The sizzle factor
Summertime and the grillin’ is easy… The smell of delicious flame-cooked meat wafting through the suburbs is the signature smell of this great summer. It’s time to ‘fire up the barbie’ and make the most of it while we still can. But what if you don’t have a barbecue, or (like me) you’re thinking of upgrading to a better model?
The cheapest options are charcoal grills and some say these cook food in a more authentic and flavoursome way than gas units.
My own barbecue is a €30 Aldi charcoal job and like many people this summer, I’m thinking of an upgrade. Even so, it gives a nice smokey flavour, which can be enhanced by some wood, foraged from a local park. You can buy special packs of wood chips too.
If you want something bigger, Argos has a Charcoal Oil-Drum BBQ with a warming rack on special offer for €50.
The winner of Which? magazine’s award for best small charcoal barbecue is the Outback Omega 200, a snazzy-looking red metal and hardwood grill.
‘This brilliant barbecue’s highspec features undoubtedly contribute to the high quality of the food it cooks, while also making it a joy to use. The only drawbacks are that it’s awkward to assemble and a bit cumbersome to move,’ said Which?
It’s available from UK-based online DIY retailer Ray Graham for €162 with free delivery to Ireland.
The Which? award for the best premium kettle barbecue was won by the Weber Master-Touch model.
‘With its porcelain-coated lid and body, insulated handles, adjustable air-vent, temperature gauge and removable ash collector, the Weber Master-Touch certainly makes barbecuing easier and there’s no mistaking its high-quality finish. Its cooking performance is great and it produces delicious barbecue food,’ said Which?
The best gas barbecue award-winner is the Weber Spirit E210 Classic which had the highest score of all at 84%. ‘This two-burner entry-level model from Weber should comfort- ably cater for four-to-six people. It has a high-quality finish and many premium features, including a warming rack, side tables and a porcelain enamelled grill to prevent food from sticking. It’s powerful enough to grill and roast food quickly and evenly, and its vaporiser bars help infuse food with a delicious char-grilled taste.’
The prize for the best small barbecue goes to the Weber Q2200 whose ‘innovative grill design makes it easy to cook great-tasting food without problems caused by flare-ups from the burners’.
Weber models accounted for three out of five Which? Best Buy awards. They are on sale here through agents such as Outdoor Living – www.outdoor.ie – based in Goats-
town, Dublin, The Arboretum in Carlow and Wicklow and Woodies. ‘Weber is a best-seller and the service and selection are very good. You can buy a big model (such as the Weber Genesis II for €3,000) or a cute small portable barbecue in a funky colour,’ advises Suzi Monteagudo of Outdoor Living.
Barbecue sales have picked up strongly after a slow start and many models are sold out – although most can be ordered in within a week.
I was treated to a great ‘barbie’ in the Galway sunshine last weekend by local teacher and BBQ chef Micheál Ó Marcacháin. He has been cooking up some mighty feasts on his Master Cook gas burner, purchased for under €300 at Home Store. An evenbigger, 6-burner, version of this model – the Master Cook Connoisseur – was on special offer at Home Store + More this week for a tasty price of €275. But like all good barbecues this summer, they are probably being snapped up faster than Mike’s hot burgers, which satisfied the considerable appetites of a horde of beefy oarsmen and women from a local rowing club.
Mike’s catering tips include cooking the bulk of the food first on a big gas unit before giving it a final flaming on a charcoal grill. That way you get the convenience and control of gas with added coal-grilled flavour.
Enjoy!
Avoid being burned when buying a new barbecue