Confused

[Steve]

Hi Guys. have been using a 220Q Gasser for around 3 years and am ready to take the plunge into cooking over real fire. I have been researching here and on youtube and am totally confused now so looking for a little help to get me back on track. I have looked at Kettles, Pro Q water smokers and Kamado"s as in an Acorn as Ceramic are out of the budget allowed by the treasurer. Firstly I can see benefits in all types of BBQ's mentioned as well as their short comings. What however is right for me at this stage is confusing.
I cook Steak of course as well as Chicken Breasts and Roasts on the Q. Lamb is always spectacular but Beef a little less so and Pork with Crackle has been a complete failure. The taste is good but I am convinced that I am missing something by sticking with the gas. What I want to do is some Ribs and slower roasts. Try some smoking but am probably not looking for a 4am start to eat at 7pm, i am not that dedicated yet.
I keep convincing myself that a Kettle would be a good allrounder with ease of use a plus, am i correct in this theory.
If I go down the Kettle road I would like a Weber OTG and in saying this the second hand market has been very lean in my area for 12 months i have been looking. I also checked out the Bunnings European Chef Kettle that does have a couple of positive posts on this site but not much in the way of reviews. Is this Kettle good enough for a beginner or should I pay over double for the Weber and the legendary customer service and support.
I know others have asked similar questions, I have read them all but for someone who is cooking for two most of the time like 99.99%, who wants nice steaks, the odd Pizza and some slow roasts with an experiment into some smoke the question remains go the allrounder in the Kettle to learn the tricks of the trade or go with something more specialised.

[Nath]

Look for a decent second hand weber kettle on gumtree!


Nath

[Nath]

Oops just read your post properly lol


Nath

[Gumb]

Hi Steve, it depends what area you are in but I'd also suggest you persevere with the search for a second hand Weber kettle. Don't worry about what type (silver, gold etc), they all do a good job and you won't damage the budget. you can then experiment with the snake method and go from there. If you are in reasonable size city, it shouldn't take too long to snag one.

[Muppet]

If it came down to the Outdoorchef vs a genuine weber the genuine wins hands down. The shell is much thicker and more rigid on The genuine weber. Last time I checked the Outdoorchef was $200 vs $300ish for a OTS. Don't get me wrong my Outdoorchef has been a good thing but I payed around $60 for mine. I wouldn't pay $200 for it. If the right deal comes up a acorn or a dragon Kamado would be right in the mix too. Imo kamados are easier to learn on although once you learn the kettle it will put you in good stead. Good hunting


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[Steve]

Over 12 months and no OTG in my area. I really want the ash bucket because her who has to be obeyed requires it. It's not a problem to buy new in fact I think she would be happier.

[Gumb]

The Dragon kamado would have been the best but that boat has sailed I'm afraid.

[Davo]

A huge majority of members cut their teeth on a weber Kettle and even now I reckon they are still the most versatile bbq out there as you can do just about anything on them after learning a few advanced techniques.

You can also buy 2 brand new OTG's for the price of a Komado type cooker so more than twice times the food real estate. The komados do have a higher lid area so many use an additional tiered food grate and you can rig something like that in a kettle too but don't have the lid space.

The best thing with the kettle is it's solid build, if looked after, will outlast you........there's lots of ways to manipulate the coals which you can't really do in a Komado due to it's narrowness, you can slow smoke in the kettle, roast, bake, grill and have 2 step and 3 step fires.....it produces the best pork crackling.

Many have learnt the art of live fire in a Weber Kettle......they are a fantastic thing and the food out of them is great...but they are also soo forgiving....hang around here and the other members will have you BBQing like a champ.
There are also so many accessories you can buy for a weber kettle from a full sized WOK, Rotiserie set-up, pizza ring set-up....the list is endless as they've been around a long time and are more popular now than ever before...wonder why!!

Don't stuff around with an oldie..get a newie and enjoy it.

Cheers

Davo

[FirePlay]

The Dragon kamado would have been the best but that boat has sailed I'm afraid.

+1. For the price, I wouldn't have anything else, hands down - and I own and learnt on a Weber Performer as well following advice on here. I reckon the Dragon would have been easier to learn on - it's certainly easier to manage.

