You’ll love or loathe the idea of an electric barbecue. You get the push-button convenience and precise temperature control of an electric oven. But you literally lose the fire of BBQ cooking.

If you have a weatherproof socket on the patio anyway, then the Smart-E will be an easy addition to your outdoor entertaining… and you need never buy fuel for it, just pay the electricity bill. It’s better for air quality then. And if you use a renewable electricity supplier, your barbecuing is carbon neutral too.

The Char-Broil Smart-E arrived on a pallet in a huge box. It was a heavy, two-person lift. Unboxing is a big job too. The fact that everything arrived in perfect condition was impressive and a testament to the vast amount of packaging.

Image credit: Char Broil

I followed the printed assembly...