Battle of the BBQs: what to look for if you're buying this summer

The heat is on and this summer’s burning question is: charcoal or gas?

As the days get longer and the nights get warmer more Kiwis are bringing out the barbecue - or buying a new one.

Kiwi foodies are spoilt for choice when it comes to outdoor cooking options - with offerings going from $25 for those on a tight budget, right up to $5940 for aspiring outdoor chefs lucky enough to have a lot of cash to throw around.

As spring heats up - as does the appetite for a hearty feast on a BBQ - Kiwis consumers have been told to shop around to ensure they get the BBQ that would best suit their needs.

That includes a reminder to think of the environment - and see if your current BBQ is fixable - before dispatching it to the dump.

"[In] New Zealand, we've been buying barbecues that last us maybe two or three years and then chucking them," BBQ expert Cristian Cannata, manager at 4Seasons BBQ on the North Shore, said.

"It's horrific for the environment and it's a massive waste of money."

Most barbecue parts were now made with materials resistant to rust, and stores were more likely to sell spare parts to fix up worn down cookers with, right down to the nuts and bolts.

Plus, barbecues selling at lower price points, about $400, usually came with a 10-year warranty, Cannata said.

The first thing Cannata asked customers looking to invest was how many people they wanted to cook for.

"If you want to cook for a family of four, a three burner barbecue is really all you need."

"In New Zealand there's been a misconception you need six burners to cook for four people - that's not the case any more."

Cristian Cannata, manager at 4 Seasons BBQ, says it's worth investing in a model which will last. Photo / Doug Sherring.

Consumer NZ said single burner barbecues gave the most even heat distribution, with the trade off of being unable to cook a variety of different foods at different temperatures.

The body's annual barbecue testing, released earlier this month, found the top four performing barbecues were all Weber brand.

The watchdog said it would recommend every Weber brand model it tested, with the Family Q Premium (Q3200AU) coming out on top.

Consumer's researcher said this was because Weber's gas barbecues used a single burner, the models didn't use flame tamers - which diminish the effectiveness of the burners - and because the steep domed hoods caused the air to re-circulate quickly when pulled down.

Consumer echoed the sentiment that if you wanted a barbecue built to last, it was worth forking out a little extra up front.

How much you're willing to pay isn't the only question of course - there's also the rivalry of gas versus coals.

"Charcoal is a labour of love, it takes a while," Cannata said.

"You'll take three times longer waiting for the charcoals to heat up."

Gas was more convenient, but the benefit of charcoal was the flavour.

There was no reason why a cheap and cheerful bargain wouldn't do a basic cooking job well, Cannata said.

"There's nothing that can go wrong with them really.

"It's not like a gas barbecue where you've got gas fittings and electronic ignitors which could go wrong, and knobs you could lose."

A $25 charcoal model sold at the Warehouse had the potential to get the job done as long as the cooking required was simple enough, he said.

At the other end of the price spectrum was the XXL Big Green Egg charcoal burner, which retailed at 4 Seasons for just under $6000.

The ceramic insulated barbecue came with a lifetime guarantee, making it the last grill you'd ever buy, Cannata said.

"You can bake in them, you can cook pizzas in them, you can do 18-hour cooks in them. You can do basically anything you can think of."

The XXL Egg came with a built in thermostat - a feature Cannata said was worth forking out for.

A thermostat was the only way to know you were cooking at the right temperature, so it was a really useful piece of kit, he said.

Side burners, which worked like an oven hob, were an optional extra which came down to preference.