The headless smash man (Outdoor Chef City Grill 420)

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Outdoor Chef City Grill 420
Date:	23/10/02 (524 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great cooking performance and control, Clean cooking

Disadvantages: Cant store the bottle underneath

If you remember the smash men from the Smash adverts in the 70's and 80's you will understand the title by looking here:
http://www.barbecue-online.co.uk/barbecue_equi pment/bbq_grill_manufacturers/ou tdoor_chef_gas_barbecue_grills.htm

Yep. This is one of the 2 Barbeques that sits proudly on the patio and fed an army of friends this summer during the grand opening of my Summer house.
It was a wedding present and one that has seen plenty of use during the last 18 months.

Firstly, lets talk about general barbequing and the problems you encounter.

Firstly, the time it takes to prepare.
Buying the charcoal and the lighter fluid.
Getting it to light.
Getting the coals to burn evenly.
Getting the food to cook evenly with the heat.
Waiting for it to get hot enough to cook on.
The mess it creates.

Now, what if you like the general taste of barbequing but could remove most of these problems?
Wel, you can. Buy a Gas barbeque.
At only £60, this is a great barbeque for the money. It comes with its own stand with wheels, a small preparation board,A drip cup, tongs for the food and a reinforced lid to shield it from the weather.
Al lyou need to provide is a calor Gas bottle from the garage. They normally cost about £15.
Now, when you consider you need to buy a bag of charcol for about £5, the gas bottle has survived a lot of use for 2 summers and still has plenty left. I nthis time you would have bought at least 4 bags of charcoal. A saving of £5 already.
Then add the saving of 2 bottles of lighter fluid, that may be another Fiver. So there is a Tenner saved.

There is no fiddling around with matches. The built in ignition switch creates a safe way to light the gas as it flows into the mock coals. These glow hot for cooking.

As for the taste, there is no loss. People tend to think that the taste of barbequing comes from the coal but it doesn't. It is th etaste of
the juices dripping onto the coals and rising back up to the food. This barbeque still allows this so it is great. Just remember to empty the fat drip cup every now and again or it gets full and drips on the patio. A bugger to clean.

The rigid finish to the stand means it is sturdy enough to take some weight. Obviously dont sit on it but it is capable fo handling some leaning on. At least you know it wont collapse like so many cheap flimsy charcoal fired BBQs!

Also you have a knob to control the flow of gas. While you have no control over the temperature or cooking rate of a charcoal BBQ, this one offers complete control. If it gets too ferocious, turn the gas down. Instant control! Great!

The wooden tray spanning between the legs is good for putting boxes of burgers and chicken on but not so good for the gas bottle. There is not enough room for the bottle underneath so you need to store it next to the barbeque.
The wheels on the stand also provide you with ease of transportation. Handy as they can prove tricky to drag around on your own.

The Look of it does remind me of a Smash man though. Horrid choldhood memories of the scary creatures that have mentally scarred me. I cant look at it without it laughing at me!
Priced at £60, it is a bargain. You may even be able to get one cheap as it is not BBQ season.

Summary: