Baby Weber Q (1200) - Cleaning

[Salty]

Hi all, i know there are other threads on cleaning which i have briefly read.

But seriously, i've owned many BBQ's, most do not require much in the way of cleaning post cooking.
But this Baby Weber Q, OMG!!! its a pig of a thing to clean.

From the start, i haven't fallen for all the WeberQ hype i've seen and heard over the years
I really see them as another Thermomix... A Fanboy product with religious type owners that spend all day telling you how wonderful they are.

Yes, i've sampled Rib Eyes, T-Bones and Pork Roasts off a Family Weber Q, they were good, but, nothing i can not replicate on my 4 Burner BBQs
(Ive been cooking Hood down with a small 80mm gap with my 4 Burner BBQ's for 25 years now)

So, i finally bit the bullet and purchased a Baby Weber Q purely for Camping and 4WDing, also, as it is just myself or me and Mrs, it would seem a more economical BBQ to run than the big 4 burner units i have.

FIrst run: Rolled Pork Loin Roast, outcome 9/10 and very impressed.
Was almost nothing to clean

Second run: Lamb Chop fat on, outcome 8/10 and impressed for the short cooking time (2min a side + 1 min)
What a mess of the unit this made!!!!


Cleaning

I had read some people line the base with alfoil, a great tip, did that for the Rolled Pork Roast
I forgot to do it for the Lamb Chops. Huge mess.

Cleaning the Grill Plates.... I have spend hours cleaning these items.
As they are enamelled, the grease just stays on the surface and smears around.
Ive tried boiling water, oven cleaner, detergent and they are still not spotless (not that i am that fussy, i like a low maintenance BBQ)

I can see this is going to get old very fast and i'll just leave the thing as it is.

The lid stains on the inside i don't mind.
I'd like to keep the outside of the lid clean and looking new though.

Haven't cooked a Steak yet, i don't expect much mess from a Steak.
Seems it was just he Lamb Chops that made a huge mess.

Does running the Baby Q in HIGH for 5min post cooking really help burn off most of what i'm talking about?
Any other ideas

Thank You

[titch]

I clean mine when I,m starting to cook, run on high to preheat and just use a Weber starless brush with water,

[Mainey . . .]

I clean mine as soon as I remove the meat off the grill and allow to rest

Just use a stainless steel brush as Weber stipulate, have bought a few 'look-a-likes' for $5 ea and they work just as well too.

I find that by cleaning while still hot the meat,fat etc will not have stuck to the grill and it takes just 30 seconds to run the brush over the grill a few times and it's all off

Ready to cook again next time

[Salty]

Thanks guys

Yes, i have done this both times
Well, 3 times now, as i cooked Pork Chops tonight.

Doing so gets the plate mostly clean, but of course you can not clean the underside of the plates using this method.
So i still remove them and wash them.

[Davo]

The Q grates do get a bit greasy especially on the underside and in between the grates so every now n then I give them a good scrap with one of those Barbemate spatula, scraper, and flipper tools...they are grate and then as the other guys say, run it on hi for 10 minutes till you see lots of smoke coming out the sides, it means the heat is burning off all the bad stuff and any germs etc, then give it a good brush down with the weber triangle head wire brush. As for the basin, every few months if I'm using it a lot, I take out the burners (easy to do) and with a wooden icing spatula, I give the build up of gunk a good scraping into the pan below.
I always use the weber Q foil trays for the drip tray but you need to put some fat absorber stuff in there to soak up the fats, those weber foil trays will leak fat out after a while but the fat absorber seems to fix that a lot.

I would not advise submerging the cast iron grates in water, reason being, if there is any imperfections of the porcelain coating on the grates, water will get in under the porcelain and rust underneath it giving you bubbles forming under the porcelain coating...they will just continue to rust.

Probably one failing of design with the Weber Q's is that when you open the lid, any fats/drippings etc will fall from the groove on the parimeter of the lid and onto the ground behind the bbq trolley or if in the case of the Q320, it'll leak on my gas bottle making it a bit greasy...and every bloody thing sticks to it.
Otherwise I love them....I've got the family Q320 now but I have owned the Q220 and 120 (new models..just add extra zero.

Cheers

Davo

[Salty]

Thanks Davo

Yes, i too was wary of submerging the grates
I've suffered what you mention with a very $$$ French Enameled Pot
It did exactly as you say, formed pimples, then a bubble, then BOOM, the enamel flaked off leaving the Pot a throw away.

Hence why i am some what nervous about scrubbing the enamel Weber grates with anything too abrasive.

Just some Scotch Fillet on the Baby Q, no probs, hardly made a mark, let alone a mess.
Seems its the Lamb Chops with fat on that it the issue (and even the Weber Manual says to cut the fat off)

Looks like i'm getting an understanding of the unit now, in regards to cleaning.