Barbeques - Gas or Charcoal

[GrandGinge]

Advice required please - for years we have bought £100 - £150 cheapish gas barbeques, each last 2-4 years and seemed convenient and hassle free. I dragged ours out last weekend and the current Mrs GG directed me to the tip with it - to be fair it was pretty knackered.

Anyway, I now cannot decide which way to go on gas vs charcoal and over the last weekend I have gone round and round trying to decide between the two.

We both work during the week and I have previously liked the simplicity of walking in, clicking said gas barbeque on and by the time I have ditched the suit we are ready to cook, finish cooking and leave barbeque until next time.

That said, I have not cooked on charcoal for some time but consider myself a reasonable 'cook' and like the notion of traditionalism. I have been recommended the Weber Performer Deluxe https://www.weberbbq.co.uk/product/performer-delux... with the chimney starter at a cost of c £450
or
Go gas with the John Lewis or Outback type offerings around the £350 - £400 mark

Now I don't want to hose into the Weber and find it takes an age/ faff to light and a ballache to clean the ash out and I never end up using it.

Or do I go for two, one cheapish gas one c£200 for everyday and a Weber Mastertouch 57 for weekends when I have the time/ inclination and have the best of both worlds or am I going to fall between two stools.....

Any real world advice would be much appreciated.

[GrandGinge]

Thanks for your responses, you are confirming my thoughts that gas is by far the most convenient and to stick to one decent gas barbeque rather than either buying both and compromising on both or going for one decent charcoal.

Now I need to decide which gas one - I used to be indecisive but now I am not sure

[GrandGinge]

Wow - feelings run pretty deep on the Charcoal side!

I don't argue that in an ideal world I would have the time and inclination to barbeque over coals but as The Curn says, frankly it needs to be up to temperature quickly and minimal hassle to get going especially with hungry child/ wife to feed.

I fully subscribe to using decent charcoal for the best results and interested in the chimney starter (KTF?), in practice is this particularly/ noticeably faster to get the coals to a cooking temperature, waiting 30-40 minutes before cooking would mean eating too late during the week, if I was confident on the temperature being correct within 15-20 minutes max I would consider it. I agree with Scottri that the Performer seems expensive compared to the equivalent without the table and I am leaning towards this if I go down the two barbeque route.

That said, perhaps I may be better off with two barbeques for a total budget of £400ish - I am still going round and round in circles but any recommendations for a gas one?

Oscarmac - I like the sound of the Napolean with both in one, they appear quite expensive and I couldn't see any option for the charcoal burner on the website, any pointers?
Again on the basis I have got through four cheap ones I agree with Amiablechimp it is worth the money within reason to buy a decent one and if I end up going for one, the Weber Spirit is in the running. Does anyone have experience of indirect cooking/ smoking (hickory etc) over gas?

[GrandGinge]

KTF said:

You use your fancy gas BBQ to heat up a load of charcoal then use the charcoal to cook the food. If only someone would invent a way to heat the charcoal up on its own and do away with the expensive gas part

I agree but I think Oscarmac uses one side for gas and the other for charcoal, almost two in one or all gas depending what you require.