To think DH should know what barbecue to get

[Trying2bMindful]

We have a barbecue party this weekend and I thought DH was sorting out a barbecue... Well he hasn't and doesn't seem to know which gas barbecue we should get.

Surely this is a "blue job" and he should have a view on it?!
Grrrr.
So, over to you mumsnetters - which gas barbecue should I buy tomorrow on my day off?!

Gas bbq's are for cooking food outside so as not to heat up the kitchen excessively when it's super hot... Not that useful here outside a few days a year - for good food you need wood (not charcoal either really, but wood that's burnt down.)

hi,
We just bought this gas bbq
www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=246124
There are 2 types of gas bbq one with 'coals' and ones without. This one has 'coals' which mimic the effect of a charcoal bbq.
It is miles better than our old one, we have used it several times.

We use ours year round. It is great when it is hot and humid outside, to not have to heat up the house with cooking. It also came in handy when the city lost power, we could cook and heat water.

Blimey you ladies have totes no sense of how to read a post. Note the use of italics and you'll see you need to read it in a somewhat ironic tone .

Anyhoo (I bet that expression get's on your nerves too - When I first met my Australian dh he and his friends debated gas vs coal bbq's for endless hours (Christ knows why we got married). It basically came down to needing both sorts - Gas = instant cooking, all year round bbq. Coals = flavour (although watch your use of fire lighters - no one likes their pork roast to taste of petrol), but not convenience. Also much more weather dependant - it's hard (but not impossible) to cook a turkey in December on a Weber Kettle when it's 0 degrees.

If your DH was 'blue' he'd know that the only proper barbecue is a kettle-style barbecue of the charcoal variety. You need the lid to allow the heat and smoke to convect around the food; you need the charcoal and woodchips (pre soaked) to create an authentic smokey taste.

Gas barbecue and liquid smoke are a far cry from the real thing, unless you like the taste of chemical smoke.

As for 'blue' job, I taught myself to barbecue out of necessity, and it's actually ok after the first couple of goes.

Recommend a Weber barbecue, and their cookbook is quite handy too.

If your DH was 'blue' he'd know that the only proper barbecue is a kettle-style barbecue of the charcoal variety. You need the lid to allow the heat and smoke to convect around the food; you need the charcoal and woodchips (pre soaked) to create an authentic smokey taste

This is The Truth. Also allows you to cook in the rain and outside the 4 weeks of British summer.

Gas is an abomination, that is not a BBQ, just an outdoor oven.

I think you can buy disposable charcoal BBQs from a supermarket for next to nothing. But you will feel ridiculous standing around something not much bigger than a dinner plate that's perched a couple of inches above the lawn on a wire frame.

LondonMan experience with disposables tells me they are a pain, they don't get hot enough because they don't have a deep enough layer of coal. We tried it once away on holiday (because Webers aren't very portable) and everything took hours to cook.

I am very much craving a barbecue now :( Damn you all!

Gosh. I have never had so many comments on a thread I started! V amusing too.
Fuckwittery - you had me in stitches. Breton stripes and jobbies!!!
Tropical - thanks for the link. That is the one DH went to buy last night from Homebase. However he then called me to have a long debate about lava rocks & retro fitting lava rocks.... I wasn't entirely sure what to say so we had a falling out and....
Eventually he came home without a barbecue but ordered the version with lava rocks online. It seems this year's model has lava rocks but last years didn't..... (Or vice versa - anyway Homebase didn't have one with lava rocks in stock).
I have no idea why lava rocks are better than the alternative but he was adamant we needed them.
It seems the Outback with lava rocks was a Which best buy so that was what decided it!
We have gone for gas for convenience and our kitchen is small so for a party it will be easier. We had a disagreement about the Weber charcoal barbie - he wouldn't pay the money for it. I might buy one whilst he isn't looking later in the summer!

Does that make bar b q buying a striped pink n blue job?!

Fingers crossed the weather improves. Our gazebo was delivered today. I hope we don't need it until evening.

Next thing on my list are some foam play floor mats so when the 1 year olds are playing on our patio they are less likely to smash their skulls...

Pink and blue jobs? So twee it makes me feel a bit stabby. As does the repeated use of the word 'sheesh' in posts over the last few days. The word is being used on every other reply on some threads.

i dont understand what sheesh means.... is it the sound of someone sighing? or to fill in a gap in vocabulary?

but then i dont like "stabby" either which i have read a few times recently.... you mean it makes you feel murderous? up for a spot of GBH?

Point taken substitute stabbyfor mildly irritated. Isn't sheesh a substitute for those too well mannered to say 'shit'?

I dislike the use of many words though. And the list grows as I get older

I thought sheesh was a sigh of despair. Can be used instead of jeeeez.

Quite possibly. I am ancient. I was taught at school that you would 'Ream' a lemon or other citrus fruit. Apparently not
What is it Ram means nowadays?

*Ream/Reem

Ha ha. I'm sure ream meant something else entirely when I was in school. I always wondered where the word came from and now I know. Thank you :)

So how did the barbeque go Trying2bMindful ?

it was fab!!! we got a gas outback bar b q, outdoor furniture & kids pop up tunnel from ikea, a sandpit for DS from Lidl & sandpit toys, a pop up tent, foam playmat & sand from Toys R Us and party stuff from PArtys R us. it was just lovely to celebrate with our mates & to make our back yard feel like ours.
we had a lovely time!!
Thanks for asking musical

Wow, you certainly went all out. I bet if looks great, and you will be the hostess with the most-ess all summer! Enjoy.

What? Just because he is a man he has to sort the BBQ? My DH has no interest in BBQ-ing (except eating it!) I do it in our house.

I'd better LTB

YABVU - I wouldn't expect my husband to have any more of a clue than me about buying a barbecue - we've never bought one and therefore we both know nothing about them it doesn't come secretly encrypted on the Y chromosome

Men do know more about barbecues it is in their genes.

That's if the woman hasn't washed his genes, as that's a pink job.