Electric barbecues Yes, your food can be just as delicious with these BBQs, plus they’re easy to use and won’t belch fumes into the atmosphere

Words: Derek Adams, Bethan Girdler-Maslen Photography: Neil Godwin

Summertime and the living is easy – especially if you have an electric barbecue. No, really. If you’re looking for a safer and much more convenient and environment friendly way to produce an al fresco nosh up, an electric barbecue is the perfect choice.

Electric barbecues – like the sterling trio we have here from Ninja, Char-Broil and Weber – are a doddle to use and they produce very little smoke or fumes, other than the delicious scent of grilled meat and veg. And since they don’t produce a naked flame like charcoal, gas or wood pellets, they are ideal for use on balconies and any areas where charcoal, gas or pellet barbecues are forbidden. In fact, some African countries like Kenya and Somalia have already banned exportation of charcoal because of the long-term damage it causes to the environment – further evidence to consider ditching the charcoal BBQ and start embracing the cleaner power of electricity.

Surprisingly, electric barbecues are much cheaper to run than either charcoal or gas and, best of all, they never run out of fuel so you could feasibly go on grilling till the cows come home. And since the majority of barbecue flavour is produced by sizzling fats that vaporise either on the grate or by dripping through to the high heat source below, you can be sure that all of the electric grills here will make a very fine fist of producing char-grilled food with authentic outdoor barbecue flavour.

WHAT’S ON TEST…

1 Weber Lumin Compact

Available in two sizes, the new Weber Lumin is an ideal choice for use on a balcony or small patio. The Lumin can smoke and steam food using the two supplied stainless steel dishes. In true Weber style, the Lumin is equipped with slatted cast iron grates that allow hot fats to drip onto the 2.2kW oven-style heating element below, producing genuine BBQ taste in the process. £399, weber.com

SPECS

Total cooking area1166cm 2Cooking features sear, smoke, steam, boil Max temperature 315°C+ Power 2,200 Watts Dimensions 279x586x 412mm Weight 12kg

2 Char-Broil Smart-E

If you’re looking to go all electric but need more meal estate than a portable model can provide, consider this sterling model from quality US manufacturer Char-Broil. Apart from its familyfriendly size, this particular model stands out from the competition by dint of its unique TRU-Infrared grilling technology and one of the prettiest digital displays in tech-land. £800, charbroil.co.uk