CosmoGrill Outdoor XL Smoker Barbecue Review

We’ll start with arguably the worst thing about this BBQ; the assembly! Single-handedly, assembly took 2 hours, although this could have been shorter with an extra pair of hands. The manufacturer suggests that assembly will take 2 hours for 2 people, so presumably it could be done slightly quicker. Although it’s not the worst to put together, it’s really quite time consuming on your own! 

This BBQ arrives fully flat packed, so there’s a lot to unpack and put together. However, the instructions are relatively clear, predominantly using images to show which pieces needed fitting together. The hardest part to assemble was the adjustable charcoal tray. The corresponding section of the manual is not particularly clear, so it wasn’t immediately obvious which pieces needed to be used. 

Fortunately, this BBQ has pre-drilled holes, but you’ll still need a few of your own tools to put it together. You’ll need either a flathead or crosshead screwdriver. I found that an electric screwdriver certainly made the assembly process less painful. The pre-drilled holes were all lined up pretty much perfectly, which isn’t always the case and made things a lot easier. 

It’s definitely a good idea to leave all screws loose whilst building the BBQ and tighten them up at the end.

One thing to note is that in the pictures of the barbecue, the side trays are foldable. Therefore, you might expect there to be hinges involved, but there aren’t! In order to fold the table, you have to loosen the screws so that they allow the table to hinge. It’s a bit more inconvenient than I expected, but nevertheless it’s useful that there is a way to collapse them for storage. 

In terms of design, there’s a lot to love about this BBQ.

First, let’s take a look at the size and weight. This BBQ measures 124 x 66 x 113 cm and it weighs 24 kg. It’s large enough to cook a lot of food – easily enough for a party of 10 – but it’s not impossible to store. We don’t have a lot of storage space at home, and still managed to find somewhere to keep it, no problem. 

The built-in storage is another feature that works well. This barbecue has a large storage section underneath that can be used to store plates, condiments, or bread rolls, as well as the two foldable side tables. These are a great spot for storing plates or cooked food. 

This barbecue feels robust once assembled as well. It’s made from powder-coated steel, and it’s been painted with heat-resistant black paint. Even so, I’d say it should be stored inside or undercover in bad weather. There’s no cover included, so this might be something you choose to purchase separately. 

While I haven’t had this BBQ long enough to comment on its long-term durability, I can say it certainly feels stable and good quality. 

There are wheels on two of the legs which do help with moving the BBQ around. However, I must say that manoeuvring this barbecue isn’t particularly easy overall. This is because there’s no handle on the opposite side, which would make sense and make it easier to wheel around. 

We found that to move the BBQ from inside to outside, we had to lift it from underneath. When doing this, we discovered that some of the edges/underneath were pretty sharp, so this wasn’t the easiest solution. As mentioned, even when using the wheels on one side, the other side still needs to be lifted, so it just doesn’t seem very logical that it doesn’t have any handles.

On the plus side, it only weighs 24 kg, so it was at least a manageable weight for two people to carry. It just wasn’t as easy as it could have been due to the sharpness. We also didn’t want to risk carrying the BBQ whilst holding the side tables in case they couldn’t withstand the pressure.

I found this BBQ extremely easy to use and I’m confident that I would still feel this way even if cooking for multiple people.

One of my favourite things about this BBQ was how easy it was to control the temperature. You can change the cooking temperature by adjusting the height of the charcoal tray. This can be raised or lowered using a crank handle. Raising it will bring the charcoal closer to the food and increase the cooking temperature. Lowering it will decrease the cooking temperature. 

The front door panel is another excellent touch. The door can easily be opened and extra coal loaded in. The handle stays cool to touch even when the interior is very hot. 

Additionally, there are adjustable air vents which can be used to control the air flow. This also helped to control the cooking temperature.

I also appreciated the built-in thermometer. When using the BBQ, we got the temperature up to 220°C and our food was perfectly cooked.  

I do have to mention one small flaw though. The cooking area is a good few inches wider than the charcoal tray on each side. This means that the very edges of the cooking area don’t get as hot. Given that the cooking area is large, this won’t cause a problem most of the time. But, if you’re cooking to capacity, it might be noticeable.

This can also lead to another potential problem. Fat and oil from food on the edge of the cooking area can drip down into the removable ash tray. As the tray is very shallow, the oil may spill out and onto your patio or lawn. We didn’t have this problem (as we didn’t fill the cooking area with food), but I saw it mentioned by another reviewer and it’s easy to see how this would be possible. 

This barbecue has an enormous capacity which makes it one of the best options on the market for parties and get-togethers. The grill size is 58 x 42.5 cm, and there’s also a smaller warming rack that measures 57 x 20 cm. 

I’ll admit that for our first time using this BBQ, it was just the two of us! As a result, the grill had loads of space to spare when cooking our six sausages and two burgers! This BBQ would easily cater for parties. There’s at least enough space for 10+ burgers and 10+ sausages cooking simultaneously. 

The extra features are what give this barbecue the edges over other models. The extra features include: 

• An integrated bottle opener
• Four hooks for hanging utensils
• Side trays for storage
• A storage tray underneath
• Castor wheels for transportation
• A built-in thermometer 
• A stainless steel warming rack
• A removable ash tray

I found that with this BBQ, I had almost everything I needed to hand. All plates, crockery, condiments and sides could be kept nearby, and utensils could be hung to avoid having to find a clean surface to put them down on. Plus, bottles could be opened without hunting inside for a bottle opener, which is a nice touch. 

There are no utensils included with the BBQ, which I don’t think is enough to mark it down. However, I felt this worth mentioning given that some BBQs do come with a couple of basic tools.

All in all, thanks to the removable ash tray, I found this BBQ pretty easy to clean. One of the only issues I encountered was that a couple of larger pieces of charcoal had fallen into the ash tray. As the tray is very shallow, it was then a bit more difficult to pull out. 

However, other parts of the BBQ were extremely easy to clean – some of the grill racks can even fit in the dishwasher (such a bonus!), and all surfaces are easy to wipe clean. The warming rack can also be removed but it requires a bit more effort. It needs to be unscrewed on both sides first, then it can be lifted out. This was the only other component that was more difficult to clean. Otherwise, the BBQ was fuss free.

Surprisingly, given its size and the number of features, the CosmoGrill Outdoor XL Smoker Barbecue remains pleasantly within an affordable price bracket. The ease of temperature control is well worth paying a little more for, and the fact that it can also be used as a smoker means you’re not only limited to grilling sausages and burgers! You can fit a whole chicken in there and cook it slowly over hours.

The fact that there is an adjustable coal tray to help control the temperature is a great feature. This definitely helps with value for money and makes this BBQ easy for both beginners and experts to use. 

Several other features make this BBQ good value for money as well, for example: the built-in storage and the integrated thermometer. Although, if I’m being picky, I’d say that I wish there was a cover included. 

If you can persevere through a bit of time-consuming assembly, this BBQ is a really excellent choice. I know I’ve mentioned a few small design flaws throughout this review, but they are all very minor things.

I’ve no doubt that keen hosts will enjoy the size of the cooking area; plus, I think it’s unusual to get such a large BBQ with so many extra features for this price tag. 

Overall, I am very happy to recommend this barbecue, and I look forward to using it to host several parties for many summers to come!