The huge advantage of gas is convenience. Ready to cook in less than ten minutes and when you finish just switch of and it cools down straight away. You can also adjust the heat quickly. Gas BBQs are more expensive to buy than charcoal models but are cheaper to run.

Basically gas grills fall into two categories - Australian style and American style. The Australian grills don’t have hoods. They usually have cast iron grills with the burners close to the grill. Many have a griddle as well as a grill. Australian grills are excellent for burgers, chops etc. but no good for large joints and baking.

American grills on the other hand have hoods which means you can use them like an oven. The very best and most expensive have side burners, rotisseries and warming racks.

Gas grills burn butane, propane or natural gas. They have one or more burners situated in the bottom of the grill. The number of burners not only determines the amount of heat the grill can produce but also how much control you have over cooking. These burners can be made of brass, mild or stainless steel.

Whichever material is used the burners should not be visible. If they are then the juices from the food will drop onto the flames and flare up. Manufacturers therefore use a layer of lava rock or ceramic briquettes to cover the burners. The rock or briquettes are heated up by the burners. The juices from the food drop onto the rock and smoke giving the barbecue flavour.

Propane and butane gas come iin liquid form in cylinders. A regulator connects the BBQ to the cylinder and controls the pressure. In England butane comes in blue cylinders and propane in red. Here in Spain butane comes in silver bottles and propane in grey. Both come in different sizes from 7Kg upwards. When you first buy gas you normally have to pay a deposit on the bottle depending upon the size bottle you buy.

Expect to use about 15-20Kg of gas per season depending on how often you BBQ.

Natural gas BBQs need an outside connection to the gas supply for your house. So there is a higher initial outlay for this type of burner.