We're off to buy a BBQ at the weekend, which will lead to the wettest summer on record :(  Anyway, what type is best?  OH has already declared that he'll be the one in charge of cooking on it (what is it with men and their need to control the barbeque?)  He wants a charcoal one as he says that its the only way to do it properly etc etc.  I'd quite like a gas one as I don't really fancy having to wait so long for things to incinerate on the outside whilst remaining raw inside that the sun will have set, the moon be in its glory and the midges having a field day when we eat.  Mind you, the plus side of that would be I could have lots of glasses of wine while waiting :D

So, Champdoggers, which should it be :)

Lesley

It is actually quite nice to cook on apple wood if you have any trees that need pruning :)

Charcoal (or other wood) seems to impart more of a flavour and you can chuck herbs on the fire - which smell lovely and I don't think you can do this with gas?

We actually gave away our bbq,in favour of a chimenea and now cook in this 'oven' usually over wood,as Kerioak says it does impart a lovely flavour to the food.

It's also used to steam fish or cook paella! cooks in far less time than a traditional bbq.

And during the winter months it has been used to burn some of the garden rubbish we couldn't recycle so served a double purpose :)

Just remember if you get one to put some sand into the bottom first to dispel some of the heat or it may crack ;)

Jacqueline.

If you like food tasting of ....well ..... charcoal, with a (not so) faint hint of petrol - buy a charcoal one! If you like food which tastes of food - buy gas!!! We've got both, OH prefers charcoal, I prefer gas. Gas heats up much quicker, so you're not fainting with hunger by the time it's cooked - or seriously thinking of taking up a Barf diet because you can't wait any longer.
Agree with the wine: Wonderful to just sit & watch them work - trouble is it takes so long, you're in no fit state to eat by the time it's ready (which is probably just as well ........)

If it were my choice, I wouldn't bother. Food tastes much nicer cooked properly ... but I hate barbecued food and going to other people's barbecues anyway.

JG, my Dally wouldn't like it at your house :D  First sign of the barbecue being lit he is there, he doesn't leave it until his sausages are cooked.

It has to be a charcoal one, with the gas ones you might as well cook it indoors.  If you use charcoal, try the charcoal in the bag.  Just light the bag, nothing else to it and it is ready a lot quicker. No red faces if you have friends round and can't get it lit, they are fool proof.

Almost as soon as I posted that our neighbours invited us to their barbecue tonight! :rolleyes: It's very kind, but I hate the bl*sted things ...

We have a gas one at our house.  The remotest taste of charcoal makes me sick!  :(  OH seems to like it as he is the one who uses it.

It is nice to come home on a nice summer night, have a leisurely shower, and then sit outside with a glass or two of vino while the OH prepares the meal.  But it does take him so long!!!

Go with gas.  Last summer I had a charcoal one only managed to light it by usinfg firelighters + paper + 3 boxes of matches+wood+4 bottles of lighter fuel + smidgen of petrol.  i was going to get that thing to light!!!
Must admit I would not give up had started at 5 pm managed to light by 10pm for some reason everyone had gone :O 

Charcoal for me. I love jacket pots cooked within the coals mmmmmmmmmmmmm :)

Thanks everyone!!  I like the sound of cooking with apple wood with herbs sprinkled on as Kerioak suggested and I also like the sound of Jacqueline's chimenea :)  One thing I wonder about is that really the only place we could safely site our whatever we decide on is on the decking, so would the chimenea be safe on that, or would it become so hot that it would scorch it or even worse burn right through the decking?

If we don't go for that, I think the gas is still winning out for me though despite the temptations of applewood and herbs, although I can feel a full scale row coming on at whatever shop we buy from ;) I'm only going to tell OH about the charcoal bag things if he actually wins the row :D

Lesley

PS Although JG might have a point; maybe we'll buy one and by the end of the summer be thinking what a dreadful waste of time messing about with a BBQ in order to eat horrible food whilst drunk as skunks is :D

I'd rather eat well-cooked food that tastes nice, and then get as drunk as a skunk ... ;) :)

Actually, thats the best suggestion yet JG, s*d the BBQ :D :D

Lesley

We have  had both types over the years.....the newer one is a gas one and, whilst it is cleaner I really miss the Barbequed taste that you get from the old charcoal ones :)

The sun is shining here this morning, and getting a BBQ seems a great thing to do, despite the wee JG sitting on my shoulder whispering "don't do it, don't do it" :D  I must admit the cleaness and quickness of gas really appeals, but if it's not going to taste of BBQ then maybe I should give in and let OH have his pleasure messing about, nursing charcoals to life etc etc :D  I'll just have to make sure he's sent out to do it about five hours before I want to eat ;)

Right then, Melody's convinced me - I've made a decision, charcoal it is!!  Now, what shape should I get, one of the oblong ones or a kettley one with a lid.................. :D

Lesley

Before you decide....we went to Tesco yesterday and they had a HUGE Bar B Que section ...and there, lo and behold...they had a pack of square things that apparantly, make your Gas BBQ taste like Charcoal ;) :D :D Think they are the stones that the gas heats up ....if you have a tesco nearby pop in and have a look. I havent used them so can't comment but does seem to be the best of both worlds :D

Melody you're a star :D  Believe it or not, where I live (with a population of 170,000) we have FOUR Tescos We'll pop into the giant Extra one and have a look.  Now I just need to convince OH that gas is the way to go.  Hmm, I'll plan a shoppping trip taking in every shop I can think of that stocks BBQs, but starting in Tesco, and because he has a stinking cold he might just cave in at the first hurdle and say "whatever you think dear" so that he can retreat home to watch football and nurse his swollen sinuses :D 

Lesley

*Twinkle twinkle*

:p :p :p

Our chimenea is on a decking path,on it's stand,which is placed on a concrete slab.We store the wood within the stand and also have a huge pile behind our shed (my Dad trimmed his cherry,apple and pear trees last year :D ) so we can cook loads of tasty bbq's this summer.We have used it many times and it hasn't even scorched the wood.

Good idea once the main course is cooked and served,is to pop some cooking apples,cored and filled with mincemeat or brown sugar and honey,wrapped in foil,onto the grill.Great for pudd!
Jacqueline

That sounds brilliant!!  Oh no   Now I'm all undecided again!

No doubt, I'm too late for this (story of my life, really! :D), but - tuppenceworth!

I'm afraid I can't see the point of gas barbies, you may as well use your usual cooker!  One way of avoiding the "Burnt outside, raw inside" syndrome is to give the food a minor microwaving first; this equalises the cooking without burning it  :)

We have a cast iron "Firepot" type - a "bellied" pot with a firebed above it, and the grill on top; easily started - you fill the pot part with crumpled paper, put those wee white blocks and some kindling wood on the firebed, then cover it all with charcoal.  As the fire starts from underneath, the lighting is far more efficient.

If you live in a rural area, the smoke from a charcoal BBQ keeps the midges off, too  :D - and thereby avoids the possibility of your getting "protien supplement" (in the shape of drowning insects) in your wine/beer/whisky/rum and coke!

Snorri
Twilight Zone
(Hungry now :()
:D

Too late Snorri :(  We ended up getting a charcoal one and Homebase had 35% off everything today so got a bargain :D  I like the idea of part microwaving the food first though and I will tell OH that it was a man who gave this tip and he will therefore take it as gospel :D 

Now we only have to wait for a nice sunny day

Lesley