About SearVerdict
SearVerdict exists to answer one question honestly: which charcoal BBQ should you actually buy? We light real grills, cook on them, measure what matters and tell you the truth, including what each one cannot do.
Who we are
SearVerdict is a small, independent review site focused entirely on charcoal barbecues for the UK market. We are not a department of a big-box retailer or a brand's marketing arm; we are cooks who got tired of barbecue reviews that simply rewrote the manufacturer's spec sheet and called the most expensive grill the best. Our reviews are written by Greg Sutton, a barbecue and outdoor cooking tester who has been lighting, cooking on and comparing charcoal grills since 2017. Everything you read here is grounded in time spent over the coals, not in a press release.
Why we do this
A charcoal BBQ is a purchase most people make once every several years, and the choice is genuinely confusing: kettles, barrels, bullet smokers and ceramic kamados, at prices from £80 to well over £1,000, all claiming to be the best. The marketing rarely tells you the things that actually decide whether you enjoy cooking on a grill, how steadily it holds heat, how hot it sears, how long it takes to light and how easy it is to clean. We started SearVerdict to cut through that, doing the testing ourselves and reporting it plainly, so you can spend your money once and spend it well. We would rather talk you into the right £170 kettle than the wrong £600 one.
How we test
Our method is hands-on and consistent. We light every grill with the same chimney starter and charcoal, time how long it takes to reach grilling heat, hold a low temperature with the vents to test its smoking ability, measure the peak searing heat with an infrared thermometer, record the cooking area and check the build, the lid seal and how quickly it clears its ash. Each grill is scored on heat control, build quality and ease of lighting and use, and the overall rating reflects how good a BBQ is for the cook it is aimed at, not how much it costs. The full protocol, including the exact measurements we take, is set out on our how we test page.
What we believe about barbecue
A few principles shape everything we publish. The first is that there is no single best charcoal BBQ, only the best one for the way you cook, so we recommend by need rather than by price, and a £170 kettle can beat a £1,000 ceramic for the right buyer. The second is that the badge on the lid matters far less than the fundamentals: cooking area, how well a grill holds heat, how hot it sears and how easy it is to light and clean. The third is that honesty is the whole point, so every review says clearly who a grill is not for, not just who it is, because the wrong recommendation costs you money and a summer of frustration. We would rather lose a sale than send you home with a BBQ that does not suit you.
How we stay independent
No manufacturer pays us to feature or favour their grills, and no brand can buy a place or a higher ranking. Our order is decided purely by how the BBQs perform against our criteria. SearVerdict is funded by affiliate commissions: when you buy through a link on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which keeps the lights on and lets us keep testing. That funding never changes a verdict, and if the best grill for you is the cheapest one, we will say so. You can read the full detail in our affiliate disclosure.
Keeping our advice current
The charcoal BBQ market moves with the seasons, as models are revised or discontinued and prices rise and fall. We review our rankings regularly, update prices and availability, and swap in newer grills when they earn a place, rather than leaving an old recommendation to gather dust. If a BBQ we praised is discontinued, we say so and point you to the closest current alternative. We would always rather publish a short list of grills we genuinely stand behind than a long one padded with also-rans, so a model stays on our list only as long as it remains the right choice for its cook.
Where to start
If you are choosing a charcoal BBQ, the best place to begin is our main best charcoal BBQ ranking, where we name our top picks for every budget and style of cooking and explain the reasoning behind each. From there, our buying guide walks through how to choose the right type and size, and our specialist guides cover charcoal vs gas, kamado vs kettle and the best charcoal BBQ for smoking. Whatever you cook and whatever you spend, our aim is the same: to help you buy the grill that is genuinely right for you.