The 17 best BBQs for mouthwatering summer cookouts

• Type: Wood-fire pellet
• Cooking area: 3,370cm2
• Weight: 75.4kg

Woodfire pellets are an ever-growing trend in the at-home BBQ world and for good reason. The slow, smoky atmosphere in your barbeque pulls out plenty of flavour in your food, without charring it, leaving you with sweet, juicy food every time. Hands down the best pellet-driven BBQ we’ve tested and our top pick is Weber’s SmokeFire EPX6 Stealth, which is the complete package.

The electric cooker is capable of searing, roasting, stir-frying or steaming your food at up to 315 degrees C with all the smoky goodness of your pellet-driven heat, with enough grill area to hold a veritable feast all in one go. Weber offers a wealth of extra griddles, pans, cooking grates and searing plates to cater to all sorts of cooking, and it all connects to your smartphone so you’ll get automatic notifications on when it reaches optimum temperatures and will guide you on timings and technique depending on what you're cooking. The price is high, but this truly is the premium end of the BBQ-cooking spectrum.

• Type: Charcoal
• Cooking area: 1,613cm2
• Weight: 105kg

The Instagram-worthy Kamado Joe Classic 2 is the eye-catching egg grill found in the famous gardens of Henry Cavill and Brad Pitt, but it's just at home in your plain old garden if you've got the money for it.

While its looks are astounding, it does have plenty of meat-cooking prowess to boast, with a two-tier inner system to keep things warm or cook things at a lower temperature while you grill properly on the lower shelf. Two folding shelves extend the service area and give you an area to plate up after you've cooked, and the easy-lifting hinge lid means you can regularly keep an eye on how things are going.

There's no more primal a feeling we get than flicking the top vent open to release some air into the inner furnace and be hit with the wall of aromas cooking inside.

• Type: Electric
• Cooking area: 28cm x 37cm2
• Weight: 12kg

Ninja might well dominate the kitchen air-frying scene, but now it's trying its significant cooking prowess in the outdoor BBQ world, with a versatile, weather-resistant garden cooker that can take care of all your food-related needs.

As the name suggests, you'll be grilling, smoking and air-frying with this compact, travel-friendly electric cooker that utilises real wood pellet burning to deliver high temperatures incredibly quickly. You can manage your cooking with the simple rotating dial to set cooking modes, temperatures and timings for meat, veg and everything in between. It's easily one of the most comprehensive BBQ/air fryers we've seen, with enough space to fit eight burgers, 16 sausages, two racks of ribs, a 2KG pork shoulders, or a combination, we won't judge you for experimenting.

Downsides? It currently doesn't have a stand, so you have to set it on a wall or table to use, which might get a little tricky when camping. However, we're assured one is on its way…

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: 2700cm2
• Weight: 51.9kg

Weber's roster of BBQs is a rich and broad tapestry of quality cooking appliances, from the high-end to the affordable, portable options, but one of our favourites sits firmly in the middle of the price point. A gas option that is easy to use, quick to clean (thanks to the porcelain-enamelled cast iron cooking grates) and pretty to look at, it's hard to pass up at this price point.

If we had to complain, the actual cooking area isn't quite as expansive as we'd like, but you do get two fold-away side tables to serve your buns or as an extra space to hold onto cooked meats. There are also hooks to hang your tongs and spatula on to free up more space.

• Type: Electric BBQ
• Cooking area: 1562 cm2
• Weight: 20.5kg

Urban outdoor cooking has never been easier. We're big fans of Weber's supreme knack for low and slow barbecuing, but the latest Liumin series takes portable cooking to new heights. Combining meat-searing temperatures with smoke-infused roasting, this portable model will draw out that classic smoke-filled flavour in everything you cook, with the option to keep food piping hot with a “keep warm” mode so you can serve when ready. It's expensive for the cooking area and the overall size, and will only cope with a few burgers and sausages at a time, but if you're catering to just a few this summer, you won't find many better.

