Comparisons · Two kinds of barbecue
57 cm charcoal kettle or Three-burner hooded gas grill
The buying decision most people are actually making, and the one where the honest answer is that the two are good at different things rather than that one is better.
What each one is
57 cm charcoal kettle
The most common barbecue in the world, and more capable than its reputation: with the coals banked to one side it becomes a genuine indirect cooker, and with a small, well-managed fire it will hold low temperatures for hours.
Three-burner hooded gas grill
Individually controllable burners make two-zone cooking a matter of turning one off, which is the thing gas does better than anything else. It contributes no smoke of its own, so any smoke has to be added deliberately.
Where they overlap
- Both do direct heat — designed for this.
- Both do indirect heat — possible with the right setup.
What actually differs
| Aspect | 57 cm charcoal kettle | Three-burner hooded gas grill |
|---|---|---|
| Shape and how it works | Kettle | Hooded gas grill |
| What heats it The energy source sets the ceiling temperature and how quickly the cooker answers a change. | Lump charcoal, Charcoal briquettes | LPG (bottled gas) |
| What smokes it Separate from the heat, and deliberately so: one cooker in this catalogue draws its heat from the mains and its smoke from wood pellets. | Charcoal combustion, Wood chips, Oak chunks | Wood chips |
| Cooking surface | 57 cm | 60–75 cm |
| Two-zone fire | Possible with the right setup — Bank the coals to one side, leaving roughly half the grate with no fire beneath it. | Designed for this |
| Smoking | Not modelled for this cooker | Needs an accessory — Gas produces no smoke of its own; a smoker box supplies it. |
| Low and slow | Possible with the right setup — Needs a fuel arrangement that burns progressively rather than all at once. | Not modelled for this cooker |
| Foods the difference reaches These are the foods whose cooking profiles call for a heat configuration these two cookers support differently. For anything not on the list, the choice between them does not change how it is cooked. | whole chicken, chicken thigh, bone-in, chicken thigh, boneless, chicken breast, boneless, chicken breast, bone-in, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, beef burger, rib eye steak, picanha, whole, pork chop, pork shoulder, pork spareribs, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, brisket, lamb leg steak, lamb loin chop, lamb burger, salmon fillet, sausage, whole trout, whole mackerel, whole sea bass, cod fillet, pizza | |
Which one, for what
Conditions rather than a verdict. Each line below is a thing one of them can do that the other cannot, or does without arrangement where the other needs it — taken from the what each cooker is documented as doing, rather than from a preference.
57 cm charcoal kettle, if:
- You want to cook with low and slow, which the other cannot do.
Three-burner hooded gas grill, if:
- You want two-zone fire without arranging the fire for it every time.
- You want to cook with smoking, which the other cannot do.