I am slowly being converted to the idea of a gas-fired bbq in addition to a charcoal one.
They're not the same as simply using the grill in the kitchen, they often have treated wood or whatever to impart a bit more flavour. And cooking the meats outside means that even if you're eating in, the fats and smoke and whatnot is not being deposited all over the inside of the kitchen. And when the coal runs out you can still use the gas grill. Unless you run out of gas.
Not sure what joncooper's complaint is, seems to me that bbqing badly is easy to do but so is cooking badly indoors!
bbq is almost always done badly, and almost always done within 100ft of a perfectly good kitchen
Barbeques allow /everyone/ to be outside socialising, instead of one or two cooks being confined to the kitchen for large blocks of time.
They also work when out camping, where your "kitchen" is a small calor gas stove and a cool bag, and you don't have oven/grill facilities.
Exactly, BBQs are more of a social thing. From my experience and BBQs that I've been at, it's been a case of people often cooking their own food (people bringing their own beer and meat) when they want it and how long they want. With a gas BBQ it makes it much easier to just be at cooking temperature whenever you want. Also makes it easier to turn the BBQ on later in the evening if people get hungry again.
I like the idea of cook your own food. (Even though I've not got a clue myself, sowould need help - but that's actuallly a good thing).
Also, the main reason some/most people confine barbeques to their garden is lack of imagination - generally, I suspect there's no reason they can't go to a local park or similar.
My brother and his friends will often all go down to the beach for one - I suspect mainly because they all still live with parents and both can't have a bunch of friends invade and want to get out of the house themselves.
Although they probably also waste money on the disposable supermarket things, rather than having a decent barbeque.
People tend to make barbecues meat-fests, but I think many vegetables benefit hugely from chargrilling - corn-on-the-cob, skewers of cherry tomatoes, onions or shallots, mushrooms, chunks of courgette & cloves of garlic. Stuffed baked spuds can be finished off in foil. And there's no risk of food poisoning.
Council-run parks tend not to allow BBQ, but the principle is true enough.
you're going to the wrong barbecues for point 1, and for point 2 see my previous post to truffy plus the social point others have made.
Ooh yes, Halloumi good. Halloumi with chilli.