• Type: Wood-fired
• Cooking area: 2,696cm2
• Weight: 67.5kg

If you can fit it in your garden and want to create the finest authentic smoked barbecue you’ll not find a much better tool than the Ironwood. It needs plugging in and loading with hardwood pellets, but the auger mechanism that feeds the furnace has impeccable control so you can set the desired temperature. It will do everything in its power to maintain it for as long as there’s fuel to burn.

It has 2,696cm2 of grill space, can hit 260C – though lower temperatures are where the fun happens – and while barbecuing is as old as a caveman, this is a thoroughly modern machine with Wi-Fi, Apple Watch compatibility and wireless food probes, allowing you to sit back and wait for your phone (or watch) to tell you your brisket is cooked.

• Type: Charcoal fired
• Cooking area: 1,094cm2
• Weight: 4.2kg

First he was a boxer, now his name is attached to top grilling machines found in every garden, George Foreman's on-the-go portable charcoal grill is a banger of a purchase for an upcoming camping trip or those with smaller gardens/balconies.

Incredibly lightweight at only 4 kilograms, and with a handle to bring it with you wherever you go, you've got enough space inside to cook up sausages, bacon or even one or two steaks from the coal-fired device. The small metallic legs give it stability on grass or that wonky camping table you've been using for the last decade, and it's small enough to make clean-up quick and simple afterwards. At this price point, you really can't go wrong, making it one of the best charcoal bbq options around.

• Type: Charcoal
• Cooking area: H44.1 x W37.1 x D30cm
• Weight: 43kg

These kamado-style ceramic charcoal cookers have been popular in China for millennia and for the past few years brands such as The Big Green Egg have made them popular with countless Michelin-star chefs who appreciate the ability to cook both long and slow and ridiculously hot. This dinky alternative from Snaffling Pig Co is not only brilliantly blue but boasts all the classic features – colour-coded temperature gauge, cast-iron air vents and solid ceramic construction (it measures just 57cm tall but weighs a mighty 43kg) – to get you roasting, grilling, baking, slow cooking, pizza making and smoking with all the confidence of a three (Michelin) star general.

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: Info N/A
• Weight: 45kg

This gas-powered Char-Broil offering is a superb option for most people after a gas BBQ, as it covers all sorts of unique bases It’s got a sideburner, for a start, which means you can fry off side dishes like veg or brown streak in a cast iron pan, all in the great outdoors. Its main grille is coated in porcelain for an easier clean, while a handy integrated flat griddle is perfect for smash burgers. TRU-Infrared tech also reduces flareups and burnt spots, while distributing heat evenly. You can get cheaper gas BBQs that are around the same size, but not many have the same combination of cooking methods, which is why this is a great buy in our books.

• Type: Charcoal
• Cooking area: 2,318cm2
• Weight: 27kg

An ideal choice for charcoal lovers, the Grillwagen has a built-in front hatch which lets you easily (and tidily) add in more coal for those extra-long summer sessions. It also has a removable central circular griddle, which can be replaced with accessories like pizza stones, in addition to letting you fry up some dishes in a wok. The charcoal tray itself is also height adjustable via a crank, which lets you increase or decrease the intensity of the heat as you see fit, and is a much easier way of going about it than manually lowering or raising blazing hot racks.

• Type: Charcoal
• Cooking area: Info N/A
• Weight: 17kg

It might have a more utilitarian aesthetic compared to say, a sleeker Weber kettle, but Char-Broil’s Kettleman has so many useful features, that we’ll happily let its aesthetics slide. Where to start? How about a hinged lid for convenient opening and closing without the need to find a spot to place a lump of hot metal? It’s even got a latch for secure transport, while a built-in thermometer and damper let you monitor and adjust the temperature with ease. The ash tray is within easy reach for emptying and cleaning, while Char-Broil’s clever TRU-Infrared emitter plate distributes heat evenly without flare ups for pesky burnt spots. Overall, it’s a very clever, very functional bit of kit.

