Homebase Bucket BBQ
Price £9.99
Weight 1.1kg
Comments This portable barbecue may look like a bin but it’s far from rubbish. The charcoal box inside worked well, focusing heat into the centre of the cooking area for grilling foodstuffs such as steaks, which require fast cooking. Around the edge of the griddle, the indirect heat is ideal for meats which need slower cooking. The Bucket gained points for being one of the easiest barbecues to assemble (no need to use a screwdriver for assembly).
Verdict Worked well but only small quantities of food can be cooked at one time. Easily portable.
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Tesco Instant BBQ
Price £1.69
Weight 1kg
Comments Take it out of its packaging, set the tray on its wire stand and this disposable barbecue is ready to go. The impregnated paper around the charcoal makes it easy to light. The surface area of the cooking grid was a reasonable size but the grid itself, being made out of flimsy metal, distorted with the heat and turned slightly convex, making our sausages roll off the sides. Keeping the burgers and chicken legs on the grid was not a problem but with no area of indirect heat, they ended up severely charred.
Verdict Compact, cheap and disposable but it burned our food.
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Argos 53cm Round BBQ
Price £14.99
Weight 4.2kg
Comments It took us ages to put this barbecue together but its wind shield, warming rack, spit rod and big cooking grid make this the best value-for-money product here. It was the best to cook with, too. By raking charcoal into the middle, indirect heat can be used at the outer edge of the grill. Its tall legs make it easy to tend, too.
Verdict Good for big meals but less practical for transport and storage.
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Woolworths Portable Barrel
Price £14.99
Weight 2.2kg
Comments We got a bargain with this well-made barrel barbecue, not only in terms of price but we got some hot features, too. Constructing it was easy. And, once the charcoal is up to temperature you can slow the cooking process by closing the lid. Another handy feature is that you can double your cooking area by folding the lid back on its hinges and using the extra cooking grid provided. The two grids were easy to clean after use, fitting comfortably into our motorhome's kitchen sink.
Verdict A super little barbecue that cooks well. Versatile, compact and portable.
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Homebase Sienna Kettle BBQ
Price £16.99
Weight 3kg
Comments This barbecue, with its brightly coloured lid, was ready to go in seconds. It provides a large cooking area and the lid can be used to slow the cooking process down when barbecuing meat-based food such as sausages (the air vent in the lid allows you to adjust the cooking temperature). The Sienna was easy to clean and could be packed away in seconds.
Verdict Easy to use. A good-quality, value-for-money barbecue.
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