Best UK BBQs for every budget — tested

Salmon don’t know that they swim upstream. Some ancient instinct impels them; they don’t think about it any more than trees think about growing. You are a British person of a certain age and bearing. You are buying a barbecue. Yet macho marketing and baffling jargon — from snap‑jet ignitions to the difference between planchas and kamados — can turn a simple purchase into an expensive puzzle, and you can easily spend hundreds on what is essentially a hot metal box.

I set out to find straightforward, affordable barbecues that simply make great food. That involved eating a lot of burgers and testing a range of models so you don’t have to. I’ve tested dozens of grills over the years, from disposable options to high‑end kamados, and have long experience with indoor and outdoor cooking kit.

Starting in drizzly March, I timed how long each barbecue took to build and how quickly it reached a good grilling temperature.

United Kingdom

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