Garden Barbeques (BBQ'S)

One of the best ways to get the most out of any garden or back yard is to enjoy alfresco eating and the best way to eat alfresco is to cook alfresco.

If you want to cook outdoors, the essential item of equipment is some form of outdoor stove or barbeque. Barbeques come in all shapes, sizes and power sources from the traditional wood burning chiminea heaters at one end of the scale to the easy-clean electric BBQ’s at the other. Which you choose will be largely dependent upon how much you can afford to spend and how frequently you intend to use it.

Different BBQ types

Here is a brief summary of the different BBQ types and what you can expect from each one of them.

The Fire pit

The most basic form of BBQ is the fire pit (which also doubles as a garden heater).

Fire pits can burn anything from wood to coal and, because they are essentially a large hole in the ground, they are large enough to use as a spit and cook a whole pig or a small item like a sausage. The nature of a fire pit is such that it is ideal for adding herbs and special woods to give that unique barbeque flavour. The fire pit really will give you the outdoor taste, but it will also test your skills as a barbeque chef.

The chimenea

Becoming more advanced than the fire pit is the South American wood burning stove known as a chimenea.

These old style bread ovens burn wood, but because they are enclosed they offer greater control over the food being prepared. Chimeneas require a high level of attention, but like a fire pit they also give off a lot of heat and they make a great focal point in the garden or on the patio. The traditional models are produced from terra cotta, however they are also sold in hard wearing cast iron. They come in a range of sizes from very small to very big.

Solid fuel BBQ

The small and lightweight coal briquette burning barbeques are easy to use, retain the outdoor fossil fuel burning tradition, and can be very versatile.

These simple barbeques may be small and extremely basic or quite large and sturdy. They are the closest type of barbeque to the fire pit, both in terms of how you cook with them and the kind of taste that can be achieved, yet they are easy to monitor during cooking and easy to clean after use.

Gas fired BBQ

Depending upon your view, you may see the gas fired barbeque as a more sophisticated version of the fossil fuel version, or simply a way of cheating and making barbequing overly easy.

Either way, gas barbeques have become very popular and the more expensive ones offer numerous feature from griddles to hot plates and even hob burners – in other words all the features of a modern indoor gas hob (stove).

The biggest downside to the gas BBQ is the gas itself. Gas does not produce that “real” BBQ flavour which needs smoke and ideally wood, possibly with smouldering herbs or fruit. These barbeques are really for people who want to move the kitchen outside rather than to experience proper barbequed flavours. Even so they have a place.

Electric BBQ

If you do not like gas BBQ’s you certainly will not like the electric BBQ.

In reality the electric barbeque is not really a barbeque at all, but rather an outdoor stove that enables you to prepare and cook food outdoors and, since this is probably where your guests or family will be, this is the big benefit of it.

If you expect your food to have a smoky, woody or outdoor taste you will be in for a disappointment, however if you want convenience and easy of use you will be more than pacified.