combination barbecues

[chrisbainbridge]

My old barbecue needs new grills, etc but they are chronically out of stock and I suspect I bought a "special" which was not supported.

I am looking at replacing it and I have found more combination barbecues with both gas and charcoal.  Are they worth it?

[Duckfoot1606]

IMHO the only way to braai is over charcoal. Anything else is cheating

A

[hatler]

Gas barbeques are just outdoor cooking surely.

[T42]

I'd've thought any barbecue was for out of doors.  We used to use a circular griddle suspended on a chain from a tripod over a log fire.  Could do a dozen or so steaks at once.

[FifeingEejit]

Gas barbeques are just outdoor cooking surely.

Is it really a BBQ if it's not a sliced in half oil drum and the charcoal ignition is assisted with petrol?

[Ham]

I have more BBQs than bikes at the moment, from one that will spit roast a 50kg pig down to a mini "briefcase" one, I do quite a lot of BBQing

The answer to your question is, it all depends. Mostly, on what space you have, and what your bbq tendencies are. If you have sufficient space, I would get one charcoal and one gas, for when you want instant outdoor cooking without fuss. I would expect that it will take up no more space and cost about the same. For a gas one, Cadac are my goto brand, the one* I have for our caravan (Cari Chef 2) is very hard to beat (£200-ish). Add to that a Weber (again my goto if I was to only have one, because of the heat control) and you're set. They will work better than the combo, no doubt, although what I've seen of one was actually quite good, with gas flame isolation.

If having instant heat is important, and you don't have the room or inclination to have two but still want the charcoal option, then the combos look appealing.

*(OK, one of the two Cadacs I have, the other has a cast iron plate and is no longer available)

[pcolbeck]

+1 for a Weber kettle BBQ. They just work and you can get spare parts for 40 year old ones. A whole ecosystem of upgrades as well. I bought cast iron griddle plates for mine this year which have been excellent.

[Ham]

just for the hell of it, I'll showcase my latest addition to the charcoal lineup, the Fornetto. Added as I secured it for a bargainalicious <30% with a local Homebase closing, it is an interesting combo. It has three sections, and an internal water bowl, can be used to cook a vast amount at once, smoking or indirect heat, or used as a direct heat bbq with some sections to raise the cooking level to a comfortable height, with the heat source  at the bottom avoiding flaming out. While I've been having fun with it, for a number of reasons I'd still choose the Weber as an "only" even though on paper this seems to do the same and more.

Here it is, just getting started for an 8-hour stretch for pulled pork.

[Jaded]

A Grand Day Out!

[Mr Larrington]

Is there a Cheese/Petril switch round the back?

[Jaded]

 

[Ham]

It's a crackling contraption!

[hatler]

We've got one very much like that. Great bit of kit. Load it up, wander off for four hours and come back to steam cooked stuff.