What defines a Barbeque grill?
The definition of what comprises a bbq grill varies across the world. In America it means a cooking chamber with an offset firebox or water smoker but here in the UK we generally mean a device where the food cooks by radiant heat applied from underneath. Fat dripping onto this heat source evaporates to produce smoke (and sometimes flame) and it is this that gives barbequed food its distinctive flavour. The heat source can be charcoal, gas or electricty but the principle is always the same.

The origin of the word barbeque is unclear but one theory is that it originates from the French word barbe-a-que which means 'from snout to tail'

Gas or Charcoal
This is the choice most of us have to make when buying a bbq. There are some electric ones but their need for mains power severely limits where they can be used.

At first glance gas would appear to have all the advantages. It's quick to heat up, controllable, there's no ash to dispose of and we all carry gas cylinders for our caravans and motorhomes anyway. There are some disadvantages though. You can't normally get enough heat to cook without putting the lid down and many gas bbq's don't cope well with fatty food. Many is the time I've turned good sausages into charcoal because they've gone on fire when I've turned my back for a minute.

Most charcoal barbeques can cook without lids so you can see what's happening and, if you do get a flare up, it can usually be controlled by moving the food away

My first BBQ was a simple open cast iron one powered by charcoal. It cooked beautifully as long as you paid it a lot of attention. It lasted me over 25 years and really got me hooked.

When we joined the Swift Owners Club I was delighted to see so many people with BBQ’s. I decided we just had to have one too, but my old charcoal one was a bit heavy and not too portable so I decided to invest in a lightweight gas one. It was one of those cheap ones where the gas flames heat lava rock and cooking is almost impossible without the lid on. I remember cooking my first meal on it – chicken breasts. They cooked really well. I was feeling quite proud of my self and my new gadget. Then we decided to cook some bacon to go with the chicken. It cooked quickly with the odd minor flare up, but nothing serious. When it was done I turned the BBQ off leaving the bacon on to keep warm whilst I sorted out the wine (that’s another job the men always seem to do!). Anyway a few minutes later I went back to retrieve the bacon only to find smoke billowing out of the BBQ. My first thought was that I’d turned the BBQ up instead of off. I went to turn the gas off only to find it was already off. As I lifted the lid I was met by a mass of flame; the bacon was well and truly on fire. When it eventually died down all I was left with was charcoal, and it wasn’t even a charcoal BBQ! So what went wrong? Why did the bacon roar away after I’d turned the BBQ off? With the lid down and the burner going there wasn’t much spare oxygen inside the BBQ. When any fat did catch fire the oxygen reduced even more and so the flare ups tended to extinguish themselves. With the burner off there was suddenly much more oxygen available to feed those little flare ups and, of course, ready fuel in the form of unburned fat on the hot lava rock. The result – a bacon bonfire! Lesson number one for me – don’t turn a gas BBQ off and leave the food on if there are any flare ups whatsoever. Take the food off first.

Don't let this happen to you!

The second lesson was that lids not only keep heat in and allow food to cook more evenly; they also help to prevent flare ups. Since then nearly all the BBQ’s I’ve bought have had lids.

No other barbeque epitomises barbequing more than Weber’s kettle BBQ. Developed in the years after World War 2 by George Stephen Sr. it was first sold in 1952. It later became so successful he bought out the Weber bros factory which made it for him.

The next meal I remember being a disaster was chicken legs and sausages. It was at the Patnor trophy (BBQ) rally. All went well with the cooking for a while and then smoke started. Tons of it! I daren’t turn the gas off or lift the lid so I just had to turn it down and wait. Ron Ward happened by just when it was at its height. Oh dear, oh dear he said, do you have a problem?

When the food eventually emerged it was black from all the smoke and flames and not very appetising. What a dismal performance from me, the Technical Officer of the Club! How could I get it so wrong and at the Patnor trophy rally too?

Basically I’d just cooked the food too fast for the type of BBQ I had as they don’t cope well with fatty foods. What made it worse was that it didn’t really occur to me that the control knob should be used in any other position than full on, or full off.

So what could I have done to produce good results? The best method I have found since is to wrap fatty food in tinfoil and cook it that. Then, when nearly done and with the excess fat left behind in the foil, carefully remove the food and place back on the BBQ at a medium heat setting. Of course it goes without saying that any fat that can be cut off before cooking should be.

Alternatively I could have cooked the food on a metal tray inside the BBQ. These come in two types – perforated and solid. Both types help to keep flames from burning the food but with a perforated tray fat will still drip onto the hot coals and produce lots of smoke or catch fire.

