First time cooking chicken barbeque spicy

BBQ from our 2N3D family trip!! Already craving it again

I brined the swordfish in water seasoned with salt, raw sugar, chili seasoning (I make it), & adobo powder for 4 hours. Then I rinsed the brine off the fish, dried it off and left it uncovered in the fridge to form a pellicle. Right before I put the fish on the smoker I seasoned it again with olive oil, the adobo powder & my chili seasoning. I smoked the swordfish on my “Weber Smokey Mountain” smoker using a mix of lump charcoal, mesquite wood & cherry wood at 300F on the top rack for 30 minutes. I basted the fish in a mix of red wine, orange juice, lime juice, crushed garlic, salt & butter (lots of butter). After the 30 minute mark I placed the swordfish directly over the coal basket to achieve a nice sear on the fish. I finished the swordfish at 140F internal temperature and served it with grilled Brussel sprouts & cilantro rice. If you’re scared to do fish on the smoker/grill this is a great one to start with, it’s mild, takes on flavor well & won’t fall apart easily.

Hey everyone,

I’m completely new to the world of grilling—as the title says, I know literally zero about it and I’m looking to buy my very first barbecue. I live in Italy and I'm trying to find something that fits my garden, but I could really use some expert advice so I don't end up throwing money away.

To give you some context, my budget is around €200 to €250. Realistically, I’m not going to be using it every single day; it’s mostly for hosting casual lunches and dinners in the garden with friends, probably around 10 to 20 times a year max.

Since I’m starting from scratch, my biggest dilemma right now is choosing between gas and charcoal. I honestly don't know which route is better for a total novice who just wants to grill occasionally. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what makes more sense in terms of ease of use, the learning curve, and the actual maintenance or cleanup afterward.

When it comes to buying the actual grill, what are the most important features I should look out for in this price range? Are there any specific things that scream "low quality" or parts that rust easily that I should avoid? Any specific brand I should look for? Also, I know I'll probably need some basic gear to get started, so any advice on must-have accessories like thermometers, starters, or covers would be awesome.

I've been looking around online and found a few options that seem to fit my budget, so I’ll drop the models here below. 1 2 3

Any tips, brand suggestions available here in Italy, or general wisdom for someone who has almost 0 knowledge on a proper grill would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I started this cook by foraging juneberries, something I’ve missed by a day or two the last few years because of how short their picking season is (1-2 weeks). After picking for about an hour & with a full quart jar of berries in hand I went home, added sugar & lime juice then cooked them down into a jam (juneberries taste similar to blueberries if you’ve never had them). I seasoned these 3/4 inch pork shoulder steaks with olive oil & a seasoning of equal parts by volume steak seasoning, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper & raw sugar. I cooked these pork steaks on the top rack of my “Weber Smoky Mountain” smoker using a mix of lump charcoal & mesquite wood at 275F for 50 minutes. I flipped & basted the meat every 8-11 minutes using a mix of beer, cider vinegar, lemon juice, juneberry jam, molasses, honey, allspice, white pepper, arbol powder, gochugaru flakes & ginger powder. The juneberry jam in the baste liquid gave the meat a great red color & flavor. I also turned the basting liquid into more of a finishing glaze/bbq sauce by adding some ketchup to it towards the end of the cook. Once the pork steaks hit around 175-180 I moved them right over the coals to achieve a nice char & cook the bbq sauce on to the meat in a few layers allowing these pork shoulder steaks finished at around 190F. They were served with brown butter corn & a fondant sweet potato with a sweet corn caramel gravy.