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There's nothing better than cooking and eating alfresco on balmy summer days (and not just because of the novelty factor for us Brits). The option to cook over fire also means you can pack plenty of unique flavours into your meals, and it can be a more relaxed way to dine, making it ideal for entertaining guests, too.
It's no surprise then that more and more of us are going beyond the BBQ and creating entire outdoor kitchens for feasting and hosting. Keep reading to find out everything you need for cooking and entertaining alfresco in style this summer.
Choosing the right BBQ isn't a simple task. From gas to charcoal and electric, each model has different features, price points, sizes and benefits to consider. Luckily, the Good Housekeeping Institute has tested a whole range of grills to find the very best on the market. We've highlighted the pros and cons of each type below and shared our experts’ top-rated models.
Gas BBQs
The best gas BBQs are quick and easy to ignite, so you can get grilling in no time. As they’re powered by a propane gas cylinder, you’ll also have a constant flame, so there’s less risk of the temperature dropping and you ending up with raw sausages.
Many models also have multiple burners so you can create different temperature zones and some even have a side burner, which is ideal if you want to cook different meats, sides or veggies separately.
- Simple ignition and convenient cooking
- Food cooks more evenly
- Multiple burners and/or side burners for cooking foods at different temperature or preparing side dishes
- Needs a propane gas cylinder
- A gas flame is cooler than cooking with charcoal, so the heat is less efficient
- No traditional smoky flavour
Score: 92/100
This ultimate griller claimed the top spot with its three-burner design and dedicated ‘Sear Burner’ – a power booster for when you want to achieve those pleasing grill marks on your meat. It’s an expensive model but you pay for fantastic performance and high-quality features.
Score: 91/100
In a two-way tie for second place, this BBQ put in an impressive performance. Its grills have built-in infrared tech to help with heat distribution, leaving all our food well cooked. Plus, the four burners allowed us to cook up a real feast in one go. While we found the lid a little heavy and bulky, that’s something we can forgive.
Score: 91/100
This is an excellent crowd-feeder from Whistler. With five burners and multiple cooking zones, it was no surprise that it delivered some impressive vegetable kebabs and juicy steaks in our tests. Note that as this is a hybrid BBQ, it also requires mains electricity, meaning you’ll need a well-placed power outlet.
Score: 82/100
This medium-sized three-burner grill allows you to create different cooking zones and delivered tender, moist chicken and well-charred corn on the cobs. There were a few cold spots across the grill’s surface, but there’s plenty of space to find the right placement for optimum results.
Charcoal BBQs
The best charcoal BBQs sum up everything you think of when it comes to BBQ season – hot coals, delicious smoky flavours, and pleasing charring – so it’s no surprise that these are a popular choice.
They tend to be more versatile thanks to their radiant warmth. The coals in the bottom of the BBQ emit heat consistently, so you can sear meats quickly at high temperatures in the centre of the grill, while smoking and slow cooking others around the outside or on a raised rack.
- Authentic smoky flavour
- Great control and searing
- Often cheaper
- Longer to preheat
- Harder to clean
- Less environmentally friendly
Score: 96/100
The viral Big Green Egg earned our highest BBQ score ever. Plus, if you dread the post-BBQ clean-up, we have good news: it's self-cleaning (and it does a good job, too). Of course, there’s no denying it's pricey, but if you have the money, we think its brilliant cooking, versatility and innovative features are worth it.
Score: 85/100
This good-sized kettle BBQ delivered delicious burgers and sausages. Plus, the centre of the grill is compatible with Weber’s BBQ add-ons, which means you can transform the grill into a pizza oven or rotisserie whenever you wish. There’s a smoking setting too for ultimate versatility.
Score: 82/100
Another kettle BBQ, but this one is smaller and lighter, making it an excellent choice for those short on garden and storage space. We achieved a great smoky flavour on sirloin steaks, and the adjustable grill height provides a great level of control over the temperature and air flow.
Electric BBQs
The best electric BBQs offer convenience and simplicity so they may just win you over.
