The best charcoal BBQ for beginners in the UK for 2026: four picks from £149 to £299.99

Published 27 May 2026 · Last updated 12 October 2026 · By Ben Austen · Affiliate disclosure

If you’re new to BBQ and not yet sure what you’ll cook, the best BBQ for beginners is a charcoal kettle, and in the UK that mostly means a Weber. I cooked on a Weber Master-Touch for more than twenty years, so that’s the one pick here I know first-hand. I haven’t cooked on the other three. What I say about them comes from the makers’ own specs and from other owners, and I checked every price in October 2026. If you already know you want long, slow cooks like pulled pork, a cheap ceramic kamado is the other charcoal BBQ to start on, and that’s one of the four picks too.

The best charcoal BBQs for beginners

Tick Compare on any two or more to see them side by side.

Key takeaways

• If you’re not sure yet what you’ll cook, buy a charcoal kettle. The Weber Master-Touch GBS at £299 is the one I’d buy, and I cooked on one for more than twenty years.
• The Weber Original Kettle at £149 is the cheapest Weber. You lose the hinged grate.
• If you already know you want pulled pork and brisket, a cheap ceramic kamado is the way in. Aldi’s and Lidl’s went on sale in spring 2026 at £244.99 and £249, and neither was on sale in October.
• The Slow ‘N Sear at £299.99 is a kettle with a charcoal basket and water reservoir built in, set up for long cooks.
• Gas is fine if you just want burgers on a weeknight.

At a glance — the four picks

	Price	Where (Oct 2026)	Type	Hinged grate	Best for
Weber Master-Touch GBS 57cm	£299	Weber UK	Kettle	Yes	Most beginners
Weber Original Kettle 57cm	£149	World of Weber	Kettle	No	A Weber on a budget
Aldi or Lidl ceramic kamado	£244.99 / £249 at launch, spring 2026	Not on sale	Kamado	—	Long cooks, if you already know
Slow ‘N Sear Black Edition 22″	£299.99	ProSmoke	Kettle	Yes	Long cooks on a kettle

Best overall: Weber Master-Touch GBS 57cm, £299

The Master-Touch GBS is the kettle I’d buy. It’s £299 at Weber UK. I cooked on one for more than twenty years, always lit with a chimney starter and lump charcoal. It was easy to light, it burned for a long time with an even heat, and mine lasted forever without really rusting.

The grate is hinged, so you can lift one side and add coals without taking the food off, and its centre lifts out for Weber’s Gourmet BBQ System inserts, like a pizza stone. There’s a thermometer in the lid. Underneath, a One-Touch lever sweeps the ash into an enclosed catcher, though cleaning it out was still a bit of a faff. Weber gives it a 10-year limited warranty.

I only ever did quick cooks on mine: chicken thighs, koftas and sausages. You can do long cooks on a Weber kettle too, and Max Good, who tests grills full time for AmazingRibs, calls the Original Kettle “excellent for all types of cooking from searing steaks to smoking ribs”. If you want an app to hold the temperature later, the £289 Kettle Smart Ring fits it, but I’d learn the vents first and decide after six months to a year.

Best BBQ for the money: Weber Original Kettle 57cm, £149

The Original Kettle is the plain Weber, and at £149 it’s the cheapest way into one. That’s the price at World of Weber. Weber UK lists it at £169.99.

It has the same 57cm porcelain-enamelled bowl and lid as the Master-Touch, a thermometer in the lid, a vent in the lid and one in the bowl, and a One-Touch lever that sweeps the ash into a catcher. The warranty is the same 10 years. What you give up is the hinged grate, so to add coals you have to take the food off and lift the grate out.

I haven’t cooked on this one. The cheap, thin kettles you see in DIY shops heat unevenly and just break, so if £149 is your limit I’d still go Weber, or look for a secondhand Master-Touch.

Best first kamado: Aldi or Lidl ceramic kamado

A kamado is an egg-shaped BBQ with thick ceramic walls. The walls soak up heat and give it back slowly, so it holds a low temperature for hours, which is what long cooks like pulled pork and brisket need.

Aldi and Lidl both sold a cheap one in spring 2026. Aldi’s Kamado BBQ went on sale in May at £244.99. Aldi called it an 18-inch kamado, but buyers on hotukdeals say the box lists the grill at 383mm, so about 38cm against the 46cm on my Big Green Egg Large. Lidl’s Medium Ceramic Egg Grill came out in April at £249, with a 40cm grill. Neither was on sale when I checked in October, so you’d be waiting for the next one.

I haven’t cooked on either. From what I’ve seen, they work. They’re not the same as an Egg, but they’re not embarrassing, and they’re a far cheaper way to find out if a kamado suits you than an Egg. One thing to know: a kamado takes a while to learn. I can have mine cooking in about 20 minutes now, but your first few cooks will take longer.

Best for long cooks: Slow ‘N Sear Black Edition 22″ kettle, £299.99

The Slow ‘N Sear is a 22-inch kettle with a charcoal basket and water reservoir built in. The basket sits against one side of the bowl, so you get a hot side for searing and a cool side for cooking slowly. On a plain kettle you’d push the coals to one side yourself to get that.

