Camping barbecues

There are so many wonderful things about the summer months, like adventures afar in your home away from home, the beach, swimming pools and ice cream, just to mention a few, but one of the very best summer activities has to be having a scrumptious, sizzling BBQ! Having a camping BBQ, is the perfect way to bring family and friends together, without you having to spend a fortune. It’s common on the campsite to get a tantalizing smell of barbequed food wafting by, really heightening your senses and making you extra hungry! Cooking at the campsite is really great fun and as you are on vacation, you should have plenty of time to plan and choose tasty BBQ recipes, so look through Leisureshopdirect’s Camping Barbecues to see which one will suit you and your camping entourage the best.

The first thing that you need to consider when planning camping barbeques, is to decide what type of cooking will be best for you. In our camping BBQ section, Camping Barbecues, we offer you the possibility of gas or the more traditional charcoal BBQ and different options like grills and even pizza ovens. Let’s have a look at the benefits of different options….

Why choose a charcoal camping BBQ?

There is no doubt that the charcoal camping BBQ produces the most mouth-watering cooking smells that waft across the campsite. Not only the delish aromas, but most avid outdoor chefs, will tell you that barbecuing on charcoal gives you a smokey, tender taste that cannot be achieved with gas or electric outdoor camping BBQs. Cooking on charcoal gives improved food flavour! You also have great control when cooking over a charcoal camping barbecue as you can easily create hot and cool sides, by placing the charcoal more to one side. Then when those burgers are cooking too fast, you can move them over to the cooler side of the BBQ, where they can continue to soak up the smokey flavours! You can add special BBQ logs that add extra different flavours as well and it is really easy to create an array of tasty food on one charcoal BBQ.

Are charcoal camping barbeques affordable and easy to transport?

Charcoal camping barbeques are generally much more affordable than their gas or electric equivalents and if you look after them well, cleaning them thoroughly, they can last for many camping seasons. They are also easier to transport as there is no gas tank or tubing to haul around, along with the BBQ. They are generally much more portable, as they often fold up and easily fit into your car. Take for example the Outwell Cazal Portable Feast Grill (66cm), which has a unique design that provides generous space for charcoal and folds up into a small pack size, with no assembly required. It comes in three sizes to suit all size families. If you are apprehensive about lighting a charcoal BBQ, then stop your worrying right now!

Is lighting a charcoal camping barbeque tricky and how hot do they burn?

The Valiant BBQ Starter will make you look like a BBQ king! You simply fill the chimney with charcoal and light the bottom using newspaper or a firelighter and you have hot charcoal in no time at all. There is a shielded handle that stays cool, allowing you to tip the hot charcoal into your BBQ base and start cooking for your loved ones. You can also buy charcoal that is in one session paper bags that can be lit in the corner and your coals will be ready in no time. It is quite well known that charcoal BBQs burn hotter than their equivalents and allows you to cook scrumptious meat that is perfectly crispy on the outside, but still yummily tender on the inside!

Why choose a gas camping barbeque?

A gas camping barbeque, like the Sahara Rapid Assembly 2 Burner Plus Gas BBQ, is much easier to clean than similar sized charcoal ones. There are no ashes mixed with fat to scrape away and the porcelain enamelled cooking grill is easy to keep ship-shape. It is a very convenient piece of kit as it can be assembled in minutes with no tools required. It is also fast to reach the cooking temperature and then it is easy to control the temperature evenly across the whole grill for an extended period of time. You can literally be cooking your yummy dinner within minutes, instead of waiting for the coals to heat up and the initial large flames to calm down. Lots more time to spend playing with the children or relaxing with your favourite tipple in hand!

What are gas camping barbeques most suited for?