As they don’t require any gas tanks, charcoal or lighter fluid, all they need is a handy plug socket. Simply plug in, turn on and start grilling. This also makes them easy to store and, depending on their size, ideal for taking on your travels.
- No hassle with gas or charcoal
- Easy to clean (there’s no ash)
- More precise temperatures
- Portable
- Typically smaller so less suited to a large gathering
- No traditional smoky flavour
- Always need a mains outlet so may not be suitable for camping and festivals etc.
Score: 92/100
This compact grill has a top temperature of 315C, which meant we achieved satisfying sear marks on our juicy beef burgers. Corn on the cobs and sausages cooked evenly too, with room to comfortably grill four portions at a time. There were some colder spots towards the very edge of the grill, so make sure to check your food is fully cooked before serving.
Score: 88/100
If you’re worried about missing out on that authentic smoky BBQ flavour, Ninja’s integrated smoker may be the answer. Using mini woodfire pellets, it produced mouthwatering pulled pork with crackled skin in half the time of a conventional BBQ. This model has some of Ninja’s famous air frying programmes, too. Just note that it wasn’t as effective at charring our burgers.
Score: 84/100
This affordable electric grill is an excellent choice for a healthier feast as it features specially angled plates that drain away fat and grease. In testing, everything cooked nicely but lacked charring, and our chicken needed longer than expected to cook all the way through. However, this grill can be used indoors too – a bonus for the unpredictable British weather.
Pizza ovens
The best pizza ovens make cooking restaurant-quality pizza easy; they're the perfect, crowd-pleasing addition to summer garden parties and family gatherings.
Plus, many models are more versatile than you might realise. Some are compatible with add-ons that allow you to grill, sear, and roast, just like the best BBQs.
Score: 93/100
Just one minute and 41 seconds stands between you and restaurant-grade pizza. It delivered well-raised crusts, good spots of charring, and a melted, cheesy centre with ease thanks to the peak temperature of 450 degrees. Putting the pizza in and out of the oven was easy too, so there’s no risk of burning your fingers!
Score: 93/100
This electric pizza oven from Ooni is a particularly good choice for us Brits. You can cook outside in the summer and inside in the winter (or when it inevitably rains in August). It impressed with its cooking too, delivering a pepperoni pizza even faster than the Gozney, with a light Neapolitan-style crust. Delicious.
Score: 93/100
Our testers loved the unique design of this pizza oven, which simplifies the whole cooking experience. It has a rotating pizza stone so less manual turning is required for an even finish. Plus, it has a speedy preheat time of 12 mins – the fastest of our top three. Just note that it’s heavy, so you’ll need a permanent spot for it.
Score: 77/100
We’re fully aware that pizza ovens are expensive, so we loved this budget option from Vango. It’s designed as a camping model, but there’s nothing stopping you from lighting it in the garden. As you’d expect, it’s not the quickest, taking nine minutes to cook a pizza; however, the results were worth the wait.
Outdoor ovens
If you’re serious about taking the kitchen outdoors this summer, it’s worth considering an outdoor oven. These are the big boys of the BBQ world, combining the functionality of a BBQ, smoker, pizza oven and grill into one handy appliance.
They’re certainly a luxury addition to your patio, so we put a couple to the test to see whether they’re worth spending money on. The answer? If you have the funds, yes.
Score: 92/100
The brilliantly named Cheeky Charlie is a versatile addition to your outdoor kitchen. Burgers, sausages, and their vegan alternatives were all deliciously cooked, while veggie kebabs and corn charred beautifully, too. Food placed near the back of the oven cooked slightly faster but that’s a minor quibble and something you’d quickly take into account with your cooking.
Pizzas browned more on the bottom than on the crusts but were still tasty – and they cooked in just over two and a half minutes. But perhaps our tester’s favourite feature was the oven’s smoking functionality. The charred bark added a fantastic flavour to our meats, while retaining all that moisture you’d hope for.
While the price is eye-watering, its bold, bright design brings character, and its high-quality, weatherproof finish speaks to its price tag. You’ll need a permanent spot for its weighty build (it requires a table that can withstand 120kg). But once you’ve found a home for it, this is an oven you’ll be proud to have on show.
