MORE GARDEN
UPGRADES
EATOUT
22 T 3 JUNE 2022
Horizon
TRAEGER IRONWOOD 650
A BBQ so smart, it practically grills (and roasts andsmokes)by itself
Rejoice, rejoice, for summer is here. That
means it’s time to take to the garden,
brush the cobwebs off the barbecue, fire
it up and get grilling. Or, even better, you
could buy a new one. Prepare to be
impressed, because top-drawer BBQs
nowadays are way more advanced than
what you’re used to. So much so that your
input as a chef may barely be needed
- good news as it gives you more time to
sip Prosecco and socialise with guests.
Take this Traeger Ironwood 6 50, for
instance (£1,499, traeger.com). This
behemoth of a barbecue is able to grill,
smoke and roast/bake anything you can
think of, with an interior sufficiently
cavernous to feed large groups of
ravenous family members.
Not only that but it offers temperature
sensing, smart cooking based on preset
recipes conjured up by top Grill Masters
and wireless connectivity to keep you
abreast of what’s going on. All you need
to do is fire it up, add your ribs, brisket,
chicken, suckling pig, or whatever you
fancy, and then await notification that it’s
feeding time, via an app on your phone.
The Ironwood 650 is a pellet barbecue,
which is the current state of the art in
al fresco cooking. Rather than using
charcoal or gas, it heats and burns small,
reconstituted wood pellets. These sit in a
hopper, and the grill dispenses the
necessary amount for each cook. The
result is a grill that combines much of the
convenience of gas with the traditional
flavour of charcoal. It can’t come up to
temperature quite as fast as a gas burner
of course, but the 2 0-3 0 minutes required
is perfectly acceptable and certainly much
less time than a charcoal barbecue of this
colossal size would necessitate.
The cooked results from the Ironwood
650 are certainly much more satisfying
than what you’d get from gas, as you get
a natural smokiness from the wood
pellets. You can also choose from a
variety of wood flavours, if you want to
get more heavily into smoking – maple,
cherry and apple wood are some of the
most popular options.
The combination of electric burner and
pellets means temperature can be
controlled extremely precisely, from a
low-and-slow 7 0°C all the way up to a
literally searing 2 60°C. The precision of
pellet cooking means that no excess
smoke leaks from the Ironwood 6 50’s
imposing frame, although there is a
certain amount of noise to reassure you
that some serious cookin’ is afoot.
Built almost literally like a battleship,
this is a quality item that should make the
summer of 2022 much more enjoyable.
AIR GRASS
Fake grass ain’t what it used
to be. is is allergy-proof,
pet-proof and even eco-
friendly, thanks to nitrogen-
processing tech. Apparently
1m^2 of it has ‘the same air
purifying effect as one mature
tree’. And yes, it does look
and feel quite a lot like grass.
Pricing varies, mkmbs.co.uk
STIHL RE 100 PLUS
CONTROL
is 150-bar
pressure
washer will
blastthe filth
from your
patio. e
spray lance lets
you adjust
power at a
touch and
packs in
three cleaning
modes: rotary, fan jet and
cleaning agent. Everything
stows away very neatly, too.
£ 219 , stihl.co.uk
HOZELOCK EASYMIX
2 - IN- 1 COMPOSTER
Keep your plants as well-fed
as your BBQ guests with this
innovative composter. Its
‘tumbling’ design means up
to 50kg of soil-nourishing
gloop is produced in just 6-8
weeks, then dispensed via
an integrated hose.
£ 170 , hozelock.com
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