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  • The Independent

    12 best charcoal BBQs for your next garden gathering

    by Jon Axworthy Apr 04, 2024 12 minutes
    Source: The Independent

    Summertime, and the grilling is easy. Well, it should be with the right charcoal grill at your disposal to banish those painful memories of blackened burgers, sausages that should come with a health warning and veg kebabs that have had the last ounce of goodness grilled out of them.

    Unlike gas models, with which you can control the heat easily, charcoal barbecues rely on vents to manage the heat your food is exposed to, so these have to be efficient, and it’s crucial the heat to the grate is distributed evenly, so you don’t have to worry about hot and cool spots spoiling your al fresco fare.

    We needed to know how each grill performed, cooking first with high heat and searing a batch of burgers to satisfy friends and family. Then we got hands-on, to see which grills coped best with slower-grilled foods, such as chicken, and whether they could hold a lower temperature across the whole grate, to ensure the food didn’t dry out.

    All the barbecues included in our edit were tried and tested for their trouble-free credentials and we only included models that took the grind out of grilling.

    When the smoke cleared, we were left with a line-up that included grills that would satisfy everyone, from committed char-heads to part-time pit masters.

    How we tested the best charcoal BBQs

    We took advantage of some sunny weather to really get to grips with how versatile each barbecue is. Could they reach high temperatures for searing steaks and burgers and adding a delicious charring to foods such as veg and flatbreads? Could they deliver low and slow heat to foods you want to fall apart on the fork and melt in the mouth? Keep reading this article, for our full verdict.

    The best charcoal BBQs for 2024 are:

    • Best charcoal BBQ overall – Drumbecue original half charcoal drum: £349.99, Drumbecue.co.uk
    • Best budget charcoal BBQ – Bar-Be-Quick trolley grill and bake: £129, Barbequick.com
    • Best charcoal BBQ for cooking for (very) large groups – Weber ranch kettle: £1,769, Weber.com
    • Best charcoal BBQ for couples – LotusGrill standard: £175,

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