you should expect to pay 200-300 pounds for a great smoker, and I still stand by that statement, however that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a decent one for quite a bit less than that, as long as you don’t mind putting up with a few ‘quirks’.
The Femor smoker barbecue is a 3-in-1 product that can be used for grilling, roasting or smoking, making it very versatile, and for the low price tag, I would have to say it does a pretty good job of all three.

However, let me be clear, this can’t match up to dedicated smokers like the Weber product, there is some leaking of smoke from the chamber, and also the temperature won’t stay as stable, so you are required to stand over the machine while you’re using it and make adjustments with the vents as necessary.

The way I found worked best with this BBQ smoker combo, was to low cook for a while and get the smoky flavour into the meat, then remove it, and the top of the smoker, and finish cooking on the grill. It was a little bit of messing around, but it only took minutes to change over, and it produced the best results.

It isn’t as durable as the more expensive products either, but that is to be expected and if you follow the instructions from the manufacturer about spraying oil in the right places, you should be able to keep the rust at bay for quite a while.

If you’re just looking for a product to get your feet wet when it comes to smoking meat, or you just don’t have the money for the best BBQ smokers, this isn’t too bad a choice. Experienced barbecue chefs will probably do better to look somewhere else, perhaps a little further up the price range.