Downsizing

[Smokey]

Hello all Thought I would share a crossroad I have come to in my barbecue/clutter journey.
Over the years I have enjoyed many bbq's and bbq gadgets, Some were fantastic and some not so but all were fun.
Recently I have done something I have never done in thirty years,,, Sell something! I sold an old Engel fridge that was just past its use by date (30 years) Sold it for cash too And that got me hooked. I looked around the garage and thought "what next" So I've been flogging off all sorts of camping equipment, TradeTools, 5m ally plate boat, Just anything I don't use anymore. I was having fun in my new selling addiction until my wife noticed what's going on and she pointed to the back patio. I said My motor bike? She said yeh, And your bloody bbq's that you never use.
I was shocked , How could she?
Then I got to thinking, Maybe if I sell the bike, weber summit, weber kettle, weber WSM, Big green egg, gmg pellet grill and replace them with just the one do it all outdoor cooker. I just might be able to get something quite impressive! At this stage I don't quite know what that will be but it will have to do everything. I do have a small Ziggy single burner that gets used all the time for basic week night grilling and I will keep that as I bought it for camping in fire bans.
So at this stage I am enjoying looking around at the options out there. It's a good feeling actually, A bit like discovering stuff on this forum back from 2008.
Ill let you know when/If I get something. Also feel free to chime in a suggestion for a one gun bbq man.

[Davo]

He Mick, thanks for stopping by mate

Yep, funny you should mention all that now, I'm about to do the same, many years of BBQing although I don't have as Many BBQs as you and it hurts when the Mrs points them out for selling bee.....how could she....these things have created so many gourmet and not so gourmet feasts....but yeah....maybe she's right....is it time to let them go.........sigh!!

I have literally got boxes of books still in a box when i packed them up for the move out of Sydney, most of these books are BBQs cook books I spent a fortune on, read through them once or twice then decided they include lists of too many ingredients, I've got so many Weber books from Jamie Purviance it ain't funny.......then there's books on bicycling, cycling, bicycle touring yadda yadda yadda....... there's my 40 year old Terada jumbo guitar and case......my minelab Equinox 800 detector that in 3 years have only seen 2 local parks. 2 Givi motorcycle Panniers (hard case) the list just goes on.

Even though we moved down to Albury after buying this house, we've come to realise for just us two, the house is way too big so we're looking at minimising and downsizing including a couple of Weber Kettles including my sage green Performer but i'll get a few cooks out of it first before i let it go. I;ve got a fairly new Q3200 NG, so it'll depend on whether our next place will have NG if i keep it or not. I love the Q's.

My wife has developed a very rare heart condition that if not treated can lead to heart failure so she'll eventually have to get an ICD implanted and we may also move to Japan in the next year or two, so then I'll have to sell everything except my Australian designed Touring bicycle which I'll take over there as it's a great commuter bike too. All the toys will be sold and so will the car. I might buy a Weber Go Anywhere and take it to Japan, I can buy Binchotan very cheap over there.

Now retiring from the workforce, I'm now 64.5 yrs and I realise that I've just got too much stuff that i need to move now before i get too old to do it. I'll get 1 more summer out of the BBQs though as I've still got a lot of charcoal left to burn.

So Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and Gumtree might get rather busy soon!! So you're not on your own Mick, sometimes it's good to do a stocktake and out with the old and in with the new. I don't cook much these days like i used to, have had to eat a bit more healthy.

Cheers

Davo

[Cobblerdave]

Gday
I’m down to a small amount of BBQs now.
I never paid much if anything for them. Some were homemade experiments. But I couldn’t use them all.
One nephew got my old Q200 and a gasemate bullet smoker. Another nephew got my rottissary attachment for Weber kettle, the bro and sear and various other bibs and bobs for a kettle.
One son got the aldi 3burner and a gas cabinets smoker. Friends have got given another bullet smoker and side table, a Q200, a charcoal table cooker a wood grill made from a 9 kg gas bottle. Oh yer and the gas bottles. I’ve rehomed about 6 9kg bottles suitable to swap at bunnos. Leaves me with 2 so I’ve got a spare.
And what’s left. The brick pizza oven…. Can’t be moved. A refurbed weber family Q. An Akorn junior kamado. They are big enough for me and the bride now. And a weber kettle, it’s not going anywhere. It’s my go to when I’ve need more room and it will live in the shed till needed.
So it’s taken a couple of years but I’m really happy that it’s all gone to where is wanted. And now that I think about it it’s the new generation that will be cremating things in the open air.
Regards Dave

[Cobblerdave]

G’day Smokey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJqllBP ... VnaW5uZXJz

Myself I don’t think “one appliance to rule them all “ but rather a couple to cover.
For me the acorn junior for the low and slow and the family Q for the grill fits the bill and the space on the deck.
One thing worth investigating with the pellet grill is the low smoke. I can’t believe you could burn pellets without some smoke flavour but on the way to making it more efficient and burn less pellets perhaps this is the the case.
Regards Dave

[12x7]

Probably comes down to a few things.

