Our £5 barbecue bucket is no more! The bottom finally burnt through right in the midst of cooking our dinner.
So the search is on for a replacement. How about a Cobb barbecue oven or a Lotus Grill? Are they really any better than a basic barbecue?
Latest update: August 2020
We’ve taken a close look at the Cobb barbecue oven and the battery-powered LotusGrill barbecue
These are both pretty expensive options compared to disposable. barbecues, which are frankly rather rubbish.
The Cobb and LotusGrill, however, promise faster and healthier cooking, smokeless light-ups and easy-clean parts. They also have accessories that turn them into stoves as well as barbecues – pizza plates, lids and griddles, for example.
We’ve given both a thorough road-test now. You can find the full Cobb review here. And the Lotus Grill review here. PLUS…we’ve reviewed the rather wonderful Cadac gas Safari Chef barbecue and cooker for those of you who prefer gas.
And, also have a look at our choice for more traditional charcoal barbecues.
The Cobb
The charcoal (or ‘heat beads’ or the Cobb Cobblestone) goes into a wire basket, with a non-stick griddle above it. There’s a domed lid and a ‘moat’ around the fire that can hold vegetables, or a little water, wine or beer for flavour and moisture.
It takes between 15 and 25 minutes to get to cooking temperature and, depending on the fuel you use, can keep going for up to three hours. Fat and oil drain into the moat (so if you’ve got vegetables in there, you need to bear that in mind). It’s mainly stainless steel, weighs 3.8kg and is big enough to cook for between two and five people…but that rather depends on what you’re cooking and how big your appetite is!
There are lots of accessories and kits based around the Cobb, and a larger family-size Supreme Cobb at around £220, but the basic barbecue set starts at around £130.
Be prepared for all the extras you’ll WANT to buy!
As we found, and so did many of our readers, it’s a VERY slow barbecue, and the LotusGrill works much more efficiently.
The Lotus Grill
Its bright colours and techie design draw the crowds at the camping shows, so just what is the Lotus Grill?
Well, it’s a barbecue with a battery-operated fan system that blows air over the charcoal to create a higher temperature for a smokeless start and a super-fast warm-up time. The dial regulates the air-flow for control over your cooking temperature.
We like one health aspect of the Lotus Grill – excess fat and oil can’t reach the charcoal and burn. That means potentially harmful polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shouldn’t be produced. There’s no definitive guideline on the risk of high-temperature meat cooking for cancer, but there is some evidence. Have a look at this Huffington Post article for some more information on that.
The makers recommend a good-quality hardwood charcoal rather than briquettes (definitely not heatbeads), and an ethanol (alcohol) lighting fuel not firelighters – we’d suggest bioethanol. The batteries are supposed to last for up to 60 hours (20-24 hours at maximum fan speed). There’s a family-sized XL version at around £200.
It’s our favourite barbecue because it’s so controllable, so fast and so mess-free.
So, which should I buy?
Both the Cobb and the LotusGrill are great for three reasons.
1.They don’t make a mess
2. They don’t smoke
3. You can use them on a table, which is more sociable for the barbecue cook
But…in a nutshell…we would always choose the LotusGrill for barbecuing
Choose the Cobb if…
You’re more of an outdoor cook than a barbecue chef .
They work pretty well as outdoor stoves and grills, but the LotusGrill is much better as a simple barbecue.
Read the Cobb review here
Choose the LotusGrill if…
You want a true barbecue but you’d like more control and a lot less mess.
The LotusGrill is a great and fairly simple-to-operate barbecue, but the accessories are expensive.
Find out why in our tests here
Choose the gas-powered Cadac if…
You’re planning a European trip.
Barbecues aren’t allowed on many sites because of the risk of fire. That’s why the gas-powered Cadac is becoming such a popular option.
There’s a version for refillable gas bottles (LP) and another for a click-in canister (HP).
Read our Cadac review here
