With the Royal Wedding and the rise in music festivals and places where you can take a BBQ we thought it was about time we updated our Best Portable BBQ’s Blog Post so here goes.

We have had a play on all 5 of these and really like them. If I had to choose though, I would probably go for the versatility of the Weber portable kettle BBQ or the very nice looking tripod BBQ from Landman.

1. Weber – Smokey Joe Original Portable BBQ £44.99 – Amazon

A nice looking, super versatile BBQ from the BBQ masters at Weber. With it being a kettle BBQ you can do far more on it than the usual open top BBQ’s. It won’t pack as flat as some of the other portable BBQ’s but you get better back for your buck with this one than many of the others. Oh yeah, it also comes in silver, what more could you want?

2. Large Portable Bucket BBQ – £9.99 Amazon

We all loved this retro and funky looking portable BBQ. The wooden handle is a nice touch meant that you can move it easily and not have to wait for it to fully cool down. Not the biggest portable BBQ out there but possibly the cutes and it feels incredibly sturdy.

3. Hotspot Notebook Portable BBQ – £21.99 Amazon

This was quite a controversial BBQ that we promoted in 2009 and then had a flood of complaints because the metal warped after heating and it would not go flat again. The new design is much better and we had not problems whatsoever with it. One of the most portable BBQ’s about… very impressive.

4. Portable Barrel BBQ – £19.99 Amazon

Another portable BBQ that we really love. It looks brilliant and the two barrels means that you can have a hot grill and a medium heat grill. Ultra portable and very stylish, you will look the star of the party if you rock up with one of these.

Oh yeah, we also love that this one is on offer at Amazon at the minute, reduced from £35.99 to £19.99.

5. Landmann Tripod Charcoal BBQ £25.99 Amazon

Possibly the best looking portable BBQ out there and it will certainly get people chatting to you on the campsite, beach or park. Looks like an olden days cowboy BBQ but it built to high modern standards.

No doubt about it, this is one of the iLoveMyBBQ.com teams fave BBQ’s.

So, there you have it, our Top 5 Portable BBQ’s. We have a popped a few more in the below carousel that shows a the ones we love and recommend.

Popularity: 17% [?]

One of the great things about the early BBQ season is the fact that all the new BBQ equipment is out earlier than normal. As regular readers of this blog will know, we are big fans of Kettle BBQ’s so it is great to hear that Weber has a new range out for 2011.

The first is the 47 inch, One Touch Weber BBQ. We have found the cheapest price for this over on Amazon at just £83.55.

The second new Weber kettle BBQ is the One-Touch 57 inch, again with the cheapest price being on Amazon at just £119.99.

Why do we love Weber Kettle Grills so much? Simple(s)… they come with a 10 year warranty, are so simple to put together that even I can do it, have reinforced handles so if you do need to move it when it is hot you won’t burn your fingers, has a rust free vent… well basically, we love them.

I also think they are the most flexible BBQ out there. You can roast joints on them, do simple burgers and sausages quickly and even do pizza’s as you can get the temp nice and high.

The other great thing about Weber Kettle bbq’s are that they have a great range of accessories like the BBQ Wok that costs just 29.99, and even a chimney starter (£16.71) that helps you keep your BBQ hot when you are cooking roasts.

Popularity: 6% [?]

This is an adaptation of a recipe a friend introduced me to last year using traditional cooking methods that we have finally been able to try on our own kettle BBQ.

This a really easy BBQ recipe and once again, it gives you a dish that not only tastes nice but also looks good, especially if you serve it on a a bed of salad leaves and alongside something like cous-cous.

It is best to use cooking baskets to cook these on the grill as you can more easily turn the thinly sliced salmon.

