Kinds Of Barbecue - The Types Of Barbeque To Choose From

This section will highlight the variety of barbecues that are out there by way of some BBQ reviews. It will also specialise in the types of BBQ I own myself (yes, I have more than one).

When people think of a BBQ, they might imagine a fixed structure in the garden, often made of brick. They might be wood burning, or gas, or electric. Where I grew up we had a simple wood burning one comprising of 2 large sandstone blocks and the thickest, heaviest hotplate you ever saw! It really cooked well.

You might be imagining a large BBQ with hood, multiple burners and all manner of assortments and features. These types can be either gas or electric and also have wheels to make them portable.

Other types include the kettle, which is an enclosed oven which you fill with charcoal pieces, light them and (once they've heated up) start cooking.

Still others are smaller trays with a grill and space for charcoal. Sometimes I have seen these sold as 'disposable' BBQs. I've never really had a satisfactory meal from one of these, but they do have their place if you're tight on space.

So, what type do I have in my house? Well I'm glad you asked. I have 2: a large kettle BBQ which I use for roasting (such as beef or lamb), and a 4-burner gas BBQ with hood which I use for grilling.

You might be thinking that having 2 BBQs is a bit of overkill, but not really. Different types can cook different foods very well, and one is faster than the other. For example, if I just want to grill up a couple of juicy steaks for dinner, I don't want to use the kettle as it takes 40 minutes just to heat up and is a little more time-consuming to clean. With the gas grill, I only need 5 minutes for the grill to heat up and cleaning is a simple scrub with a steel brush.

On the other hand, if I'm cooking a roast (which can take 90 minutes anyway) I'll use the kettle as it will give a far better result than the gas grill with hood (in my humble opinion).

To learn the details of cooking with these types of BBQs, please see the Cooking Tips For Gas Grills and Kettle BBQ pages.

These pages should provide you with some great pointers, and don't forget to check out the Barbecue Tips And Techniques page.

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