You
have made it this far and decided on the charcoal BBQ, with its great
flavour, smell and traditional cooking style that has been used for
centuries.
Now you need to know the
specifics of a charcoal BBQ when you are
choosing and looking to buy one.
Making
sure that you have picked the right charcoal grill is important, after
all you don't want to spend all your time repairing it, you want to
spend your time cooking on it and enjoying great BBQ food.
The basics of a Charcoal BBQ
The
beauty of a charcoal grill is its simplicity. At the base of a quality
charcoal BBQ is the charcoal griddle to put the charcoal fuel on, some
of which have an adjustable height mechanism that allows you to place
your food further away from the heat which gives you more control over
cooking your food.
Construction
Use
your eyes and your hands when you view a charcoal BBQ at a local
retailer. Move the grill on its stand to ensure that there is no
wobble, and examine the fittings to ensure that they look well secured
and unlikely to fail for a long while to come.
Choose a charcoal BBQ
made of high quality steel. Also choose a ceramic finish if
possible, these retain heat very well and are easier to clean. The
stand should be strong, castors should turn without a problem, and the
BBQ should have a quality finish.
Grates
Cooking
grates are usually constructed from heavy guage plated steel or
chrome-plated aluminum. A denser, heavier-gauge cooking grate will last
for many years and diffuse and retain the heat more efficiently.
Charcoal BBQ Grates that are coated with a ceramic finish are a common
upgrade, and one that you should consider purchasing.
The best grates
are made of cast iron, stainless steel, or porcelain-coated aluminum or
cast iron. Note that while ceramic coated parts are particularly
efficient in some respects, they are also quite easy to damage. So
extra care needs to be taken when cleaning them to avoid grazing and
chipping the finish.
Assembly
When
choosing a charcoal BBQ grill, you should be looking at ease of
assembly. See if you can take a look at the instruction manual that
comes with the particular charcoal BBQ that you are interested in, and
see what work and tools are involved to complete building the BBQ.
See
if the BBQ requires special tools to complete the build and also check
that the supplied fittings are complete and in good order before
starting construction of the charcoal BBQ grill.
Maintenance
You
will also need to look at the manufacturers enclosed warranty, and see
if there are dealers who are local to you who are capable of suppling
replacement parts easily and inexpensively should a part of your
charcoal BBQ become damaged.
Some manufacturers have website that offer
parts delivered to your door via their online store, so check to see
that the parts for your charcoal grill are readily available.
Safety
Ensure
that the charcoal BBQ is well designed. Are the griddles easy to move
and handle?
Does the grill or BBQ legs or stand move as it
should? Any additional force required to operate parts of your charcoal
grill could mean the difference between having a well cooked barbecue
or a well cooked bodypart!
As always, have a bucket of water, a fire
extinguisher and a good pair of tongs and oven mitts to use during
operation of your charcoal BBQ.