Tikka Masala BBQ Salmon Recipe – Ingredients for 4 People;
4 x Salmon fillets
1 jar tikka masala paste (we use Patak’s)
Bag of mixed salad
Flavoured cous cous
4 x Naan Bread

Step by Step Guide to BBQ Tikka Masala Salmon
1. Slice each fillet into three, length ways. This is a bit tricky, make sure you use a sharp knife
2. Smear 1/2 tbsp of the tikka masala paste onto each of the salmon fillets, make sure you do both side (1/2 tbsp each side!)
3. Leave to marinate for a few hours
4. About 5 mins before you are ready to BBQ your Barbecue Salmon Recipe, wrap the Naans in separate tin-foil parcels and place on the grill (we splash water on ours first to keep them soft and nice)
5. Place the Salmon in the BBQ Basket on a medium heat and cook for around 2 mins per side.
6. Serve on top of a bed of the salad leaves

These can be quite spicy and are best served with a nice chilled lager. At the minute we are loving Victoria Bitter (better known as VB) which is £24.00 from Majestic Wines.

Tried this recipe? What did you think? Post your comments about this or your own BBQ recipe below.

Popularity: unranked [?]

The one thing that puts people off BBQ’ing so much is the thought “How do I clean and prepare my BBQ properly” and the reality is that this need not be hard work.

Let me take you though our own process here at iLoveMyBBQ.com.

At the end of every BBQ season we clean our Kettle Barbecue out, wrap and place the baskets that we use into the shed and then cover up the BBQ for the winter.

Come the spring when we are getting ready for our first BBQ (as we are having one tomorrow), I simply fire it up the day before, bang the grills together to get rid of any debris, and then once hot, unwrap all the cooking baskets and place them on the hot grill.

The temperature that the Barbecue reaches means that all the germs and dirt will largely be burnt off and hey presto you are ready to go.

We have never sat there and scrubbed our BBQ clean after using it, we simply bang the cooking baskets together to get rid of any dirt and then place them onto a really hot grill to get rid of any germs. This method has served us well for over 10 years and touch wood, not one instance of a dodgy tummy so far (famous last words!).

Happy Grilling People…

Why not share your own BBQ cleaning hints and tips comments below…

Popularity: unranked [?]

After what seems like years of planning and a lot of research and reading up on the subject last night we finally made our first pizza on a BBQ. What we really love about this recipe and style of making a pizza is that all the family can get involved. Kids can have fun with the dough, and then even choose and slap on their own toppings.

Before we start, this is the basics of what you will need if you are to be successful: A kettle BBQ, a pizza stone, a pizza peel (not essential), Heat Beads, available from John Lewis and a couple of hours prep time!

Before you begin making the dough and topping, turn the oven on to a high heat and place the pizza stone inside to get it heated up.

For the pizza dough you will need (to make 3 large ones)

400g strong white bread flour

10g fast action dried yeast

400ml warm water

tsp salt

tsp sugar

For the tomato topping (that you smear over the top of the pizza) you will need:

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 large onion finely chopped

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 good sprig of thyme

How to make the Dough

Placing Pizza on a BBQ

Mix your yeast with 100ml of the warm water and sugar, cover with cling film and leave for 15 mins

Mix your flour and salt in a bowl

Once the yeast has risen, whisk and then mix in with the flour and salt and remaining water

THE MESSY BIT – mix it all together with your hands or with a blender wthat has a dough mixer

The mixing is a nightmare and very messy and sticks to your hands loads. Keep going though, mix for 15 mins and if it is still sticky add more flour

Shape your dough into a ball, place back in the mixing bowl and cover with a damp tea towel for 1-2hrs (1 is fine if time is tight) GO AND FIRE UP YOUR BBQ NOW SO IT IS READY TO COOK ON IN AN HOUR.

The dough will rise after you have left it so knead it back down again, shape into 3 balls and set to one side – now make your topping

How to make the topping:

Fry the onions and garlic over a medium heat for 5 mins

Add the chopped toms and thyme and any other herbs you fancy

Bring to boil and leave to simmer for 10 mins – add water if it goes too dry

Choices of Toppings

We used a simple topping on our pizza, some already cooked chunks of chicken breast, pineapple, very thinly sliced cheese and some rocket and spinach leaves.

How to Prepare Your BBQ for Cooking a Pizza

Cooking Pizza on a BBQ

As we said from the outset, you will need a Kettle BBQ and ideally lots of charcoal and Heat Beads. The Heat Beads are a good idea so you can get the temperature high enough. As an example of how much charcoal is needed, we used four of the small easy-light charcoal bags on our Pizza BBQ and once they were lit and burning nicely, added around 20 heat beads.

