to think barbecues just aren't worth the effort?

[GulesMeansRed]

First barbecue of the year today.

Retrieve barbecue from back of shed, give it a good scrub because although it was put away clean (or DH sys it was) and covered, it's sticky and mucky after 9 months. Search for charcoal. Search for firelighter thingies. Get the thing going. Stand around while it gets to the right stage for cooking. Start cooking the stuff. Constant debate about whether it's done or not. Multiple trips back into the house to get salad, salad dressing, cheese slices, another beer, tomato ketchup, another plate, another spoon, forks. Then all the clearing away and disposing of the charcoal.

Total faff.

We have a nice gas bbq that’s directly outside our kitchen and connected to our house gas line. It’s great!

We bbq all year round and a few times a week in the summer. I find just as easy as cooking in the kitchen. Also doesn’t heat up the house. The idea of neighbours being offended by bbq smells is a non issue here. Always eat homemade, decent quality meat and vegetables though. I like eating outside too!

Ah but also there's smash burgers, my favourites. You need a lightly-oiled flat griddle that sits on your grid for the initial smash, you can move it after the smashing if you prefer. You get the most incredible maillard reaction on your burgers if you smash them from a chilled hockey-puck shape to a thin patty.

I had the best burger of my life in Shake Shack and have spent a lot of time trying to replicate it!

Hmm I was a hater, I load all the plates sauces salads on to a large tray and that saves loads of time.

We have a more efficient charcoal burner and a starter chimney, we can normally bbq in 20 minutes

I do love a bbq, and as long as I have meat & coal in, I'm normally happy to do it.

But...I did the 1st bbq of the year last weekend. Turns out the instant light coal bag was damp....couldn't get the bloody thing lit. Took forever which meant once I got the bbq going tea wasn't ready until well after 6.

I had extra meat we were going to bbq 2 days later, bug I just grilled/ovened it as no more coal and it was quicker & just as good.
Can't see me rushing to bbq ahmgain anytime soon as that disaster really put me off.

I'm surprised at the love for gas barbeques. We had one, I hated it and got rid. We also had a Weber charcoal barbecue for some years, ditto. The one I liked was a Lotus grill but it went by the wayside when we moved last year. I'm not planning on getting another

I came to this conclusion years ago, right after my little DD asked if we were having "burnt sausages" for dinner again.

😂

Plus I can only ever be bothered to do a burger and sausage combo, because everything else tastes better cooked on the cooker.

Definitely not BU. We hardly ever BBQ at home. There are only three of us who'll eat anything off the grill anyway, the unreliability of the whole process means I'm reluctant to offer to feed friends in that way, and you're looking at about 45 minutes of charcoal watching beforehand, then finicking around with the actual food to make sure it doesn't kill you and doesn't burn, and then the clean up. DS2 has LDs so it's all a bit fraught with hazard as we have to keep him away, and he won't eat anything off it anyway.

I do really like having a meal in the garden (as long as there's shade) but all that can be so much more easily prepared inside.

Plan your menu, get your accompaniments ready from the outset. Use a BBQ chimney and you will be cooking in 20-30 minutes. I use mine as a smoker too - hot smoked sea trout a speciality here. Spatchcocked chicken can be done in an hour and leave you plenty of time to get the sauces out make salad, grill veg etc. You just need to do the burgers, sausages and kebabs at the last minute

Lol, have just RTFT and realised I am that 80s throwback who everyone dreads going to visit.

The thing is, my BBQ food always tastes terrible except for burgers and sausages. Also they are easy, and only need a burger or sausage bun and a few sides.

Even though I probably sound really basic, I'm not. I am normally a real foodie. It's just I've never worked out how to successfully do a BBQ.

😂😂😂😂

Men seem to love them. The men in my life over-the-years have only had short term love though. They buy expensive (current husband gas) BBQ use it a few times, find it too much trouble and they never see the light of day again. I’ve never seen the point. Cook on a normal cooker and bring the food outside 🤷‍♀️

I live in Edinburgh and have barbecued in snow - generally do a BBQ for son’s birthday on January 2nd. We eat inside though apart from the marshmallows! I love BBQing - it’s the ultimate test of cooking skills as you can’t regulate the fire. Would not bother with it if I had a gas bbq. Appreciate others will disagree

Crazy but sometimes we cook outside and eat the food inside.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one (I’ve never had one before) but the potential faff keeps putting me off.

Can someone walk me through winter BBQs! They sound awesome! Do you sit outside with blankets and have a fire pit. Or just cook and eat inside. I am genuinely curious as I think this would cheer up a bleak winter no end.

Cook and eat inside. Meat doesn't need nonstop eyes on them so in and out a bit

We love the sausage and burger combo for a quick last minute!

But my favourite are planned cooked ... recently did a butterflied leg of lamb

Before that a pulled pork shoulder

I often do pizzas on the BBQ with my pizza stone (making the dough and sauce myself)

I also like to BBQ a bit in the winter our new year's eve tradition is a reverse seared bone in rib eye steak

Although one of my favourite recipes has been a smoked pigs cheek lasagna

I absolutely love it. We've got a Weber. I did 2 bbqs this weekend - one for 15 people. Cooked all the food myself - burgers, sausages, marinated chicken breasts plus all the fake stuff for the vegans. Then I did a beef brisket joint that took 4 hours on Sunday. Will clean it properly tomorrow night so it's ready again for the weekend!

YANBU We gave up on the whole idea of BBQ. I cook everything on the hob or the electric grill or in the oven. Nobody complains about the food not being burned to a crisp or dangerously raw 😂

I thought some of the electric ones people have posted sounded amazing - until I made the mistake of googling the price. Maybe for my next BBQ I should just bung the George Foreman grill outside on a long extension cable?

I kind of agree.

The prep is endless and then the clearing up seems way more than just a normal meal!

Plus the stress of catering for a vegetarian so I have to keep that food from going anywhere near the meat.

Plus the fact that I can’t really leave the BBQ unattended for long once I start cooking in case things burn, so I can’t even nip in the house to fetch things.

I love BBQ food but it is a massive faff.

I'm obsessed with BBQs. Everything about them. When else can you eat a chicken leg, chicken kebabs, hot dog, burger, salad, wedges and not feel even a teeny bit bad about it

Yup total faff and being dive bombed by bloody flies.

Absolutely agree. Al fresco eating is lovely, with the food done in a nice clean kitchen. And no smoke. And not burnt.

My husband lives for bbqing. I cannot stand it, and I hate how the food comes out in bits and bobs, once you've had a plate of food there is more food coming off the bbq. Its overated and annoying.

I’ve just done one for a largish group. What a faff. Equivalent of Xmas dinner, but even more side dishes and blah. Took me a week of making this and that to sort. And almost as long to clear up. Hate them! Everyone else liked it though!