UKC

Anyone any suggestions for a small transportable charcoal barbeque for camping beach garden etc?

How important are things like a lid, grill height adjustment, holes to allow airflow to the coals etc?

In reply to abcdef:

I got the snow peak engineering masterpiece in a bargain sale in the US (more than 50% off) - I wouldn't pay full price for it but it's a bit of a treat.

https://snowpeak.com/products/pack-and-carry-m-fire-place-st-033?variant=67...

Lid isn't an issue for me, grill height certainly is. Having a base to protect grass etc from heat is also a nice feature.

In reply to abcdef:

5-star reviews and a decent discount too. Goes like Billy-o if you also use the chimney starter:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/go-anywhere-charcoal-p294467

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/weber-chimney-starter-p94044

In reply to abcdef:

ive been using a variation of this for 3 years now:

http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-bbq-notebook-grill-p322094

its very transportable and easy enough to fuel up just for 2 people ect. can fit 8 burgers on a time i guess. after cooking we take grill off an lob some wood in for mini fire pit. paints a bit scorched but its great!

In reply to abcdef:

Webber Go anywhere is excellent. You can roast a joint with veg by wrapping in silver foil or use it as a simple BBQ. Worth its price. Pity the lid handle does not fold once fitted since once closed it protrudes preventing it being a simple box for packing.
Lives in the back of my campervan.
David H

In reply to abcdef:
If you want to cook things like whole chicken or bone in joints, you need a lid. Just grilling some sausages, burgers and bacon, you could do without one. And if you have a lid you 100% need good vents both on top and on the bottom (below the coals - the new Weber Smokey Joe Premium has the vents just slightly above the coals which causes it to cool down rapidly if you have the lid on). The go anywhere is better for this, but its smaller.

The next most important thing is pack-ability, you don't want it rattling around in your boot in pieces.

Its nice to have a holder for the lid as well, you can use this as a windshield when grilling. Both the weber portable ones have this.

Dont bother with ways to get rid of ash, you can just turn a portable BBQ upside down . Adjustable grills would be nice but unlikely your getting that on a portable, just use a zoned cooking method instead.

And defo save a tenner for a portable chimney starter, best thing you'll buy.

And don't use too many coals! Portable BBQs take a bit of practice to not burn the crap out of everything.

BTW - if you happen to be in sheffield or nottingham I have a weber smokey joe that's been used for one trip you can buy for £25.

https://www.weberbbq.co.uk/product/smokey-joe-original/

Si

In reply to abcdef:

Thanks for the recommendations folks. Looks like I will be charring my food on a Weber GA this summer

Also, anyone attempted to use a pizza stone with much success on any of these type of things? Hard to get one to fit, and to keep costs down I was thinking of using some form of teracotta tile etc, but unsure about its suitability...

In reply to abcdef:

Can't help with the pizza stone. I bet it would work though. I'd second what darren said, I've got the webber go anywhere for when we go camping. It takes a bit of getting used to cooking with the lid but is much better for bigger cuts of meat.

In reply to Matt Schwarz:

I have something similar. The only design flaw is that you do get most of the heat in the middle and the edges are cooler, but that can be handy for keeping things warm.

I did see a good fold-up version with vertical sides that would would have better heat distribution, but can't remember who made that specific one - plenty to look through online.

In reply to london_huddy:



Last year, I got one virtually the same as this from Aldi for £12.99

In reply to abcdef:
Saw a Grilleto in use a couple of weeks ago. Pretty slick and almost identical to the Son of Hibachi portable grills. Can be packed away hot in the special carry case and heated up very quickly.

In reply to Scott K:

I have one of those. They are pretty good but not perfect. Getting a good fire built in the bottom is key.

In reply to abcdef:
https://www.aldi.co.uk/p/69866/0

Bargain! And folds away nicely in the bag. Might buy another and store it for when the other crumbles away in a couple of years.

In reply to abcdef:

My parents bought a lotus grill, it's got a fan in the base so it heats up really quickly and you can get a pizza stone for it.

In reply to abcdef:

I have one of these for regular camping use:

http://www.popupgrill.com

Works well, you can also use it as a fire pit or use it to cook over an open fire.

I have a small Weber kettle BBQ that I use for slightly more adventurous BBQ cooking when out an about, but is quite a lot bulkier. Basically just a smaller version of my home BBQ, you can just about roast a small joint in it.