To think gas barbecues are a waste of space?!

[MerryCosIWonaGold]

So, Friday we were at a 'proper' barbie with half burnt sausages, burgers and it was all smoky, yummy. I do adore the special summer taste.

Saturday we were at another, much posher, barbecue with 'barbecued' prawns, lamb, chicken, sweetcorn, the works. Problem being you don't seem to actually get any barbecue flavour. May as well chuck it in the oven or under the grill? What is the point other than men seem to be more willing to dabble with it? All that delicious food would have been gorgeous on a proper charcoal barbecue.

Gas Barbies. Waste of space, I tell ya!

YABU

They are a different thing, but YABU to say they are a "waste of space".

It's like saying "AIBU to think grills are a waste of space, I had a cooked breakfast and it would have all been much nicer if it had been fried in lard rather the grilled".

Burnt sausages? Yuck.

Gas works fine, it's what they use for grilling in posh restaurants, you just need to know what you are doing.

Ok charcoal is better, but still.

Half burnt, stunning! It's all part of the taste. I just think they'd be better named 'Large grills' or something. They are not barbecues.

Yanbu

They are a waste of space if you also have a grill and an oven inside.

Obviously if you only have the BBQ, fair enough...

Trills, waste of space, because most people who have gas barbies also have grills and ovens. I don't see that it does anything different other than be large and flash looking.

I personally can't stand the fuss and the HOURS of pre lighting that goes with a charcoal BBQ.
Turn gas on, heat 5 mins. TA-DA!

Burnt smokey offerings sound minging tbh.

Sorry xpost Felicity. I agree (obv!).

And I''m Australian, obviously an expert, and therefore I can say gas BBQs are PROPER BBQs too.

We live Down Under and lots of time is spent eating outdoors. Agree that there is a lovely flavour from charcoal barbie's. But, practically, gas barbies are really handy.
We do have both though, a smokey one for when we can be arsed. And a huuuge big double layer,sticky out sided gas fucker,for everyday use

I used to think this about gas BBQs but then realised that actually they do taste pretty much the same. Most gas BBQs have a flavouring layer of charcoal too, IME.

You can get woodchips to put on a gas barbie for that smokey flavour, but in my opinion, gas barbecues are cheating!

thestring, well proper barbecueing (sp?) does take some prep and practise to do it well. My brazillian friend does the best ones. It doesn't even take 5 mins to pre-heat my grill!

I will have to ask in advance next time. "Will you be using gas or charcoal?" Just don't want to get my expectations up for that lovely flavour when I'm not going to have it. Oh well, I ate less!

Gas BBQs are outdoor grills, not BBQs. Fine for the convenience but not the flavour.

YABU! If it goes in the oven, I have to cook it. If it goes on th BBQ, DH cooks. We have a lot of bbqs in summer

In most blocks of flats you are not allowed to have a charcoal BBQ, has to be a gas one so you don't annoy the neighbours.

Gas BBQs ROCK! YOu can just fire it up and start cooking, unlike the hour+ wait of a charcoal one, then, when you've eaten all you need, you just turn it off- it doesn't have the massive waste of fuel you get if you just want a little barbie for your family. Then, later in the evening when you get the munchies again, or latecomers arrive, you can still feed them with a gas BBQ. I'd never go back to a charcoal one.

YANBU. It's not really a barbecue so much as an outdoor grill.

Gas bbq's are so you don't have to make the indoors of the house hot but still eat hot food, even more useful of course where the weather is continously hot and you have to do everything you can to keep indoor temperatures low (or spend loads on aircon) but they're also relevant here for hot periods where the houses aren't set up for dealing with heat.

Personally I much prefer properly burnt down wood to charcoal, but gas bbq's are certainly useful for keeping the indoor temp down.

Totally agree - never seen the point of a gas BBQ.

Lava coals are needed for a gas BBQ to get that smoky taste like charcoal.

We had a basic gas bbq on holiday and the difference between that and our own one at home with lava coals was huge.
We were always dead against gas but our charcoal one is not big enough for a family of 4 so we got a bigger one which he decided on and got gas. He does all the cooking anyway ;-)

www.bmstores.co.uk/products/george-foreman-indoor-outdoor-bbq-grill-268846

thats a waste of space lol, but i agree i love a charcoal BBQ, not burnt food though. My last BBQ of the year is bonfire night :)

I prefer the charcoal BBQ too. You can get some pretty large ones. We're a family of 4 also and there is mostly enough room. (glittertwins has a good point about large size of gas ones).

A bit more fun getting the coals hot. I'm with you!

even better is logs and sticks and create a fire pit.