Let me just state from the start I’m a charcoal kind of guy. I’ve read all the stuff about it making little odds to the flavour etc but for me when I cook for us and a couple of friends outside charcoal is just part of the ‘tradition’.

But this is for work. I need something bigger, quicker and easier than I currently personally own to drag out and do some low rent bbqing for groups of teenagers at virtually a moments notice. Big enough to be able to sling 30-40 sausages on to force feed a rabble or a bit more sophisticated/significant for maybe a dozen kids at a time. It also needs to have half reasonable sized wheels to be dragged around (maybe 50, 60 yards) between use and storage – some of them seem to have tiddly little castor wheels last seen on your gran’s sofa.

What have you got you would recommend or have you seen any good deals online or in store? The budget could probably run to £300, £400 at a push.

ta.

Webber q series… I’ve the smallest one and it’ll comfortably cook for 10 people…

I’ve the smallest one and it’ll comfortably cook for 10 people…

Depends what your cooking to be fair .

i have the q2200 and if i was cooking a meal on it rather than the tradition of uk bbq to do some burgers and sausage nibbles then it will do 4 people max.

I wouldnt be trying to cook for 10 on it and it certainly wouldnt do it comfortably.

If i was just doing burger /sausage rolls then no sweat it will cook for 10.

I often smoke a brisket on mine and do roast potatoes/veg on the hotplate – Ie thats what id class as a meal.

Spend big money on a Weber or cheap one from lidl/Aldi and expect to replace every couple years

Trail rat, I tend to do lots of small bits and pieces on the bbq rather than the standard sausages and burgers (unless specifically requested), plus all the bits and pieces that don’t need cooking… If I’m doing a big meal and it’s main is on the bbq then it’s usually a lamb shoulder/leg and served with tabuleh/salads etc

Weber Spirit or if you can whip up 600+ a Weber Genesis Generation. I’m a Weber charcoaler myself but love BBQ and read lots about it and attend Grillstock every year.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/gas-bbqs-1

Asked similar myself a wweek or two ago. I ended up with a Weber Spirit S320, which is pretty impressive to be fair. I started however, with a budget close to yours…

Landmann Triton 4 was a leading contender, before I went all Santa Cruz…

We just bought this one linky which is superb. Never had a gas BBQ before so didn’t want to spend too much on a first one as I didn’t know how if find it. However this one has easily surpassed expectations. We’ve been using it 2/3 times a week in the 8 weeks we’ve had it. So easy to chuck something on! Eve the Mrs has come round to the idea of gas after being dead against at first.

We had one like that Dalesjoe. I quite liked it but it was a beast to move around and went through lots of gas. It finally burst into flames so we binned the whole thing about 4 years ago.
Now have 3 Weber Q of varying sizes in various locations. Quick, cheap to run, don’t rust and seem to produce well cooked food.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I would struggle to up the budget which is a shame but it’s on the nice to have list anyway. Interested in something like the one Dalesjoe linked to but would maybe weld badass wheels to it.

I don’t own this, but I thought it looked amazing value for money: 304 stainless BBQ from Costco

Firstly, it comes from Costco so is deemed good enough for the American market (who are very picky when it comes to grills). Costco are very good for warranty also.

Secondly it’s made of good quality 304 stainless steel. Not a crap cheap grade that will quickly spot rust in our moist climate.

Finally, it’s got an infrared burner for searing. That’s something most BBQs > £1000 won’t have.

Slight downside is it’s only 3 burner and not huge. Bigger than the Weber Q being mentioned above I imagine though. At your budget the compromise will be quality vs size.

If you have a Costco near you then take a look.

That Costco one looks good. I was in John Lewis the other day & had a look at those Webber ones to see what the fuss is about. No doubt they seem very well made but crickey they are expensive. Also had a look at an Outback one in homebase, think it was around the £250 mark. Looked very good VFM.

Costco online are generally pretty good. Free delivery & great warranty, which I’m needing to excercise today on this as it turns out the finish they’ve chosen to use is powder coating. Consequently it all caught fire on Saturday’s first use!

That costco one does look quite good if a little small for my needs. Silly little wheels though so I would need to adapt it. Never done the costco thing as the nearest one is about 30miles away but might be worth it (or shop online) for the right model.

That Costco one is not as small as I originally thought actually. 719 sq in cooking area. It’s bigger than my Weber Genesis 330 (507 sq in), which costs £1500 in John Lewis.

I heard that cast iron vs grills made of other materials made a big difference?

(I use charcoal mostly but am vaguely interested in a gas BBQ too)

Never done the costco thing as the nearest one is about 30miles away but might be worth it (or shop online)

You’d need to become a member first so factor that into your budget along with the £300 you’ll end up spending on other ‘while I’m here’ stuff!

You’d need to become a member first so factor that into your budget along with the £300 you’ll end up spending on other ‘while I’m here’ stuff!

You don’t need to be a member to order online – they charge a 5% surcharge if you’re not a member.
The ‘while I’m here’ stuff is a killer in their warehouses though 🙂

I’ve got the bigger 7 burner Nexgrill from costco (I linked to it on the other thread although it now has disappeared from their website) and it really is excellent, they might still have them in the warehouses.

I often smoke a brisket on mine and do roast potatoes/veg on the hotplate – Ie thats what id class as a meal.

Out of curiosity how do you smoke on a gas bbq? I genuinely didn’t know you could.