conventional vs weber bbq

we have a conventional bbq at home but of late a few of the you tube vidz and tv shows have had webers.

personally ive never owned nor cooked on a weber so ive been thinking about looking into purchasing one if they are worth it.


thoughts ??

 

We have had one for at least 10 years. We have never to my knowledge cooked "BBQ" style food on it - hamburgers, sausages, etc. But I can say they do make the best roasts I've ever had.


This is the heatbead/wood fueled one, not the newer gas ones that seem just like a normal barbecue but with the kettle shape.

 

Basically, a weber cooks similar to an oven, while your traditional bbq cooks like a stovetop.

 

They cook things like roast of all meat variants and chicken drumsticks and wings rather nicely.

 

cooks similar, but the flavour of 10000000xx better

 

I am going to sound like a broken record here ... but make sure you buy a meat thermometer if you are going to cook with a Webber. The heat delivery of a Webber varies, depending on how open you have the vents and how many times you remove the lid to check on the cooking. Also, there is a large temperature imbalance between the bottom and the top of the roast (if you are doing a large roast, like a turkey). It is mandatory to sit your roast on an insulating layer - my turkey sits on a bed of vegetables and is covered by bacon to stop it from drying out too much.

There is no way to ensure your roast is properly done without a meat thermometer. Yes you could prick it and check the colour of the juices, but a meat thermometer works best.

 

Most of the kit Weber's now come with a remote thermometer so you can sit back and have a few beers while the sensor reports the temp at all times, very handy.

You can use a weber like a conventional bbq, but I wouldn't bother, it'll take too long for most guests to wait and would work out to be costly and just too much work for the general bbq public. If you wish to go down that path you can get cast iron griddles and grill plates to put on top of the grill however size wise they're not terribly big.

Weber - think slow cooked roasty goodness
BBQ - think high heat grilling

If you can, and want the weber experience, go both.

 

i guess the reason for the Weber would predominately be doing a roast or a nice rack of meat

ive been looking online and might get one of the conventional ones which seem to go for around 100-$200.

just saw the post below, even better idea then mine cheers arch angel.

 

I have both, and use them regularly.

As others have said, they serve completely different cooking purposes.
Sure you can roast in a gas BBQ, or grill on a weber, but neither are particularly good ideas.

If you want to try a weber, be patient and look on ebay. There should be plenty, but just wait for one to come up in your area for pickup.
I got mine from there in tip-top condition for like $40 with a bag of beads.

 

We used to use the webber all the time, I remember having to go down to the backyard and make the fire and hour before we needed it, it was a real pain in the ass, but that rich, smokey flavour was worth it, the flavour difference between meat BBQ'd on a webber and a gas BBQ is about the same as between meat cooked on a gas BBQ and cooked in a frying pan in the kitchen IMO.

We rarely used heat beads though, and we would usually throw in some hickory chips so it was a very rich flavour. I know my mum did a few X-Mas turkeys in the webber but I've never been fussed.

I hate it when those home improvement shows do a roast in a gas BBQ "Just heat it up for an hour first!, it will heat unevenly, so you will have to turn it alot, You will have to cook it for half again as long" Price of the meat, $15, price of the gas to cook said meat, $32, cost of cooking it in the oven instead? $2 or $3

 

webbers are awesome but i currently lust after a big green egg.

it looks the business!

 

I've got one of the gas webbers (Q200) but i dont think thats the kind of toy that you're talking about here. Mine is a bit of a compromise between a gas bbq and a traditional weber.

Works good though

 

I cook on the weber maybe twice a week, steaks on that puppy are mouth watering and it's healthy, wrap a bunch of veges up, throw them in an away you go, i don't even use the gas BBQ any more and while it's a slight pain in the ass to light, we usually have a couple of beers while standing around watching/waiting for it to start....

 

anyone have one of those tubes for lighting the heatbeads in?

i used to have a shit of a time lighting mine but have been eyeing one of those things off...

 

I've got a little charcoal go anywhere and a kettle.

If I'm just cooking little stuff I'll use the go anywhere, it's great for a couple of steaks or even a small roast. I have a chimney type thing that I light the heat beads or charcoal in and then pour them out onto the BBQ, takes a similar amount of time as it would to heat up the oven before you cook in it.

Roast meat is much nicer and juicier in a webber than in the oven. Steaks cooked on coals also have a better flavour.

Cooking on coals takes some practice because there are more variables, heat of coals, distance from grill, weather conditions etc but if you like to tinker then the results are worth it.

 

A Chimney?

I thought about making one (coffee tin, knock some holes in the bottom, Bob's ya uncle) but lighting the coal isn't a problem really, and it makes the anticipation of the cookup really sink in.

Alternative to buying a weber, there are some plans kicking around for making one from a food grade 44gallon drum. Also, knock offs show their build quality rather quickly.

 

Our Weber comes in handy when we're preparing every-day meals. Porterhouse on the Weber is freakin' awesome!

When we're entertaining guests for a traditional barbie, heatbeads/coal above all else.

 

Kettle BBQ's are the shiz.

But they take practice to get everything right. Especially when roasting.

Different roasts require different temps, which means a different number of heat beads. etc...

Cooking Christmas dinner for 20+ peeps with three kettle BBQ's on a really windy christmas day can equal massive stress when you cant get them to light on time

Crackling pork, Leg of Lamb or even big chunky prok chops are just sublime when cooked well in a kettle...

 

I've never really seen the big attraction with webbers.....but I haven't had much to do with them so I should probably reserve judgement.

 

Ultimately it is just a charcoal grill, but if you get that roast right - putting down the fork becomes an issue heh