Over the past 20 years or so, Australians have had a love affair with the trolley barbecue - and no wonder. They represent good value for money, are fast, easy to use and very versatile.

Most are powered by gas, have multiple burners and are lit at the touch of a button (at least until the warranty period runs out). Add a hood, a rotisserie, a side burner for a wok and you have an outdoor cooking centre that blows most of its indoor rivals into the weeds.

And that's why you have to be a bit careful. Food cooked on some over-accessorised mutant barbys often tastes exactly the same as if it was cooked on an indoor gas range or in an electric oven.

In the parallel universe that is barbecue, big spenders don't always get better barbys. While it's a reasonably safe bet the $1,000 trolley barbecue is at least five times better designed and built than the $200 hardware store special, the same is not necessarily true of the leap from $2,000 to $10,000. Most mega trolley barbecues are primarily made to look impressive - not to add flavour to food. The only buyers who might get their value from these monsters are those with a serious gadget fixation and the sad cases who want people to believe they have a really big, er, barby.

Here are some specific recommendations for purchasing a trolley barbecue:

BASIC CONSTRUCTION: Stainless steel looks great and is very durable because of its resistance to rust. But be aware that thinner gauge versions can become discoloured by heat and it takes a fair bit of work (and the right cleaning products) to keep them gleaming like they should.

A vitreous enamel finish on metal makes cleaning much less of a chore and it offers good protection against rust - at least until it is damaged. For most people, it's probably worth the extra expense particularly if the barby lives outdoors. If you intend to use a hood frequently , choose a vitreous enamel or stainless finish on the barbecue body because it will be better able to withstand the heat which is reflected downwards during roasting.

It is possible to get a reasonable service life out of the bargain basement painted/coated finish. You just have to be prepared to store it under cover and quickly touch up any scratched or damaged surfaces with paint - but not just any old paint, it has to be the heat resistant stuff specially formulated for barbecues and pot belly stoves.

TROLLEY: If the barbecue is likely to be moved on a regular basis, choose an all steel trolley - most timber ones fail the BBQ Blue flex test. However, some wooden ones use steel uprights or brackets to make them more secure and these are usually okay. Just make sure the timber is a suitable hardwood such as jarrah which is water and rot resistant. Always look for a generous amount of space on each side of the barbecue.

BURNERS: Recent years have seen the traditional Aussie four-burner gas barby  come under increasing threat from keenly-priced, imported multi-burner mega barbys. While some of them might look tempting don’t fall for ‘big is better’ sales talk.

The fact is that a barby with six or eight burners putting out enough combined BTUs to launch a space shuttle does not necessarily guarantee gourmet grilled food. Indeed,  some big barbys on the Australian market are infamous for stewing steaks rather than searing them. Despite all those burners and BTUs, they simply can’t generate and sustain sufficient heat at the cooking grates because of basic design flaws.

Environmental considerations are increasingly prompting a move away from barbeques featuring the biggest possible array of burners. 21st century barbys are just as likely to have three, two or even a single burner that is shaped and placed so it delivers heat to where it really counts – the actual cooking surface. Think Lotus rather than Leyland P76 V8. 

Cast iron burners are still found in even quite expensive models. They last reasonably well in a mild environment but their efficiency decreases as rust takes hold. However, the good news is these burners are cheap and easy to replace and widely available – at least for the time being. Stainless steel is by far the longest-lasting material for burners.

Side burners can be very handy for preparing wok-cooked accompaniments or sauces - particularly if the kitchen is a packed lunch hike away. Just make sure the burner is fitted flush with the trolley surface and can be covered over when not in use. Too many side burners spend most of their lives as spacebandits - and believe me you cannot have too much usable area either side of a barbecue.

COOKING SURFACE: The three choices for the surface that is in direct contact with what is being cooked all have pros and cons. Cast iron is cheap (and nasty if made from impure, recycled materials) but difficult to thoroughly clean. And, given the slightest chance, it rusts - badly. Porcelain enameled steel is more expensive but can be easily wiped clean and won't rust - at least until the enamel outer surface splits or flakes off. Then it needs replacement.

