Weber q vs stainless

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Little_o
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Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:06 am

Weber q vs stainless

Post by Little_o »

Just a question of the Weber q vs the normal stainless bbq, which do you prefer and why?

Not a huge fan of the look of the Weber q but I’ve never heard anything bad about them. Everyone seems to live them that has them?

What’s the pros and cons of them?
Davo
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by Davo »

Hi Little_o,

That is quite a good question and I'll try to give you my spin on it in this answer.

No Doubt when you first lay eyes on a Weber Q, and scratch your head wondering why these things are so bloody popular and why those who use them wax lyrical about them. They are an aquired taste....when you compare them to the nice big shiney SS monstrocities sitting towards the front or middle of the BBQ store vowing for your attention....over on the right in their own section are the Weber Qs,weber kettles, maybe a Genesis and/or a Summit....but the prices of these are far beyond the other BBQs in the middle of the store with a number of different brand badges on them. So..are the big mothers of BBQs better at churning out good tucker compared to a Weber Q.

Many of us at some stage have had a meal or two from a Weber Kettle and most would agree that the food tastes so much better over charcoal or the fact that the Kettle cooked that roast at high heat, it was juicy and succulent etc etc etc So in the early 2000's, Weber tried to work out how they could try and emulate the results the kettle could do but with Gas...it had to be economical, it had to be easy for anyone to use...pretty much like the kettle, how can we make something that can do all that and perhaps be portable enough to take down the beach and put it in the trunk afterwards......how can we make a Gas BBQ that can Grill at high temps with the lid down which will trap the flavour of the food within the grill yet ventilate it so hot air can escape without the risk of a fat fire. This happens when heat can't escape and lards from meat, especially very fatty meat like pork belly catch fire when they breach their smoking point of around 188C. Don't forget, the Yanks have a culture of tailgate parties during football season where they get a gas grill on the back of a pick-up truck tailgate and let it churn out bbq goodies all day....this is what Weber were aiming at.

So, when you look at a Weber Q, you'll notice that the bottom half is a rounded bowl that will act in a similar way that a Weber Kettle has, as apposed to the square or oblong base of a regular gas bbq but this base doesn't do anything to assist the convection that Weber is renowned for....then theres the rounded lid...nothing too fancy we say, kinda bland really so why have Weber done this?
So they have this lid, with these slots on the side....Genius!! These slots allow the flavours, the smoke from the food and convection of heat to swirl around this lid and eventually out the sides.....what this does is not only give the food more flavour instead of the flavours just disappearing up into the atmosphere into oblivion (well it kinda does make the neighboars lick their lips) but instead, with the lid down, not only the flavours stay with the food, it also assists with beginning with the cooking on the top of the meat as well as the bottom...so when it's time to flip the steak, it doesn't need to stay as long on the 2nd side than as the first giving making it more economical to use it.

Weber were designed from the beginning to cook with the lid down for convected heat, even when it's grilling direct...All webers from the Q's to the Summits were designed from the ground up for lid down griling at high heat.....it's all to do with the way they are ventilated. As with any gas bbq, due to the nature of gas and the pressure that it needs to run at safely, any gas grill is designed primarily for grilling and roasting, even with the rotiseries and smoking boxes...there are those who have tried to manipulated the Gas BBQs to get the low and slow going by turning down the tap on the tap having it just so the fire is just going and the lid pro[ted up so that it doesn't trap hot air under the hood...but this is fraught with danger and if something happens like the flames goes out... this can be hard to detect but theres still gas leaking out and any spark can lead to an explosion....even if one of your guests happens to light up a smoke...remember LPG is liquid gas, heavier than air..it will hang around. Natural gas is lighter than air and will dissipate into the air and not hang around...but it's not as hot as LPG and it's actually a dirtier gas to use.

