VonHaus Barrel Charcoal BBQ review

How easy is it to build?

This barbecue comes with some polystyrene and plastic packaging, but this isn't excessive. It is easy to assemble, needing only a Phillips screwdriver. The diagram instructions are easy to understand but lack written instructions.

It’s a large, sturdy barbecue, taking up almost a metre square, but is still lightweight. Its only weakness in this area are its wheels – these are cheap plastic, attached with an ineffective system of rods and clips.

How easy is the VonHaus Barrel Charcoal BBQ to use?

This barbecue is easy to load and quick to heat up, reaching cooking temperature in just 20 minutes. Its cooking surface is 79cm off the ground, which suits most users. There’s a thermometer on the front of the lid, which makes it easy to see the temperature as you cook.

It has a handy warming rack and the carry handle can double as a rest for barbecue tongs. Its lid is weighty but not heavy, with a very smooth opening action, and fits snugly over the grill to seal in heat. The handle of the lid is also heatproof.

This is a robust barbecue, high quality throughout, except the wheels. It’s a little tricky to clean, but this is a feature common to most barrel barbecues.

Cooking results

This barbecue cooked exceptionally good potato chips. They were golden brown, with dark, appealing grill lines. They cooked through without burning, as did our courgette slices.

We could cook along the entire grill – there was excellent heat coverage throughout. An aubergine was cooked perfectly in 10 minutes, with a savoury charred outside and fluffy but juicy inside.

We very quickly but thoroughly cooked an entire spatchcock chicken in just 15 minutes. This was well charred and crispy but not dry, remaining juicy throughout.

Conclusion

This is great value for money – a good barbecue at a reasonable price point. It is high quality and sturdy, giving great results and it could be improved with the inclusion of some tools. Its only drawbacks are its size and its wheels, but these are minor issues.

Specifications

RRP: £84.99
Dimensions: H96 x W89 x D90. Cooking area: 73cm x 39cm

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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.