Smoke and flames: Barbecue or smoker? Charcoal or wood fire? How to find the right equipment for your dish

When you think of barbecuing, grilling and smoking, visions of sitting on a camping chair in the roasting sunshine on an Australian beach or in the southern states of America come to mind.

But what are the solutions for those of us in the more temperate regions of the world? This month, we look at three ways of instilling the best char-grilled flavour and texture into your ingredients to spruce up your summer menus.

A grill and an oven, all in one: the Josper oven

Josper is one of few commercial kitchen equipment brands recognised by chefs and the customer alike. Combining a grill and an oven in one, a Josper uses restaurant-grade charcoal to take cooking back to its basic form, yet creates an unrivalled taste and texture on the most delicate of ingredients.

It is for this reason that many restaurants choose to boast the use of a Josper on their menus.

Smoky flavours and moist textures are achieved thanks to the Josper’s enclosed cooking chamber and chef-controlled air vents, allowing for greater precision.

Designed to cook everything from meat to fish, vegetables, fruit and even complete dishes like risotto, a Josper oven achieves an average cooking temperature of 350°C, for cook times 35% faster than traditional appliances.

The hard wearing design reflects Josper’s 50-year heritage in producing commercial charcoal ovens at its manufacturing plant north of Barcelona.

Jestic Foodservice Equipment is the only supplier of Josper products in the UK, offering a range of different sizes to suit the needs of a professional kitchen. The smaller countertop models include the HJX-20, with an output of around 25kg per hour. The largest is the HJX-50, a floor-standing model with two cooking racks and an hourly output of 110kg.

A professional barbecue: RH Hall's Crown Verity range

With a range of barbecue grills to suit every user from the publican with a small outdoor space to the busy event caterer, Crown Verity barbecue systems are designed to last a lifetime ; every model in the range is built to the same specification.

The flagship MCB mobile range is available in sizes from 30” to 72” - complemented by built-in options, traditional charcoal barbecues and hand wash stations – as well as a wide range of add-on accessories.

By pairing up Crown Verity with bestselling foodservice brands, you can create the ultimate outdoor kitchen, with the option of bespoke branding.

A smoker accessory for your combi oven: Convotherm 

While many think that using a charcoal oven or barbecue is the only way to smoke food, recent innovations within the combi oven market has allowed chefs to tap into the trend without having to purchase a separate smoking unit.

For example, combi oven brand, Convotherm, also offers a smoker accessory to allow chefs to diversify their ingredients and smoked flavours with ease.

Available across the entire Convotherm 4 table top easyTouch range, the optional smoker accessory is integrated within a control panel which allows for an automatic, multi-step smoking process to take place by the simple touch of a screen.

The accessory allows chefs to tailor the strength and flavour of the smoke, for the sake of versatility.  The possibilities are endless, from maple smoked bacon to BBQ smoked ham, or coffee-smoked brisket,  all in the combi-oven that you use every day.