The beauty of charcoal is its simplicity. Charcoal barbecues are little more than a metal box with a cooking grill and ventilation hoods. This means there is less to go wrong. Sparking up a charcoal grill can also bring you closer to the natural experience of open flame cooking.

Solid construction A well-built grill will feel sturdy and solid. A poorly made grill will wiggle. If a grill is not solid on the sales floor, chances are it will fall apart on the patio deck. Choose high-tensile steel and look for a baked-on porcelain enamel finish. Legs should be sturdy, and wheels should roll easily.

Cooking grates are normally made from nickel- or chrome-plated aluminium. A thicker, heavier-gauge cooking grill will last longer and distribute and retain heat better. The best grates are made of cast iron, stainless steel, or porcelain-coated materials.

Service A good grill is easy to clean and maintain. Its shelf life can be assured by easy access to replacement parts and service.

Safety Keep an eye out for safety features. A good grill controls heat easily, and has handles that stay cool to the touch.

Gas

The basic underpinnings of a gas grill are really quite simple. First come burners to create heat. Above them comes some type of system to disperse the heat from the burners, such as flavouriser bars, ceramic briquettes or lava rock. Above those lie the cooking grates.

The cooking system Better grills generally have two or more separate burners, not just control knobs, which allow greater control of heat. Most lower-priced grills have only one burner, shaped like an 'H' or a bar. Grills with one burner do not allow you to control heat as well as grills with multiple burners and may result in hot and cold spots.

When cooking on a gas grill, juices from the food drip down and accumulate near the heat source until they reach a flash point and burn off. The best systems quickly flash the drippings, eliminating flare-ups and creating flavourful smoke.

Most manufacturers rely on lava rock or ceramic briquettes to distribute the heat from the burners to the cooking surface. Drippings from the food tend to pool in these systems, causing undue flare-ups. The best grills use a steel bar system that funnels the grease away from the burner flames.

BTUs (British Thermal Units) BTUs are not a measure of cooking power. They indicate the volume of gas a grill can burn. Tightly engineered grills use fewer BTUs and cook food more efficiently. Sometimes less is more. Too many BTUs can cause damage to burners and reduce the life of the grill. In general, large grills with large cooking surfaces require higher BTUs.

Added conveniences Optional side burners are great for cooking sauces and other dishes. Flip-up side tables give you extra space for food preparation.