It is important to make the most of a great British summer, complete with the rain, storms and the occasional day of sunny weather.
In those short periods of sun and heat, the obvious game plan is to fire up the barbecue and invite your friends and family around.
If you don't yet have a barbecue, we're here to help you be the envy of your friends and family with a collection of some of the best barbecue currently available.
Below we've gathered a selection of tried and tested barbecues, picking our favourites of the bunch.
Ninja Woodfire Outdoor grill
The Ninja Woodfire has a lot going on but that is by no means a complaint, in fact, it is what makes this such a good product. Yes, it is a barbecue, but also a smoker and air fryer. Smoothly transition from air frying some golden potatoes to smoking a pork belly before finishing up with some perfectly cooked burgers on the grill.
It’s the Iron Man of the barbecue world, complete with buttons, gizmos and even a smoking chamber on the side. The not-so-great news is that all this tech means a weighty machine. That paired with the need to plug it in when in use makes using it each time a bit of an ordeal.
It is absolutely not the barbecue for the family camping trip, but more for the meat-obsessed family member looking to spend 8 hours slow cooking the perfect lamb with all the trimmings.
Ooni Koda 12
The Ooni Koda 12 is a fun, no-fuss addition to the world of outdoor cooking.
Its simple design, rapid preheating capabilities and powerful heat output means you can get on with the really important stuff: eating. It’s gas-powered, so can reach temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius in just 15 minutes, allowing you to cook mouth-watering Neapolitan-style pizzas in a matter of minutes (and they really are good pizzas).
Think crispy crusts with a soft dough and bubbling, gooey toppings. The pizzas themselves take just 60 seconds to cook, although we found that cooking the pizzas for slightly longer (around 4 minutes) on a slightly lower heat (around 410 degrees Celsius) while turning the pizza every 25 seconds or so, yielded a more satisfying crust and base. It’s lightweight and portable too, weighing in at just 9.25kg.
The legs even fold into the base of the oven for convenient transportation and storage.
Gozney Dome
This is one of the most desirable cooking gadgets going and it delivers on the hype. The model we tested can use either wood or propane as fuel, and comes with a vital internal thermometer so you can get to grips with how the oven heats up.
Cooking with gas is straightforward and stress-free. Wood as a fuel comes with a learning curve that’s ultimately rewarding for your food and your cooking skills. The setup is simple, but you will need some muscle.500 degrees C is the goal. It’s the temperature where the magic happens when it comes to pizza, meat and veg.
It singes and sears the outside, while keeping what’s inside moist. Vegetables roast, sweeten and retain their bite. Bread puffs, crisps and chars while meat sizzles, crackles and forms all the crispy bits that make you sigh when you eat. Other pizza ovens can reach this temp of course, but the joy of the Dome is in its form, its design.
The opening is big enough to throw pans, roasting dishes and bread trays in there and manipulate pizzas as needed. The internal thermometer takes away a lot of the guessing, and the functional stand makes juggling food a breeze. You will need some accessories, like a pizza peel, a door if you want to slow cook and a wood loader if you want to avoid toasting your hair. It’s expensive, but rewarding for those who consider cooking outside as a way of life.
- Buy now from Gozney (£1,799)
Weber Go-Anywhere
We’re in love with the Weber Go-Anywhere. Its compact, rectangular size and shape means you can use every inch of grilling space efficiently – but also enjoy it in small spaces and store it away easily.
What’s more, you really can Go Anywhere: at just under 7kg with the dimensions of a chunky backpack, you can pop it in your car. Or – for a light workout – even walk it to your barbecue destination, as its nifty stand doubles up as a clamp to hold it all together.
It’s clean and classy, heats up quickly, and stays hot – and all with an affordable price tag. Finding faults is not easy, but this is not the barbecue for you if you’re catering for large gatherings: you may struggle to properly cook for more than eight people in one go, at a push. But if we’re not being silly about this, the Weber Go-Anywhere is a five-star no-brainer.
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