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George Foreman 48cm kettle charcoal barbecue review
Published: April 28, 2021 at 3:17 PM
3.0
A star rating of 3.0 out of 5.
If you have time to spend on an awkward build, this George Foreman is an affordable barbecue that cooks well.
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Pros
- Delicious food, especially chicken, compact for storage, safe heat guards, thermometer, ash catcher for easy cleaning
Cons
- Poor quality and assembly, poor heat coverage, too low for prolonged comfortable use
George Foreman 48cm kettle charcoal barbecue summary
The George Foreman kettle charcoal barbecue is the brand's foray into charcoal grilling. It's a small, compact barbecue that’s great for small patios, but perhaps not for entertaining a crowd.
Read our full review of the best charcoal barbecues
How easy is it to set up?
It comes with an excessive amount of plastic wrap. The instructions are easy to follow diagrams, but it would be helpful to have written instructions, too. Though set-up only requires a screwdriver, the barbecue is very fiddly to assemble. It relies on an overly complicated system of nuts and bolts.
The parts feel thin and cheap, and our testers had to hammer one of the legs into place for it to stand. However, once assembled, we love how light and compact this barbecue is. Thanks to its wheels, it’s easy to move around as needed.
How easy is it to use?
We dislike how low this barbecue is. Because its cooking surface is just 65cm from the ground, our testers had to stoop to use it, which is uncomfortable. The materials are low quality. It suffers from the weakness shared by all kettle barbecues: the lid is not attached, so when cooking, it can be annoying to find a safe place to rest it.
Because of its round shape and poor ventilation, this barbecue is a little tricky to light. When it does light, it takes more than 40 minutes to really get going. It has quite a small cooking surface – one spatchcocked chicken takes up most of the space on the grill.
However, the heat guards on the handles give great peace of mind. The ash catcher at the bottom of this barbecue makes cleaning up a breeze and the thermometer makes it simple to judge when the coals are hot enough.
Cooking results
It cooks well, charring and sealing food with beautiful, crisp grill lines. Food stays moist despite the heat, and this is especially evident in our chargrilled courgette test, producing delicious slices.
The spatchcock chicken is gently but thoroughly cooked, with an even char and rich, crisp skin. However, the grill lines are quite wide – when cooking thick-cut potato chips, some do fall through. It also has poor heat coverage. The temperature is perfect in the centre of the grill, but much too cool at the edges.
Conclusion
This is quite average value for money. It is a great size for small spaces and can produce fantastic results when cooking. However, it is uncomfortable to use and is made from quite poor-quality materials. Its one-year warranty is also average, so overall, £70 for this model is a little too steep.
Specifications
RRP: £70
Dimensions: 90 H x 60 W x 71cm D
Cooking area: 48 x 48cm
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Barbecue recipes
From chicken and fish to vegetarian barbecue ideas, side dishes and healthy BBQ feasts, visit our barbecue recipe hub.
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This review was last updated in April 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.
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