ProSmoke had the Black Edition at £299.99, down from £379.99, though it was marked as clearance. The grate is SnS’s EasySpin, which is hinged for adding coals and spins round so you can move food off the heat. There’s a probe port for a thermometer lead, and the lid and bowl are porcelain enamel with a 10-year warranty.

I haven’t cooked on one. AmazingRibs smoked ribs on the Slow ‘N Sear kettle at 107°C (225°F), said the setup “worked great” and gave it their Best Value Platinum Medal. One owner on ProSmoke’s page says he did an 8-hour cook without topping up the charcoal. It costs about the same as the Master-Touch, so the choice is really whether you want a kettle set up for long cooks out of the box.

Kettle or kamado for your first BBQ?

If you’re not sure yet what you’ll cook, I’d buy a kettle. It does burgers and sausages on a weeknight, and you can try long cooks on it too, so you find out what you like before you spend more. If you already know you want pulled pork and brisket, a kamado holds a low temperature for hours, and the Aldi or Lidl one is the cheap way in. With little kids around, I also think a kettle is a bit more dangerous than a kamado.

Gas is fine too, if you just want burgers on a weeknight with no fuss. There are three reasons I’d move away from it: it always feels like cheating to me, I like the challenge of learning the fire, and gas doesn’t do low-and-slow well. If none of those apply to you, gas is a perfectly good tool, and my kamado vs gas guide goes into it.

How to spot a BBQ that isn’t worth buying

• Thin metal. The cheap kettles in DIY shops are thin, and they heat unevenly and just break.
• Vents that don’t shut properly. You control the heat with the vents, so they need to open and close fully.
• No ash catcher. Without one, the ash ends up on your patio.
• No way to add coals mid-cook. A hinged grate lets you top up the fire without taking the food off.

How to choose

• You’re not sure yet what you’ll cook: the Master-Touch GBS.
• £149 is your limit: the Original Kettle, or a secondhand Master-Touch.
• You already know you want pulled pork and brisket: an Aldi or Lidl kamado when one’s next on sale.
• You want a kettle set up for long cooks from day one: the Slow ‘N Sear.
• You just want burgers on a weeknight: gas is fine.

Common questions

What is the best charcoal BBQ for a beginner?

If you don’t know yet what you’ll cook, a charcoal kettle, and for most people the Weber Master-Touch GBS at £299. It was easy to light, it does quick cooks well, and in my view it’s good at long ones too. It’s the BBQ I cooked on for more than twenty years.

What is the best affordable BBQ in the UK?

The Weber Original Kettle, at £149 from World of Weber. It’s the cheapest Weber kettle, with the same bowl, lid and 10-year warranty as the Master-Touch. Below that, I’d look for a secondhand Master-Touch before a cheap new kettle from a DIY shop.

What are common BBQ mistakes to avoid?

The ones I made: cooking with the lid up, so it flared up, and chicken skin was the worst for that. Putting the marinade or glaze on before the meat went on, so it burned. And charred sausages when I was younger.

What else do I need with my first BBQ?

For a kettle, a chimney starter and a bag of lump charcoal, plus gloves, tongs, firelighters and at least an instant-read probe to check the meat. On a kamado you don’t use a chimney starter, and you’ll want a deflector, which is a ceramic plate that sits between the fire and the food so you can cook indirect. My chimney starter guide covers which one to get.

What is the best charcoal for a BBQ?

Lump. That’s what I used on my Master-Touch, lit in a chimney starter. Briquettes have a place, say for an Airbnb barbecue or an instant-light bag, but they’re not what I’d buy for a kettle.

Sources and how I checked

• My own Weber Master-Touch, cooked on for more than twenty years until about five years ago, and my Big Green Egg Large.
• Weber UK product pages for the Master-Touch GBS and the Original Kettle: specs, features and prices, October 2026.
• World of Weber (wowbbq.co.uk): the Original Kettle’s price, October 2026.
• ProSmoke BBQ: the Slow ‘N Sear Black Edition’s features, price and one owner’s review, October 2026.
• Aldi UK Press Office (20 April 2026) and Aldi’s own listing for the Aldi Kamado BBQ; Lidl’s listing and Ideal Home (18 April 2026) for the Lidl Medium Ceramic Egg Grill; buyers’ comments on hotukdeals for the Aldi’s grill size (May 2026); both shops’ websites for availability, October 2026.

How I got this, and what I’ve spent

My parents bought my Master-Touch around 2000, and I don’t know what they paid for it. Nobody sent me any of these BBQs, and nobody at Weber, SnS Grills, Aldi, Lidl or the shops has seen this before you have. The photos are the makers’ own, because I don’t have any of mine. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission.

Final verdict

If you’re buying your first BBQ and don’t know yet what you’ll cook, get a charcoal kettle. The Weber Master-Touch GBS at £299 is the one I’d buy, and it’s what I cooked on for more than twenty years. If £149 is your limit, the Original Kettle is still a Weber. If you already know long cooks are what you’re after, an Aldi or Lidl kamado is the cheap way in when one’s next on sale, or the Slow ‘N Sear gives you a kettle set up for them now.