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Almost any food tastes better when it’s cooked on a BBQ. The smoky flavour and high-temperature-sear that a charcoal BBQ can kiss choice cuts of meat with are the stuff culinary dreams are made of. BBQ chicken, veggies or salmon with a convenient, easy-to-use gas BBQ? Perfection. No matter whether you’re buying your first BBQ or looking to upgrade your outdoor cooking experience, our extensive research and testing have uncovered the best products to suit your needs.

For those that adore the ease and consistency that comes from cooking with gas, Weber’s Spirit II E-310 offers the perfect balance of build quality and features, at a reasonable price.

Looking to BBQ on the go? Weber's Q 1200 portable gas BBQ could be just the thing. If you prefer the rich, smoky flavour that results from cooking over charcoal, the Napoleon NK22L-LEG-2 Charcoal Kettle BBQ our pick for charcoal BBQs, will make you happy. Looking to enjoy the incredible versatility that comes from cooking over a kamado-style BBQ? You'll want to check out Big Green Egg's Large Egg Kamado Cooker.

The Bolton News: Credit: WeberCredit: Weber

BEST GAS BBQ

Weber Spirit II E-310

The Weber Spirit II E-310 may be the brand’s entry-level BBQ, but it didn’t act like a lesser product when it came to performance. It was our favourite BBQ to use on every test, producing perfect sear marks on burgers, evenly cooked chicken, and picture-perfect asparagus. It can’t hold quite as much food as our upgrade pick, the Weber Genesis II E-310, but the food that does fit will be cooked evenly to perfection.

This BBQ is proof that BTUs are not the end-all-be-all in BBQ choice. Its 30,000 BTUs cranks out an impressive amount of heat—we created indirect heat by turning a single burner on high heat, then heating the BBQ to 160 degrees; and when we turned all the burners on low, it hit an impressive 200° C (which was hotter than some of the higher BTU BBQs we tested).

We also loved some of the aesthetic features, and the BBQ itself felt well put together and built to last. They really thought of everything with this BBQ: a side-mounted propane tank with a gas meter, sturdy side tables, and grates that fit together perfectly. It was also one of the few BBQ that had hooks on the side for hanging your cooking tools, and the Weber lids were the only ones designed to vent smoke away from tunnelling into your face. As a bonus, this BBQ is also iGrill (a Bluetooth enabled thermometer that mounts permanently to the BBQ table and can send alerts and data right to your smartphone) compatible. As compared to some of the other BBQs, the Weber was significantly easier to build, too. Although there were a lot of little parts to put together, the instruction manual was clear-cut and easy to understand.

The Weber Spirit II E-310 isn’t the cheapest BBQ on the market, but it’s absolutely worth the price. When you take all the factors into account—performance, ease of use, and aesthetic appearance—this BBQ was an obvious choice for Best Gas BBQ.

Pros

  • Cooks evenly and perfectly sears meat and veggies
  • Produces impressive heat for 30,000 BTUs
  • Sturdy, well-built design and features

Cons

  • Only holds about 18 burgers

Get the Weber Spirit II from Amazon for £579

The Bolton News: The Napoleon NK22CK-L is the best charcoal grill you can by, right now. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay MattisonThe Napoleon NK22CK-L is the best charcoal grill you can by, right now. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

BEST CHARCOAL BBQ

Napoleon NK22K-LEG-2

The Napoleon Charcoal Kettle BBQ was our favourite charcoal BBQ in our test group. It aced our cooking tests and its design features set it apart from the competition. For starters, it sits on four legs instead of the standard three that most kettle BBQs come with; making it both sturdy and stable. Its ash bucket is larger than most and has a wide-grip handle that keeps your hands nice and clean as you remove the ashes. Clipping the ash bucket into place was a bit tricky at first, but once we figured it out it stayed put without a problem. Finally, there’s the BBQ’s wide, round rim that rests in the middle of the coal bed while you’re cooking. Initially, we thought this rim was designed to keep the briquettes out of the centre of the BBQ. However, we quickly realized that the rim’s metal heated up along with the coals, distributing the heat evenly throughout the BBQ.

When it came to cooking on the Napoleon, we had no complaints. It proved capable of holding 12 to 13 burgers at a time and created a gorgeous overall char when we cooked over direct heat. Raking the coals for indirect heat was nearly effortless; its wire cooking grate had hinges on each side that allowed us access to the briquettes underneath. Additionally, the vents on the top and bottom of the BBQ were easy to open and close. All of this worked together to create an ideal heat distribution for indirect heat cooking. Being able to control the airflow is important when cooking over charcoal; the bottom vents control the heat of the fire, while the top exhausts hot air and smoke out of the BBQ.

Pros

  • Distributes heat evenly
  • Sturdy and stable
  • Good capacity

Cons

  • None we could find

Get the Napoleon Charcoal BBQ from The BBQ Shop for £206

The Bolton News: Big Green Egg's kamado cooker is incredibly versatile—but you'll pay a high price for its famous adaptability. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay MattisonBig Green Egg's kamado cooker is incredibly versatile—but you'll pay a high price for its famous adaptability. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

MOST VERSATILE CHARCOAL BBQ

Big Green Egg Large

If you’re looking for a charcoal BBQ that can do it all—BBQ burgers and steaks, smoke ribs and pork shoulders, or bake bread and pizza—and budget isn’t a concern, you might want to consider the Big Green Egg. Kamado-style BBQs like the Egg use charcoal as their fuel, but they have thick, ceramic sides which store a ton of heat. Since most charcoal BBQs aren’t made from ceramic, this feature makes kamado BBQs stand out because they can radiate heat around the food as you cook. The ceramic sides also create an added efficiency with the coals themselves; after we finished our tests, the Egg had more charcoal left than any of the other BBQs, ready to relight the next time we wanted to use it.

