5 BBQ Gadgets You Need

Barbecuing is a versatile and easy way to cook. Rather than defaulting to boring burgers and sorry-looking sausages, use these gadgets and gizmos to inject some fun back into your BBQ.

1. A Plank

Ever had your grub cooked and served on a slab of wood? Neither had we, but plank cooking is an easy way to add flavour and a bit of pizazz to your BBQ.

The technique is simple with just a few plank rules:

1. Soak the plank for a minimum of 1 hour, better still overnight, keeping submerged with a weight.

2. Preheat the grill or BBQ, with the lid closed until up to temperature. Put the plank on the grill for three to five minutes until it begins to crackle and smoke, then place food on the plank.

3. For added flavour, season the plank with sea salt, ground pepper or fresh herbs.

4. Once used and food served, place the hot plank into a bucket of cold water to cool.

Try out your plank cooking skills with this Cedar-Planked Salmon recipe.

2. Smoking Tubes

Simply get a smoker tube - a metal cylinder with a series of holes - fill it with pre-soaked wood chips that you want to use to flavour your meat with. Place the tube on your BBQ or grill, add the meat or fish to the BBQ, then close the lid and let the smoke take effect flavouring your food.

3. Beer Can Chicken Roaster

Beer can (or beer butt) chicken is the way to cook poultry on the BBQ. You get tender, moist meat on the inside, crispy skin on the outside, whilst the beer works it's magic, infusing the meat from the inside out. Plus it's a pretty unusual centrepiece to get your guests talking.

Napoleon's 2in1 Beer Can Chicken & Wok makes it easy to cook your chicken, but can also be used as a wok or to cook your vegetables at the same time. Genius.

4. Rotisserie Kit

Who hasn't dreamed about creating irresistible deli-style chicken at home? Or your own juicy mini-hog roast. Or a succulent leg of lamb.

Rotisserie kits are an easy way to recreate these dishes on your BBQ or grill, and if you pop a pan below the meat to catch the juices, you can use these to baste the dish and seal in all that BBQ flavour. To find out more about using a rotisserie, take a look at Napoleon's handy guide.

5. Pizza Stone

Unleash your inner pizza chef with a proper pizza stone to get that freshly baked base, just how you like it.

Make up the dough beforehand, and chop up a variety of delicious toppings; tomato, basil, anchovies, peppers, artichokes, salami and of course, cheese, for your guests to choose their own custom creation. Pop it all on the pizza stone, and cook until the base is golden and crispy.

Or keep it simple, like Giada's Roman Pizza and let the cooking speak for itself.

For more information about any of these gadgets head over to the Napoleon Grills website.