Where are you located? You could try getting your hands on an Akorn through your local Bunnings. I rate them definitely worth the small premium over a OTG. The extra height gives you the ability to cook direct more often when you want to, plus you can rig up a searing station right over the coals as well. The main differences though for me are:

- At least twice to three times more efficient on fuel as a OTG - low and slow or hot n fast - using charcoal or Heat Beads.
- Able to get proper pizza oven temps which I find impossible in any kettle.
- Able to cook low n slow for 24 hours + with real charcoal, rather than having to use the snake method with beads.

I love mine - the kettle only gets used for overflow duties now!

[Angryman65]

A kettle or a ProQ would be my choices.

Kettle can do all of it but the addition of the features of a water smoker and the sheer volume of stuff you can shove in a ProQ make it my favourite go to cooker.ProQ can be set up without the water bowl and with one, two or none of the stackers so it makes it like a little kettle.

Have a look at their website. The picture on the main page shows what I mean.
http://www.proqsmokers.com.au/

I've done a heap of roasts in mine, Lamb, Beef and chicken. My family regularly demand no smoke so I do some with and some without. I set it up with a drip tray using the same indirect as I do for the kettle for a small roast or if I'm doing a heap of stuff I put the water bowl in empty and line it with foil to make a huge drip tray.

When I added one of their cold smoke generators to the family I worked out I can do about 5 kilo of cheese at time and I've done two full bellies for Bacon in it cold smoked then hot smoked.

I can't say enough good things about it and the follow up service was terrific.

I've got no affiliation with them other than really satisfied customer.

[Fents]

The Dragon kamado would have been the best but that boat has sailed I'm afraid.

+1. For the price, I wouldn't have anything else, hands down - and I own and learnt on a Weber Performer as well following advice on here. I reckon the Dragon would have been easier to learn on - it's certainly easier to manage.

Where are you located? You could try getting your hands on an Akorn through your local Bunnings. I rate them definitely worth the small premium over a OTG. The extra height gives you the ability to cook direct more often when you want to, plus you can rig up a searing station right over the coals as well. The main differences though for me are:

- At least twice to three times more efficient on fuel as a OTG - low and slow or hot n fast - using charcoal or Heat Beads.
- Able to get proper pizza oven temps which I find impossible in any kettle.
- Able to cook low n slow for 24 hours + with real charcoal, rather than having to use the snake method with beads.

I love mine - the kettle only gets used for overflow duties now!

I agree with this! Really good post. Nothing wrong with kettles but i still think the kamado's are more versatile (kettle owners will disagree but ive owned both and its just my opinion.)

[Michael_Dunn]

you won't go wrong if you get the weber - you'll love it.
it does just about everything (and does it very well).

later on you might end up getting a kamado - it definitely
is easier to control the temps, but you'll keep your kettle,
you won't get rid of one of your best mates.

If there's a masters anywhere near you, an eBay deal at
the moment is 15% discount on $50+ items. The masters
click+collect price for the OTG is $449 (less 15% if you enter
CLICK15 when checking out)

[Hogsy]

Where are you from Steve?

[Steve]

Central Coast Hogsy

[12x7]

Central Coast Hogsy

Hi Steve,

Up at the Central Coast you should be able to find an Akorn and a OTG to have a look in the flesh to see what you like best.

I have both and I wrote a review which might help you

http://www.aussiebbq.info/forum/viewtop ... 14&t=16218

There are a few things which might help you work out which is best.

1) How handy you are putting things together/have someone to put the bbq together for you - Weber is far easier to assemble and get ready. This is a one off though.
2) How you like to do temp control eg add/reduce charcoal vs opening and closing vents. Both require you to put your charcoal in a certain way to cook differently
3) How available to store/get your fuel. eg prefer to go to Bunnings to buy heat beads 16KG box vs buying a 20KG bag of lump charcoal from Emberpak and getting it shipped to Central Coast
4) What do you want to cook and eat? Some things are easier done on the Akorn and visa versa with the Weber. I find viewing youtube videos a great help. Here the BBQ Pit Boys web site http://bbqpitboys.com/. They are big Weber Kettle fans but they have lots of other BBQ's as well, eg smoker, Kamado etc. Watch how they cook and set-up the kettle, plus the other type of BBQs. On the Kamado side Chris Grove has written a great cook book called The Kamado Smoker and Grill Cookbook and he has a web site with recipes http://www.nibblemethis.com/p/recipes.html.