It will probably take around 1 hour to get the BBQ up to temperature. Once the coals are glowing white the BBQ is at its hottest and this is where you need to move the coals around the edge of BBQ and place the grill shelf on as normal. When you have moved the coals to the edges of the BBQ and put your grill shelf on as normal, then transfer your pizza stone from your hot oven over to the grill shelf on the BBQ.

If you light the BBQ when you BBQ pizza dough is rising (see above) then by the time it is ready the pizza will have risen nicely and be ready to go.

How to put everything together

Step One – Make sure your BBQ is at its hottest, your coals are around the edge of the BBQ and your pizza stone is set in the middle of the grill shelf.

Step Two – Take one of your three dough balls and flatten with your hands or a rolling pin until you have a very thin pizza circle (make sure it is not bigger than your pizza peel or whatver you are using to transfer the BBQ pizza onto the grill. The thinner the better

Step Three – Smear some olive oil on the top of the pizza and then scoop some of your tomato topping, or tomato puree if you have not made the topping onto the pizza. Remember, less is best when it comes to the tomato topping or puree topping. The more you put on, the soggier it gets!  I always go for a light smattering so you can still see the pizza base clearly through it

Step Four – Add your normal toppings, as i said, we used some pineapple, thin slices of beef tomato, chunks of pre-cooked roast chicken and the some wafer thin slices of cheese and a few rocket and baby spinach leaves

Step Five – Dust your  your pizza peel or whatever you are using to transfer the pizza to the BBQ with flour – Do not be tempted to use oil! It won’t work as well

Step Six - Transfer onto the hot pizza stone in your kettle BBQ and then close the lid and cook for approx 3 mins

Step Seven – Leave to cook for at least 3 mins before lifting up the base a tiny bit to make sure it is not burning – if it is burning, remove from the pizza stone for a few minute and leave the lid open. If the base looks cooked and the cheese is slightly melted and the leaves wilted, it is ready!

Have you tried cooking a pizza on your BBQ – if so why not share your experiences below in the Comments Box? Better still, why not send us your pictures to Andy@Petoba.com

Popularity: unranked [?]

A quick blog as I can hardly contain my excitement. Today I took delivery of our new BBQ Pizza Stone that will enable us to cook Pizzas on the BBQ (in theory).

I was shocked at how cheap the BBQ Pizza Stone was. The Pizza Stone was  just £16,99 from Amazon.

To cook pizza’s on the BBQ you will also need a Kettle Style BBQ so you can reach the required temperature. I will also be stocking up on my heat beads which I found are available from John Lewis!

Basically, once you have fired up your BBQ you get it as hot as possible and the place the BBQ Pizza Stone on the grill. You then slide your home made pizza (recipe to come) onto the pizza stone and leave for a few minutes to cook.

I really cannot wait to get started on my BBQ Pizza’s and cannot believe it only cost £16.99 I cannot wait to get started on our BBQ recipe ideas for pizza.

Have you used a Pizza stone? Why not share your own experiences using the comment box below?

Popularity: unranked [?]

This year one the most noticeable increases in new BBQ’s comes from famous celebrity TV Chef, Antony Worrall Thompson.

He has a range of Charcoal and Gas BBQ’s available and a friend of ours recently invited us over to check out his new Anthony Worrall Thompson Signature 4 Burner Gas BBQ.

Our man in the know got his Anthony Worrall Thompson Signature 4 Burner Gas BBQ from Argos for just £391.00. It is a very impressive piece of kit so I decided to have a look at what else the beardy little chef has on offer to wow the BBQ world.

What I like about th e Thompson BBQ’s is that unlike so many other celebrity’s who put their name to various products, all of his come with his own recipe booklet of ideas and tips, and they kind of feel like they are his as well, rather than just being the work of some marketing guy sat in an office.

Given I was already on the Argos website I was able to spot a few more Antony Worrall Thompson Gas and Charcoal BBQ’s.

