Create Your Own Gourmet Barbecue with 5 Timeless Buys
For outdoors aficionados across the globe, high summer means one thing: getting into the garden and firing up the barbecue. So load up your briquettes and call up the family; with a couple of canny purchases you can build the perfect durable barbecue set.
1. The Inimitable Big Green Egg Barbecue
The most durable covered barbecue on the market happens to be the ultimate American original. With a cooking performance of such high quality, it’s not surprising that many Big Green Egg owners develop a near cultish attraction to everything the company puts out. You can grab pretty much any barbecue accessory you’ve ever dreamed of direct from Big Green Egg. Their original Kamado-style grill is the piece that draws the crowds though – a barbecue that cooks unbelievably well and has looks to match.
If you’re a real BBQ nut, the Big Green Egg is probably the only choice to cover every cooking style there is. Heat retention is perhaps its biggest draw. If you’ve only ever eaten pulled pork from pop-up stalls in covered markets, you’ll now have the power to achieve that gorgeous 18-hour slow roast and experience the real thing, in your own garden. Get the temperature right and then just leave it – the inch-thick ceramic holds heat like no other material can and the cavernous space underneath the grill means there’s enough fuel for even a two-day cook.
Big Green Egg are the first name in barbecuing to stand behind their product strongly: they offer a limited lifetime guarantee. It’s a BuyMeOnce no-brainer. Click here to check it out.
2. A Flippin’ Fantastic Pair of Stainless Steel Tongs
Great, you’ve got a barbecue that can push heat of up to 400’C. Perfect for that gorgeous flame char and ideal for wowing the guests with steep chin-licking flames. But the glory of the BBQ is the risk – anything you chuck on a flaming hot grill is one minute from perfection and one minute from ruin. A pair of lifetime guaranteed tongs from OXO won’t quite turn heads like a Big Green Egg, but they will turn your meat and veg for every BBQ you host for the rest of your life.
OXO Good Grips is the company’s full and apt name; the body of these American-made tongs is stainless steel but you won’t find your fingertips singed in a hurry. The insulating grips at the base of each set of tongs (available in 10”, 12” and 16”) let you flip, turn and pat with consummate ease. There’s really little else you need for a basic BBQ – a good sharp pair of tongs is a versatile bit of equipment. Buy your own pair here.
3. A 14-Piece BBQ Tool Set
If tongs just aren’t comprehensive enough for you and your dreadfully serious frying habit, Landmann cover all the bases with an affordable yet vast barbecue set for every prod, skewer, slice and grab. The pieces themselves are built to be durable; these are stainless steel tools with a long reach and strong, reliable grip. You’ll get a couple of spatulas, tongs, basting brush, corncob holders and a sleek aluminium case to tuck them away in. All you need and more – so only go for this if you really need all that faff. Here it is then.
4. A Bristolian Blowker
If you don’t know what a Blowker is, well, you’re in good company. We first encountered the astounding company that is Firewok for their flagship steel lifetime assured fire woks. After familiarising ourselves with their entire catalogue, we discovered this ingenious little device was just as fascinating. If you’ve ever had trouble getting your fires going, from bbq to bonfire, this simple little blowing tube is here to save the day.
It works just as you’d imagine: just blow into it and channel the air towards the base of the fire. No more sticking your face into the red hot zone you’d be better steering clear of. The engineering may look unassuming, but this is designed by master blacksmiths to last immersed in furiously flaming cauldrons for a lifetime-and-a-half. Discover the magic here.
5. Solidteknics Flaming Skillet
For the perfect old-school accompaniment to your fanned flames, try a bit of new-age pan tech from the engineering innovators at Solidteknics. We often rave about the unique one-piece, low-carbon steel design, the gorgeous shot-peened surface that leads to a natural long stick. You already know about all that. But you might not have seen this beautifully sculpted flaming skillet, carved open to expose your food to the elemental touches of flame and smoke.
When BBQ season is over, take it into the kitchen with its nesting buddy, the regular Solidteknics skillet. You’ll end up with an all-season pan taking on a classic blackened look like the cast iron cookware your grandma handed down. Look no further for your own flaming skillet.