My next gas BBQ came with a slotted heat plate instead of lava rock. It had a good control knob and an upper shelf for slower cooking. It did cope better with fatty foods, especially if used intelligently, but it was far from perfect.

Weber Baby Q Then I saw a Weber Baby Q gas BBQ belonging to a fellow rallier. What an excellent, design. No lava rocks or heat plates, just a simple layout where the cast iron griddle is blanked so that dripping fat cannot get onto the burner. Instead it drops onto the relatively cool lower half of the body where it drains into a removable catch tray underneath. Why did no-one think of that before? There is also a decent control knob that allows you to accurately set the level of heat and an optional stand that folds flat for carriage.It can be powered from a cartridge or, via an adapter, from a big cylinder.

Weber Baby Q

I have one myself now, along with an ever increasing number of other Club Members. Anyone who has one knows how well they cook; they are expensive but should last many years.

Mine was a display model and came without instructions so I went along to Weber’s website (www.weber.com) where I found a wealth of useful information. For example did you know that the best way to clean the griddle is to leave the BBQ on high until the smoke stops and only then clean it with a brass wire brush? Also did you know that the griddle should be seasoned before use? This helps prevent food sticking and ensures the griddle has a long life. To season the griddle first wash and dry it by hand, then covered it all over with a thin layer of vegetable shortening (salt free). A paper towel can be used for this purpose. Next pre-heat the BBQ for 15 minutes then turn the burner down to a medium setting. Place the griddle in position and leave the BBQ on for 1 to 1½ hours. Finally turn off and leave to cool.

Fold up charcoal BBQ
So what about charcoal BBQ’s – have I abandoned them in favour of gas? No way, they’re still my favourite despite the extra work. I have an old fold up one I sometimes take to rallies. It doesn’t have a lid so it’s not ideal for everything but there’s something good about being able to watch the food as it cooks.

The second time I used it we were on a rally in Hertfordshire. I’d just bought some new charcoal from the local supermarket and was looking forward to a feast. I piled the charcoal into an old catering tin with the top and bottom removed poured in some lighting fuel before lifting it slightly to let the air in and lighting it. It roared away and a short while later it was red hot. I took the can away and spread out the glowing charcoal. The food started to cook well but then the charcoal slowly went out leaving very little heat. I tried piling it up and adding a few more pieces but it was no use. Seeing my plight another rallier let me use his BBQ. (Aren’t rallies great when you need some help?). We were the last to eat but we had a wonderful evening sitting outside and chatting. Eventually it was time to retire. It had gone dark but one corner of our former cooking area was lit up with a warm glow. My BBQ had sprung to life and was just perfect for cooking. No, we didn’t fancy a midnight feast, so the charcoal had to be extinguished with a water spray before we could safely leave it.

Folding Charcoal BBQ

What had caused this unusual performance? In the end decided it was all down to the charcoal. As many of you will have found out, supermarket charcoal can vary widely in its performance and I’d obviously bought some strange stuff. I now try to buy UK made charcoal if I can. It’s more expensive but it does perform well and it comes from sustainable woodland, making it carbon neutral. What’s more there’s no worry about whether you might be helping to diminish the world’s precious rain forests.

So, if the Weber Q is my favourite range of gas BBQ’s, what about charcoal? Here the choice is not so clear cut. There are just so many good ones on the market. For sheer portability I do like my fold up one as it packs down to briefcase size making it ideal for rallies. If size was not so important, my choice would probably be a Weber ‘Smokey Joe’ kettle model. Why? Because the cooking environment can be tightly controlled so you can cook as fast or slow as you like. Also food can be moved to the sides, so it’s not directly over the charcoal and that big dome lid can accommodate a whole chicken or whatever. Lastly all Weber BBQ’s are superbly made and no – I’m not on commission! If you want a compromise between performance and portability then the Weber ‘Go-Anywhere’ model (shown here on the right) could be the answer. I know a few Club members have these and are pleased with them. This model is also available in gas but I don’t know how well the gas ones perform.

Weber charcoal BBQ

Conclusions
Nothing beats the convenience of gas for a barbeque but there’s nothing more satisfying than cooking on charcoal. There are some good gas BBQ's on the market but they all seem to need the lid down to cook. I know this helps to prevent flare ups but you can’t easily see what’s going on.

As for the flavour of the food I don’t think the main determinant is whether it’s cooked on gas or charcoal. I think it’s much more to do with how it is cooked. By this I mean taking steps not to let fatty food catch fire;  learning to sear food to seal in the flavour and then cooking it more slowly until it’s just cooked, but not ruined.

It amazes me that, with so many TV programmes on cooking few if any ever seem to teach BBQ cooking. Maybe that’s why we produce so many burnt offerings!