Also on the charcoal side, this Antony Worrall Thompson 3 Burner Signature BBQ from Argos at just £293.59 is also one of the better products on offer. Like all of his gas barbecue range, the entire grilling unit looks very slick, well presented and most importantly, very sturdy.

The novel temperature controls and burner styles means that you can roast meat in your Antony Worrall Thompson Gas BBQ as well, always very handy, especially if you like the occasional winter BBQ, or even to roast an entire goose for a Christmas or New Years BBQ.

There is a more affordable BBQ in the gas range called simply the Antony Worrall Thompson Gas Grill costing just £195.69, again from Argos.

Moving over to the charcoal side of the Antony Worrall Thompson Barbecue Range we have a similarly impressive offering.

The Antony Worrall Thompson Kettle Charcoal BBQ costs only £78.31 at the minute as Argos has reduced the price. Just for a kettle charcoal bbq alone this is a great price but when you consider it is of such high build quality you can see how much value for money the current offer from Argos is.

The reason I love this charcoal kettle BBQ so much is not just because it is a beast in size given its 51sm grill, it is also because of the little details such as the warming rack, which does not often come with all Kettle BBQ’s. The other reason I love this one is the basket that comes along with it as well and sits below the barbecue.

The basket is a neat idea and can hold all the “stuff” you forget you need and end up having to struggle down the garden with.

I am glad that I took the time to learn a bit more about the BBQ’s on offer from one of the UK’s most well known chefs as they really are an impressive gas and charcoal Barbecue range.

Have you got an Anthony Worrall Thompson BBQ? Why not tell us what you think of it in the comment box below.

Popularity: unranked [?]

One of the greatest things about the BBQ world is the fact that there are not hundreds of brands all jostling for position and you can more easily spot the companies to look out for. Weber is one of thegrand-daddies of the BBQ world and is probably the subject of 50% of all the emails I get, asking if their products are really worth spending the extra money.

The answer, in short, is yes!

We have always found Weber products to be the best that the BBQ world has to offer. We have had a few of their Barbecues, only ever changing as we needed bigger ones or they got damaged whislt moving.

We are now using a Weber kettle BBQ which was purchased a few years ago and will probably be replaced next year, but it is a fantastic bit of kit. The attention to detail is the first thing I noticed, as is the high level of build quality.

Anyway, given that Weber is one of the brands that iLoveMyBBQ.com fans seem most interested in I decided to pick out some of my favourite Weber Charcoal BBQ’s that are curently available.

There are two mainstream national online retailers for Weber Charcoal BBQ’s, these are Homebase and B&Q.

Homebase stocks two Weber Charcoal Barbecues. The first is the Weber One Touch Gold and Green Charcoal BBQ that costs £169.99 and can feed up to 8 people. It comes with a 10 year manufacturers guarantee and has a chrome plated grill. One of the things I like most about all of the Weber Kettle Charcoal grills is the fact they look a bit more egg shaped than the normal kettle grills and I always think this makes them stand out that little bit more.

The second Weber option from Homebase is the slightly more affordable Weber One-Touch Silver Kettle Charcoal Barbecue which costs £99.00. It is exactly the same size as the Gold and Green version, Dimensions: Height 98cm x width 64cm x depth 57cm and so the slightly lower price can only be down to the change in colour.

Once again the One-Touch Silver can cater for up to 8 people, has the 10 year guarantee and a chrome plated grill.

Browsing on over to B&Q and their website they appear to have the identical Weber BBQ’s but they carry a different name and more importantly, are significantly more affordable than Homebase.

The B&Q Weber equivilent product to the One-Touch Homebase range is called the Weber 57cm Bar B Kettle Charcoal Barbecue (catchy) and costs just £89.98. It comes with a slightly lesser warrantee (5 years) but apart from that looks exactly the same.

Its sister product, the Weber 47cm Bar B Kettle Charcoal Barbecue at £79.98 is identical apart from the fact its grill is 47cm in depth as opposed to the other B&Q offering which is 57cm in depth.

At the minute, as I say, these are the two most well known national stockists of Weber Charcoal Kettle BBQ products and if I was you, I would stick with B&Q!

Popularity: unranked [?]