As gas camping barbeques don’t reach as higher temperatures as charcoal grills, gas ones are more suited to foods that need longer cooking times, like chicken and larger joints of meat. Gas grills use some sort of surface to create radiation, like lava rocks or ceramic plates (like the Sahara BBQ we discussed above), which are heated by the gas flame, creating radiant heat that is generated naturally by charcoal. Although a gas canister should last you a good few BBQs, even when it does run out, it only takes a few minutes to exchange a gas bottle (assuming you have a spare one ready, which is always a good idea!), whereas if you need to get more charcoal coals up to heat, it can be 15 minutes before you can continue cooking food. There are a lot of BBQ chefs that prefer the convenience of gas, who also claim that the flavour of BBQ food does not come from the charcoal, but from the drippings of the food. As the oils, sugars and proteins drip down and hit the heat source, they create the smoke and flames that create flavour in the food. The heat creates new molecules that rise up in the smoke and air to coat the grilling food.

Have a look through all our gas camping BBQs, as they come in many shapes and sizes! Some are foldable to make transport and storage easier. Many have side shelves to make it easier moving food onto and off the grill plate and some even have wheels to make manoeuvring them into position a sinch!

The variety of camping barbeque choice is mouth-watering!

So on your barbie you can cook almost anything from burgers, ribs to pulled pork and chicken wings, and there are so many veggie options, from vegetable skewers to cheesey delights, meaning that you can cater for all your campers. However, if you aren’t a complete fan of BBQ food, there are lots of other outdoor cooking options, that will suit all the family. The Vango Camp Chef Pizza Oven, allows you to cook the perfect pizza, with little effort in a very short amount of time. It is designed after the idea of a true wood Italian fire pizza oven, which without doubt allows you to make homemade pizza at the highest level, whether you are in your garden, the park or your favourite campsite! A ceramic pizza stone promotes even heat throughout the oven, giving your pizza a delectable crust. Who doesn’t want to enjoy hot, fresh, flavourful pizzas cooked just outside their tent or awning? You can literally choose any toppings, so that you can enjoy a different taste on numerous holiday evenings.

How can I barbecue yummy dinners without charcoal or gas?

So, you like the idea of outdoor cooking and being the king of the BBQ, but you don't want the hassle of bringing bags of charcoal or lugging around extra gas bottles? If this is the case the Outdoor Chef Chelsea 420E Grill BBQ could make you master chef without any of the stress! They really are much easier to clean and there are no charcoal or gas fumes. They are usually more compact than charcoal or gas BBQs, so they are ideal if space in the car is an issue. They quickly get up to cooking heat, so you can have dinner prepared in no time at all. However, they don’t reach the high temperatures charcoal BBQs do and don’t create the same traditional smoky flavour. There are also counter-top versions making them a very versatile grill, as they can be used indoors as well due to less smoke. A great example of an electric counter-top camping BBQ is the Outdoor Chef 420e Electric BBQ. Obviously, you need to take into consideration you need access to an earthed socket for electricity, so you will need to check you have access to a power bollard at your chosen campsite!!

Which cooking accessories will you need to cook on your camping barbeque?

Although it is potentially possible to make do with normal cooking utensils, you will find sets like the Valiant Kala BBQ Utensils Set, make barbequing much easier and a lot safer. The fork, tongs and spatula are all long handled, meaning you can manoeuvre the food around easily. They are robust and durable being made from hygienic grade stainless steel. They come complete with a convenient carry case and the utensils include tool hooks so you can hang them easily. If you are a wanna be BBQ King then the Valiant Outlaw BBQ Multitool, will definitely make you look super cool and stand out on the campsite! You can even stay healthy by bringing along metal skewers that you can use for a variety of dishes from grilled corn on the cob, to savoury vegetable meddles or fish and chicken kebabs. It is a great way to cater for everyone in your camping entourage, as each happy camper can customise their own by picking whatever combination of meat, veg or fish they like if you have made up a pre-cut plate of all the ingredients.

If you want to include great laughs and fab food in your adventure away, then a camping barbeque will definitely give you many opportunities to create wonderful family memories. In today’s world, finding an all-family inclusive way to enjoy the great outdoors is without doubt a gem to be treasured!