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: 2,065cm2
• Weight: 28kg

We honestly didn’t think that Weber could improve upon the fantastic Weber Q range, but with the Traveller, it has designed a supremely portable barbecue (H94 x W110 x D58cm) that ticks almost every box. There’s a generous porcelain-enamelled cast-iron grilling space (2,065cm2) with a single powerful and precise 130 BTU burner, a built-in thermometer, plenty of prep space and a folding, automatically locking mechanism that’s engineered brilliantly and feels solid to use and easy to fold down and chuck in the car.

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: 6,451cm2
• Weight: 88.6kg

The premium Genesis range is at the very top of the price range, but you’re getting a whole lot of cooking gear for your money. Weber calls this one the biggest grilling innovation in decades, and we’d be inclined to agree, with enough equipment to grill, roast, bake, steam, or even stir fry your food with ease.

The grate comes with a number of attachments to help you cook in any way you like across four burners, with plenty of storage to keep food warm as you juggle the veritable feat you’re preparing. Use the app to keep an eye on temperatures and timings while you head over to the beer cooler for another can, and you can even cook late into the night with literal night-vision tech that’s motion-sensitive so you can keep cooking into the wee hours should you so choose.

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: 2,100cm2
• Weight: 23.9kg

Campingaz, as you’d expect from the name, is a top brand for camping gear and on-the-go cooking, and this high-quality, easy-to-use 5kW grill is no different. Arriving with two cooking zones (total 2,100 cm2) that can be controlled separately, this one is a dream for outdoor grilling.

There’s a circular centrepiece of the enamel-coated griddle, which can be removed and replaced with a dedicated roasting skillet, paella pan or pizza stone (sold separately), while the right-hand side griddle plate has a smooth and ridged side for when you want authentic char lines or side dishes away from your main cooker. Heat distribution is superb, and many parts are dishwasher safe, which is a total delight, it looks great and doesn’t cost a fortune. Top work.

• Type: Electric
• Cooking area: 43 x 32 cm
• Weight: 12.9kg

Not everyone has a large garden or outdoor space to throw a BBQ, but that doesn’t mean they still can’t enjoy the food. This ultra-portable plug-in model is a city-dweller's dream, weighing just 13 kilos and small enough to slide into a kitchen cupboard until the weather warms up. A large, circular cast-iron grate has enough space for four burgers or 15 sausages all at once, and you can keep them all hot with the closable lid. Cleaning is made a lot easier with a removable catch-pan at the bottom to collect excess fat and oil, and it works just as well on the balcony as it does in the tight outdoor areas found in urban jungles.

• Type: Gas
• Cooking area: 2,358cm2
• Weight: 33kg

For a slightly more retro look, this gas BBQ from the renowned culinary mind of Heston Blumenthal looks like it’s been pulled from an episode of I Love Lucy, with a fun range of pastel colours and a streamlined design, which we love. Simplicity is the focus here, with two gas-powered burners that are easily controlled and maintained using the stainless steel nozzles on the side. It might look small, but there’s enough space to cook a 6kg turkey should you want to, and everything is easy to clean afterwards. Happy days.

• Type: Gas/coal hybrid
• Cooking area: 62.2 cm x 43.2 cm
• Weight: 44kg

The ideal barbecue for any alfresco grilling scenario, this ingenious hybrid allows you to cook over charcoal or gas and even use the instant heat from the gas tank to make lighting your coals effortless. As a gas barbecue, there are three burners, each with cast-iron grills (a 61.5 x 44.5cm cooking area), and a 3.5KW side burner for veggies and sauces. When you want to go old school, simply remove the bars using the supplied lifter tool and add the tray (stored beneath) to cover the gas burners, load it with charcoal and light the gas on its lowest setting. Give it just 15 minutes, turn off the gas and the coals will be glowing and ready to cook over.

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