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Goulash cannon vs charcoal barbecue

Updated: 23 October 2026

You already know a kettle barbecue: coals, a grate, and a lid. A goulash cannon vs charcoal barbecue choice is about the meal. Peter F. edits DIY and tools at Products Compared. Compared on 20 October 2026 from a Weber kettle manual, a UK kettle explainer, and field-kitchen notes. No head-to-head cook, and no ranking of the eight amazon.co.uk cannons. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices stay on the [goulash cannon comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/goulash-cannon). A lidded stew wants the cannon. Food on a grate wants the kettle.

You already know a kettle barbecue: coals, a grate, and a lid. A goulash cannon vs charcoal barbecue choice is about the meal. Peter F. edits DIY and tools at Products Compared.

Our top picks

MBDRKVGF MBDRKVGF 14.3 L cannon

Best overall

MBDRKVGF MBDRKVGF 14.3 L cannon
8.0/10about £9.69
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CFODOJ CFODOJ enamelled cannon

Alternative

CFODOJ CFODOJ enamelled cannon
5.5/10about £347.72
View offer
LXYZWRW LXYZWRW enamelled cannon

Best value

LXYZWRW LXYZWRW enamelled cannon
4.0/10about £310.84
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Two fires, two jobs
  2. 2.When the kettle is the one to buy
  3. 3.When the cannon is the one to buy
  4. 4.You can own both

Two fires, two jobs

A goulash cannon is a pot in a firebox. A solid-fuel fire under the lid simmers soup or goulash while a chimney takes smoke up. A charcoal kettle is a cooking grate over coals. Weber’s Original Kettle manual describes direct heat for food under about 20 minutes, coals under the food, and indirect heat when the food should not sit on the fiercest coals. Smoke & Soil’s UK guide describes a round firebox, a grate, a lid, and vents. A 57 cm kettle in that description is a family grill, not a 14 litre stockpot. On the kettle the food sits on a grate. On the cannon it sits in a pot. Wood named on a cannon listing is not fuel for a kettle grate.

When the kettle is the one to buy

Buy the kettle when Tuesday night is sausages, chicken, or a steak you want marked by the bars. Direct heat, a lid for a short roast, and a grate you can oil are the job Weber’s manual is written around. Gloves to EN 407 are what that booklet specifies. Smoke & Soil’s degree ranges are that author’s guide, not a figure to copy onto a lid thermometer. A kettle can hold a separate pot for a small pan of sauce. That is not a 14 litre enamelled cannon, and it will not feed a fete from one vessel. The kettle loses as soon as the recipe is one stew for the whole table.
MBDRKVGF MBDRKVGF 14.3 L cannon

Testsieger

MBDRKVGF MBDRKVGF 14.3 L cannon
8.0/10about £9.69
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When the cannon is the one to buy

Buy the cannon for a lidded simmer: goulash, a bean pot, a soup you will ladle, with litres printed on the page. vidaXL states 14.3 litres and an 8 litre pan. In the amazon set, only B0HDR1K7XY states that pair, which is why the goulash cannon buying guide exists. A perforated pan can brown pieces. It is not a kettle grate, and not proof every ASIN includes one. Gonser’s charcoal grid is not for food. Skandika says you remove the pot and hook on a grill rack, not both at once. If the page never says grill rack, do not treat the cannon as a barbecue with a chimney.

You can own both

Do not buy a cannon title around £300 with no litres because the chimney looks like a smoker. A flue lifts smoke. It does not turn the oven into a kettle with a cooking grate. Choose the cannon when you will simmer under a lid and the listing states a pot. Choose the charcoal barbecue when the food sits on a grate, including the under-20-minute direct heat Weber describes. If the cannon page does not state a rack, budget for a real kettle. Lighting the oven belongs on how to use a goulash cannon. Smoke-control rules allow outdoor barbecues. They do not pick the tool.

Common questions

Can I sear steaks on a goulash cannon?
Only if that model includes a cooking grate and you use it as the maker describes. Skandika’s English page says you take the pot off and hook a grill rack on, not both at once. Gonser’s grid is not for food. Most listings in this amazon set never name a food grate. A perforated pan can colour pieces. It is not a 57 cm kettle grate.
Can I simmer a stew on a kettle?
You can set an ordinary pan on a kettle grate for a small amount of sauce. You do not have a 14 litre lidded firebox unless you own one. A family kettle, as Smoke & Soil describes it, is built around grilling. Long simmers for a crowd belong in a stated pot, not balanced on the bars.
Do they use the same fuel?
Both can burn charcoal. That is where the overlap ends. Some cannon listings name wood or coal as well: B0HDR1K7XY says wood, charcoal or coal, and B0D83KL7FY says charcoal and wood. A kettle’s normal fuel is charcoal on the grate. Wood in a cannon firebox is not an invitation to run a kettle on logs.
Is the charcoal grate a cooking grate?
Not always. In a kettle, the grate is where the food goes. In some field kitchens the charcoal grid only holds fuel, and Gonser says that grid is not for food. Read the parts list. If the page says charcoal grate and never says the food sits on it, assume it holds fuel.
Which one feeds more people with soup?
The cannon, when the pot is actually stated. A 14.3 litre example is vidaXL and B0HDR1K7XY, not every black title. A kettle does not become a stockpot because the lid is round. Headcounts are a rule of thumb on the crowd page, not a claim that one grate out-feeds a pot.
Does the cannon’s chimney make it a smoker?
No. The chimney is a flue for a stew oven. It is not a smoker conversion and it does not replace a kettle’s grate and vents. If you want smoked food on a grate, buy the barbecue. If you want goulash, buy a cannon whose litres are printed, and light it in the open air.

Related pages

Goulash cannon for a crowd

Goulash cannon

Best goulash cannon: only one listing states litres

Goulash cannon buying guide: the five listing checks

How to use a goulash cannon outdoors: fuel and ash

Sources

Public UK sources and retailer specifications. Last checked on 22 October 2026.

  1. Smoke control areas: the rules (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. Nuisance smoke: how councils deal with complaints (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 79 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Carbon monoxide poisoning (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Fire safety outdoors (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Food business registration (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. vidaXL UK goulash cannon specification (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Royal Catering 14 L goulash cannon (retrieved 22.10.2026)