Stainless steel is the most expensive - but that is the only drawback. Everything else is positive - it will never rust and can easily be kept scrupulously clean. An added bonus is that stainless fabrication technology (particularly in Australia) has come so far these plates are now the best heat conductors. This makes it easier to precisely control the cooking temperature and it saves gas. Stainless is not cheap - - but it is forever .

IGNITION: Most trolley barbecues these days come equipped with piezo push-button ignition systems. The actual degree of reliability, which will range from not much to none at all, depends on protection from accumulated dust, fat and water. Always make sure there are holes in the side or front of the barbecue where long matches or igniters can be used to light the burners manually. If the salesperson tells you to drop a lighted match down through the slotted grill plate, inform him or her exactly what type of wit you think they are and walk straight out of the shop - and never, ever return.

HOODS: Nearly all hoods on trolley barbecues are made of stainless steel or vitreous enamel coated steel to cope with the high internal temperatures that are sometimes generated. Purchasers will often have to choose between a hood that rises completely off the barbecue and sits at an angle of 90 degrees and one which folds back into itself leaving only the front half open.

Pick the first if you intend to use the barbecue mainly for grilling and only occasional roasting. Choose the second if you are more likely to be cooking roasts and will only want to grill a couple of steaks at a time. The fact that the back half of the barbecue is always covered means that more heat is retained in that section. If you are unsure of what you will be cooking most frequently, avoid buying a fold back hood. Ones that can be raised completely off the cooking surface are more versatile. They put you in control - not the barbecue.

Windows in hoods are not only comforting for those caught in mid-evolution from the kitchen oven to the barbecue they also conserve heat by allowing you to check on a roast without lifting the lid. However, make sure you get one with a special ceramic non-crack 'glass'.

FLAME TAMERS: The purpose of volcanic (lava) rock, ceramic briquettes, stainless steel Flavoriser ™ bars and those iron plates with lots of round holes is to diffuse the heat and fool the meat into thinking it is being cooked over charcoal or glowing embers so it tastes better. Consequently, the one that looks and acts most like the real thing - volcanic rock - is the most effective. Because of its porosity, the rock atomizes more of the juices that drip from the meat - and that means greater genuine barbecue flavour.

The downside with the rocks is the need for regular replacement (they do break down over time) and cleaning by high heat (place sheets of heavy duty foil over the grill surface and turn the gas knobs to high). You have to be a bit obsessional about the cleaning or else run the risk of adding the unmistakable flavour of rancid fat to everything you cook. If you barbecue frequently, the ceramic briquettes and metal flame tamers probably make more sense from an ease of maintenance/cost point of view.

ROTISSERIES: This accessory should only be considered for trolley barbecues without hoods where you are trying to cook something evenly above the heat source. When the food is surrounded by heat (such as inside a hood) they are completely unnecessary. Most of them are also completely useless. The average barbecue rotisserie is a lot like the cheap toys in Christmas stockings - fun for a little while until the batteries run out or they break. They only work if the bird or roast is perfectly balanced and constantly adjusted. Life is too short to concern yourself with this sort of crap.

CLEANING SYSTEMS: In the excitement of buying a new barby, it's easy to overlook some of the less glamorous aspects of cooking in the great outdoors under the Southern Cross.

Too often, buyers fail to ask: "How exactly do you clean it?" Removing accumulated fat and grease is part and parcel of barby ownership. The trick is to make sure that it is as painless as possible. Well-designed barbys will have a system where the majority of drippings find their way into an easily-cleaned or disposable  drip tray.

Barbys way past their use by date in design terms, will require the owner to remove and replace an unwieldy tray filled with some sort of fat absorber (kitty litter and sand were the popular choices when these barbys were first marketed in the 1970s). It can be a disgusting exercise but if you don’t do it regularly you greatly increase the risk of a fat fire.

FOR: Fast and fuss free.

AGAINST: Many are heavy and not very mobile and require a lot of storage space.

BEST AT: All rounder.

PRICE RANGE: From $200 for a basic painted finish flat top four burner to $8000 plus for the stainless steel 'outdoor kitchen' featuring every dubious accessory imaginable - and then some. A national brand all-vitreous unit mounted on a sturdy trolley with a hood should set you back around $500 to $750. A good choice of high quality stainless versions will be found in the $750 to $1,200 range. Modern compact trolley barbeques such as the Weber Q range in price from $300 to $800.

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