1. Lifestyle - how much effort do you want to do bbqing
2. Money - some bbq's cost a lot to run
3. Sentimental value - You might have a favourite and point 1 & 2 doesn't matter you will keep and use it no matter what
4. Moving house - If you are moving to a smaller house / old people home you mightn't have many choices as the body corporate rules
5. What do you want to cook?

I guess a gasser and a charcoal Q?

[Davo]

In many of the modern unit complexes, especially those that have an elevator and are over 3 stories high, many have strata bi-laws about using solid fuels such as Charcoal or wood due to the amount of smoke they make and the danger of sparks as well as the smell of charcoal and wood at start up will drive some crazy where most but not all will allow a Gas grill which is good, but failing that, you're stuck with an electric grill. My friend in Penrith raves about his Weber Pulse that he uses on the balcony of his Central Coast holiday apartment.

I would though have a small little Go Anywhere or Jumbo Joe just for the time where you can slip by a park or a beach and have a BBQ picnic.

I'll always at least have a Weber Family Q as they are a reasonable compromise.

I can see myself living in an apartment in a year or two as I'm over having to look after gardens, mow lawns and putting up with weeds, so providing I can buy into a decent sized apartment with a courtyard area rather than a balcony and that it''s in walking distance to shops and public Transport, i reckon that'd do me in my old age and I'm not far from my senior years now anyway at almost 65.

Davo

[12x7]

I saw on the news recently that in Sydney a council slapped a Sydney business with ban notice over smell of smoke and brisket. They were using a pellet smoker outside for the restaurant.

I wonder how the people complaining would survive living in another country which has a vibrant outdoor cooking culture / lots of street food?

[Cobblerdave]

Gday Davo
There is “flour and chocolate “in Brisbane. A really good French pastry place. They do a brisket pie. Briskets cooked in an offset. Outside of course. Yes I checked out the back.
Every one of there places I’ve been to has that lingering smell of smoke. Mmmmm. An attractant for me and it tells me the brisket hasn’t been done in a sous vide with liquid smoke.
Regards dave

[Davo]

Yummmmmmmm, who doesn't love a good ol meat Pie, even my wife loves them and she's Japanese......she actually told me that you can buy Aussie Meat Pies in Costco Japan now so i'll be on the hunt for them over there next time i go back.

I've never tasted brisket Pie, I've never yet seen one advertised, I have however seen Pulled Pork Pies and what is equally rare today is a good ol Steak n Kidney Pie......OMG I'd die for one of those and it's one thing that attracted me to Albury, the local Bakery has delicious S&K pies, I've gotta have one at least every 2nd week and not only that, I reckon they have the best Custard tarts in Australia, hands down, I've never seen nor tasted anything better than their Custard tarts.

If I was to die today and before I had to go to the gallows, they ask me for my last ever meal and it'd be a Steak and Kidney Pie and a Custard Tart from ibake . I don't need anything else......however if those two arn't available, my 2nd choice would be Spaghetti Bolognese....I can never get sick of Spag Bol.

Davo

[12x7]

Back to Smokey's original post.

If I ended up in a unit like Davo mentioned I would keep the Ziggy and put it on the unit balcony. If I needed smoke I would use a smoker box/tube. The rest of the bbqs would be sold off as no space.

[Davo]

Back to Smokey's original post.

If I ended up in a unit like Davo mentioned I would keep the Ziggy and put it on the unit balcony. If I needed smoke I would use a smoker box/tube. The rest of the bbqs would be sold off as no space.

Yeah the Q3200 I'd keep on the balcony too, I've heard those Weber Pulses are good if you're on a highrise. Some units you can buy have courtyards included like the ground floor type so i'll be looking out for them and decide which BBQs get sold. Knowing my luck, i'd be surrounded by vegans

[12x7]

You can bbq some pretty tasty veggies on the gasser.

There's also vegans who eat meat when they think nobody is watching.

[Davo]

You can bbq some pretty tasty veggies on the gasser.

There's also vegans who eat meat when they think nobody is watching.

Actually, believe it or not, Veggies rate very highly on my Gasser, sweet potato scollops or lots of Mushies, or Parsnips, Potatoes capsicum green and red, and even throw some bok Choy, Zucchinis, brussell sprouts, bean sprouts, yes veggies are very highly represented but then, so is meat

[nic0]

Can't go wrong grilling some corn on the cob, I also like to wrap some random veggies in foil with some garlic and butter, i always put the vegetables on first then shift them to the warming rack while I finish off the meat. If you have the smoker going smoke some spuds and use them in a potato salad. Good luck with the downsizing I also have to many BBQs.