Anyway I digress, Once people descovered they can get a portable gas barbie that can give a similar result to a Kettle...they sold like hotacakes and still do....go walk around a caravan park and have a look at how many weber Qs are being used...grey nomads bought them by the truckloads...they cook a great feed, are extremely economical which is important when out travelling, have a great 5 yr warranty and excelent parts and service back up....they made a larger 200 series so they can be used as a BBQ at home for larger crowds and also remain portable then they made the 300 series for primarily a home use Q but they all use the same principlein the way they cook....they are also designed so you can use ALL the grill area, not just some of it due to hotspots found on many larger BBQs.....theres been a few copies of the Weber Q, one being the Ziggy and the Gasmate Bug...but none of them can use the Weber's patented lid down high heat grilling design so the other two had to come up with a gimick to get a slice of the lucrative Weber Q Market...so the Ziggy made theirs so it can cook with lid up and have enough power to do this with a portable design...backed by BBQs Galore..they've got a decent market...don't think the Bugg has done as well...except for looking cute.
When they first came out, I bought my first Q in 2006, cooked my lunch on it every day and got 3 months out of the 4kg gas cylinder..not a 9kg and that little thing got as hot as hell..i loved it. I went away from the Qs about 5 years ago when i bought a 6 burner Masport....it had lots of room and it got hot but I hated it...so i sold it to a mate of mine and bought a Q320 which I still have now and am a happy man...have no desire to buy a traditional BBQ...its not to say the Q is superior at all...it's a personal preference and you should stick to what you prefer...but keep an open mind.

Davo
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food&fish
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by food&fish »

Great post and true
Little_o
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by Little_o »

Thanks Davo, makes a lot more sense with the design now. We were looking at the built in design like you mentioned. Just might need to go into a store and check it out properly. Still interested in the wood pellet grill like you mentioned too...just need to decide if we want to build it in as well or leave it separate
paulr
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by paulr »

Great post Davoi!!
I have both a Weber ummit and a family Q.... Obvious differernces woudl be how mnuch food u can cook on them... The Weber Q burns a lot hotter than a Summit (you have to get used to that... Where the round outside element and the centre rod on the Weber Q connect (the centre rod is only on the bigger ones) it creates a big hot spot (that you just have to be aware of).
I use my Q for midweek cooks that dont take a lot of time...
I would still have a look at the Kamado type ones... If you get a kettle make sure you get a chimney!!!

Happy BBQ-ing
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BBQ-Dad
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by BBQ-Dad »

Little_o wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 9:11 pm Just a question of the Weber q vs the normal stainless bbq, which do you prefer and why?

...
As posted in another thread, we just went down the traditional, but full stainless steel, BBQ path. For us it was:

1. Storage - we wanted on board, on a trolley draws and cupboards. We wanted to have all our BBQ items (cooking, cleaning, spare hotplates n grills, rotisserie, etc) all stored on the trolley.

2. $$$$ - both in cost but also value for money.

3. Cooking style - as a huge fan of the Heston Method for cooking steaks, it was always an open lid super hot hotplate cook.

4. Cooking options - we like to do pizza, roasts, traditional snags n steak, even breakfast on our BBQ, so wanted all those options.

5. Size - for those dozen or so times year when family n friends join us, we wanted to be able to cook for all on one BBQ using one method. Either a big bbq sizzle or roast, etc.

So, all up that meant any Weber option was out of the equation very early on.

So, which way are you thinking you'll go?
Little_o
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by Little_o »

BBQ-Dad wrote: Sun Feb 03, 2019 2:23 pm
Little_o wrote: Wed Jan 23, 2019 9:11 pm Just a question of the Weber q vs the normal stainless bbq, which do you prefer and why?

...

So, which way are you thinking you'll go?
So far I have been looking at the built in Weber q but need to get down to a specialist store to have a good look. Been looking at the blue tongue gas bbqs and also want to get to look at the Yoder and Louisiana Grill wood pellet systems but just need to find a time after work to do the rounds! Also getting a quote for some cabinetry so depended on all the costs we can go from there
BBQ-Dad
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by BBQ-Dad »

Keep your eye on Gumtree... At times, there are some kitchen places and even outdoor landscape type places selling their display cabinets bat crazy cheap prices.
Pete101943
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by Pete101943 »

Weber explained in detail...thanks Davo. 😊😊

Pete
Mainey . . .
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Re: Weber q vs stainless

Post by Mainey . . . »

It's a matter of 'taste' sure the big stainless steel BBQ looks great, and you can hang everything inside the cabinet etc, but that is N0T the 'taste' I was thinking about ..... :lol:

Get a 450 gm Porterhouse cut extra thick, just about the footprint (size) of your hand and then add sea salt/grinded pepper corns each side, then brush oil each side and put it into a stinking H0T "Q" for 4 mins, flip it and cook another 4 mins and let it rest on a wire grill for 5 mins and what you get is a thick tender juicy steak with a nice firm crust cooked medium rare that tastes just like you get offered at the very best steakhouse :D
An experienced cook & now a Weber Baby 'Q' devotee...
it's a very different world where you can smell but can't see what's happening with your food
:P
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