Score: 86/100
Ninja’s 8-in-1 outdoor oven can roast, smoke, bake, dehydrate, and cook pizzas. For most tasks, it's powered by electricity, but it also contains an integrated smoker box that burns natural wood pellets. When our testers tried this out, both our pork shoulder and brisket were mouth-wateringly smoky but needed longer than expected to get the desired pull-apart texture, so take note when planning your cooking times.
Grilling burgers and sausages on the electric BBQ was easy thanks to intuitive controls and the handy reminder it gives to flip your food mid-grilling. In fact, all the food was flavourful; it just lacked the charring you get from a BBQ grill.
Our pizzas were a different story though – the crusts charred nicely and were well-risen and airy, with testers enjoying the wood-fired effect. All in all, it’s a great outdoor oven at a more affordable price.
BBQ tips and tricks: How to get the most out of your outdoor kitchen
We turned to Chef Vadim Rachok for his tips and tricks for mastering your grilling technique.
First up, you need to prioritise preheating. “Preheating your grill every time you turn it on is crucial,” says Rachok. “[It] consumes little energy but reduces cooking time significantly.” It can improve hygiene, too – preheating your grill can help kill any residual bacteria lurking on your grill plates, so there’s less chance of any nasties getting on your food.
Next, Rachok suggests using the “Two Zone Grilling technique” to achieve the best results when barbecuing meat. This involves dividing your grill into two: one side for high temperatures (or the direct zone) and another for lower temperatures (the indirect zones). This will give you better control over how evenly your food cooks and allows you to perfect those all-important char marks.
“When grilling beef, I recommend cooking it over high heat to sear the outside and lock in the juices,” Rachok says. “However, avoid placing it directly over the flame to prevent burning.”
It’s a similar situation with sausages. Cooking them over a high heat will cause the skin to burst and could leave your sausages burnt on the outside but raw on the inside.
“Rotate sausages regularly to ensure they cook evenly,” Rachok advises. “If you regularly use a gas grill, you can place the sausages on the side so they’re not directly over the burners, allowing them to cook slowly and more evenly.”
What BBQ tools do I need?
Having the right tools is another important step to delivering a top outdoor feast. You need to be able to flip and turn your meats without burning your fingers, so your normal kitchen utensils likely won’t fit the bill. These haven’t been tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute, but we’ve curated our pick of the best BBQ utensils below.
How to clean your BBQ
Whether you’re cooking indoors or outdoors, cleaning your appliances is always an essential, if unexciting, job. While the heat from your BBQ does a good job at killing bacteria, cleaning the grill is best practice. Plus, keeping your BBQ in pristine condition helps it last longer.
Special BBQ brushes help loosen food residue from the grills while they’re still hot. But to give them a thorough clean, wait for it to cool down before giving the grills a scrub with hot, soapy water. Check out our full guide on how to clean your BBQ.
Why you should trust the Good Housekeeping Institute
We’ve been testing products at the Good Housekeeping Institute for over 100 years, holding each one to its claims using our specially designed protocols. The BBQ tests have been designed by Blossom Boothroyd, our homes testing manager, who has spent years learning about how they work and what separates a great grill from a non-so-great one.
After each BBQ has been tested and the results analysed by our experts, the notes and data are passed to our senior homes and lifestyle writer, Megan Geall, who picks out all the information you need to know to before you buy. She’s reviewed hundreds of products and looks after all our BBQ roundups so knows exactly what to look for in a standout griller.
Blossom is passionate about finding the best home products and appliances for GH readers. As head of the homes testing team, she has led reviews across multiple categories, from pizza ovens, and smart plugs to portable fans and hobs. She enjoys delving into the intricacies of products and refining testing protocols to ensure we’re testing them against their claims. Her aim is to find the top-performing products on the market, to help take the hard work out of housework. Blossom’s most notable accomplishment in the lab has been toasting 528 slices of bread in her quest to find the best toasters money can buy. In her free time, she openly admits to being a music geek and indulges her creative side through crocheting, baking, singing and writing.