The Large Egg we tested had a 56 cm BBQ space that could fit about a dozen burgers. It excelled at both high- and low-temperature tests, cooking up burgers with perfect BBQ marks and golden brown, crispy-skinned chicken drumsticks. The bonus with the Egg is you can also use it as an induction oven to cook bread or turned into a smoker with the purchase of the ConvEGGtor, a ceramic plate that facilitates indirect heat cooking.

Overall, we loved cooking on the Egg, and its vent system had the best temperature control of any charcoal BBQ we tested. It is large and heavy, but the wheels make it easy to move around and it locks firmly in place. Unfortunately, we weren’t impressed with the lack of an ash bucket. Cleaning out the spent ashes from the bottom of the BBQ was a bit of a chore and required a proprietary tool. It also took significantly longer to cool down than the rest of BBQs and the body of the BBQ stayed super hot to the touch, something you’d want to keep in mind as you’re planning your BBQing sessions.

Pros

  • Very versatile
  • Very efficient
  • Great temperature control

Cons

  • Expensive
  • Slow to cool
  • Hard to clean

Get the Large Big Green Egg at The Big Green Egg Online Store for £1045

The Bolton News: The Weber Q is a powerful, versatile portable grill that'll serve you well for years to come. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay MattisonThe Weber Q is a powerful, versatile portable grill that'll serve you well for years to come. Credit: Reviewed / Lindsay Mattison

BEST PORTABLE GAS BBQ

Weber Q 1200

During testing, the Weber Q 1200 immediately pulled away from rest of the portable BBQs we cooked with. It has cast-iron grates, giving us beautiful, well-defined BBQ marks on the burgers we cooked on it. Although it only has one burner, it was able to deliver a surprising amount of heat and consistently at that: heat distribution across the Q 1200’s cast-iron grates proved even enough to allow for great grilling, cooking food evenly over its entire surface. This is a BBQ that offers enough space to cook for a small crowd (we easily fit six burgers on its surface,) and packs up compact enough to disappear once your meal is done.

When it comes to features, the Q 1200 was one of the few portable BBQs we tested that had side tables that were sturdy enough to hold a plate full of food. The BBQ’s plastic side tables fold in to keep the BBQ compact for portability, although you will want to let the BBQ cool down before stowing them away to keep them from melting. It’s a good idea to stow the tables when the BBQ isn’t in use; these BBQs are light enough that the wind can catch the tables and blow the whole thing over! That lightweight came in handy when it came to carrying the BBQ, and its handles were cool enough to hold even after cooking over high heat.

Pros

  • Consistent heat distribution for even cooking
  • Side tables are sturdy enough to hold a full plate
  • Fits a lot of food for its compact size

Cons

  • Lightweight enough to blow over in high wind

Get the Weber Q 1200 from Amazon for £329 

Gas or Charcoal—How Do You Choose?

In the eternal debate over whether a gas BBQ or a charcoal BBQ is better for outdoor cooking, there is no wrong answer. If you’re cooking your food on the BBQ instead of inside the house, it will capture that beautiful charred essence and smoky flavour from cooking over open flames. You likely already have strong opinions on the topic of gas versus charcoal and we’re not here to change your mind. If you’re still on the fence on the subject, however, here are the pros and cons of using each type of BBQ to help you choose the right one for you. Let’s talk gas BBQs, first.

Gas BBQs are more convenient than charcoal BBQs. That they don’t use charcoal as fuel not only makes a gas BBQ easier to clean (no ash!), but it also cuts down its initial heating time. That gas BBQs come equipped with electric starters or a spark wheel to ignite its gas burner helps to get you cooking faster than charcoal users can manage, as well. It’s easy to easier to control the heat while you’re BBQing with gas than it is when using charcoal; to adjust the heat up and down, simply twist a knob instead of fiddling around with hot coals. It is an annoyance when you run out of gas, though, so we love these newer BBQs that have a handy meter right on the side of the BBQ.

Charcoal BBQs, on the other hand, are significantly less expensive than their gas counterparts. Many people prefer the flavour of cooking over a charcoal BBQ, as the briquettes they use for fuel infuse smokey elements into the food. The coals created by burning those briquettes can burn hotter than propane or natural gas, which can be a pro or a con: you’ll get a serious sear on your food if that’s what you’re going for, but it’s also easy to burn your food over 700° F temperatures.

What About Electric BBQs?

While these appliances are called “BBQs,” they heat your food using a coil instead of flames. That makes them closer to an electric griddle than a BBQ. However, if you want to BBQ indoors or live somewhere that cooking over an open flame is frowned upon, an indoor BBQ will do the trick. Pro tip: in order to use an electric BBQ, you need an accessible plug (a feature that not all decks or patios have), or a high-powered extension cord.

Get the Weber Pulse 1000 Electric BBQ from Amazon for £466.99 

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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.