Cath Muscat
First things first
When it comes to purchasing a new barbie for your backyard or balcony, the first question you need to ask yourself is which fuel source best suits you. The two main choices are gas or charcoal.
Gas – In brief, gas gives you instant control, with bottled gas being the most common option for fuelling the barbecue. That said, if you can connect to mains gas, you’ll never have to worry about refilling the bottle and it’s a money-saving option, too.
Charcoal – After that delicious, smoky barbecue flavour? Then charcoal is the fuel for you! There’s more preparation time involved – and the cleanup is more time-consuming – but if you’re into authentic barbecue flavour – it’s all worth it! You can also use wood in your charcoal barbecue giving you even more flavour.
If you live in an apartment, you may wish to check out the electric models on the market, as gas models are sometimes impractical and charcoal models are probably too smoky for you and your neighbours.
Does size matter?
It sure does! There are a couple of things you should consider when it comes to barbecue size.
Available space
Just like choosing the right-sized furniture for your living room or deck area, the same goes for your barbie: you don’t to fill up your available space with a massive barbecue! So, keep your outdoor area measurements on-hand when shopping – look at everything from small patio models for an efficient space-saving solution up to complete kitchen-scaled units when space is no issue.
Quantity of burners
If you’re cooking for one or two people, a two or three burner model should suit your needs. If there are a few more people, you may want to check out the four burner models. If you regularly host the troops or get up to some serious entertaining, then you’ll need a six burner. Also, consider what you most love to cook – if you’re into larger foods (think whole fish or ribs) then size match to suit.
Material matters
Cast iron burners radiate a lot of heat evenly while stainless steel burners have great corrosion resistance. For the best of both worlds, porcelain-coated cast iron burners are corrosion resistant but have the output of iron burners. When it comes to the barbecue body, look for an easy clean surface such as enamel. Stainless steel offers great corrosion resistance if your barbecue is in an exposed area.
Something on the side
Barbecues have long gone past just being somewhere to cook a steak and a few snags. There’s a range of accessories to make yours a complete cooking centre. Side burners bring your kitchen cooktop outside so you can cook a sauce or some veggies while still keeping an eye on what’s on the barbie. A hood lets you bake and roast as well as grill. They come with built-in thermometers to control the temperature while models with glass windows let you check on your food without lifting the hood. Rotisseries turn your BBQ into a mini spit roast.
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