BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

GASSERS, LPG OR NATURAL
wilsonj
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Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

Hi all,

I recently retired a beefeater 4 burner after about 22 years. And am now in need of a replacement. Turns out I probably need to do this this week.

I have to admit to being a little lost right now, so any advice welcomed.

Generally I find I am cooking snags, marinated steaks and kebabs, but always on the flat plate. If I try and grill things they just catch fire... However I like to finish things off, especially pork ribs, on the grill with the hood closed to get a really nice flavor.

A friend told me I should look at a simple flat plate BBQ like the Beefeater Clubman or Heatlie. But I'm not sure I'm ready to lose the grill and hood all together.

Looking at BBQs, virtually all seem to have mostly grills, with a small flat plate. I'd like something the other way around, mostly flat plate, but small grill. At least I think I would.
Please set me straight. Usually when I can't find what I think I want, it's because it isn't what I should have!

Please educate me!

Cheers
Jamie
paulr
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by paulr »

Umm Weber Q with half the are as flat plate?? Versatile and should do you if you get one of the bigger Q's (yeah yeah I ike my webers) but a ziggy would do the trick as well??
Let us know what you get?

Happy BBQ-ing, Paul
http://aussiebbq.info/wp - my blog
https://lifesafeast.com.au/cookingclass ... criptions/ - great cooking classes
See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Beer Me.
Michael_Dunn
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Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:11 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by Michael_Dunn »

> If I try and grill things they just catch fire...

If you end up getting something similar to what you have now,
'GrillGrates' might be worth looking into.

https://www.grillgrate.com/science-of-grillgrates/

from the above link:
"The underside of GrillGrates blocks flare-ups from engulfing food,
preventing charring and drying out. The hole pattern design was
developed in the aerospace industry for flame control around fuel tanks."

In my case, I removed the original grill plates and replaced them
with 'grillgrates' ,then removed the diffusers (or whatever they're called),
so there's nothing between the burners and the 'grillgrates' and they work
perfectly as described.
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

Thanks for the fast replies!

I was thinking flat plates were better for cooking sausages ? Or is everyone cooking on these on grills ?

Thanks also for the tip on the grillgate, looks interesting.

So, does no one cook predominately on plates ?

I really wanted something like 700mm+ of flat plate, and then a small grill. This doesn't exist, so that is why I am questioning my methods.

Thanks again.
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

So further research has lead me to a couple choices.

WeberQ3200 or Genesis 2 E455
Ziegler and Brown Turbo classic 4 burner or elite 5 burner.

Second option is a premium over the Weber I know.

Is the RQT much better, or mostly different ?

I read many bad reviews of BBQ Galore. Even with a 10ye warranty, do I want to deal with them?? Or is it more a case of luck of the draw with them?

Thanks again.
titch
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Location: Sth East Melbourne

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by titch »

Maybe send an Email to this mob.
https://www.bluetonguebbqs.com.au/
They did have a very good customer support, no idea of recent tho.
good luck with what your looking for.
You can swap and mic and match grill plates, most sizes are universal

Display Locations for the ChefMaster range
We have displays set up in Melbourne at the Home Ideas Centre at Oakleigh East and in Sydney at our Blacktown warehouse.


wilsonj wrote: Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:01 pm So further research has lead me to a couple choices.

WeberQ3200 or Genesis 2 E455
Ziegler and Brown Turbo classic 4 burner or elite 5 burner.

Second option is a premium over the Weber I know.

Is the RQT much better, or mostly different ?

I read many bad reviews of BBQ Galore. Even with a 10ye warranty, do I want to deal with them?? Or is it more a case of luck of the draw with them?

Thanks again.
Cheers
Titch
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

Thanks Titch

I'm in country SA though, but I'll look around.

General question about the Turbo elite RQT. It seems this is a very polarising product. It either gets a 1 out of 10 or 9 out of 10. QTF ? (little joke there)

Generally though there is a severe lack of reviews for a product that has been around as long as it has.
wilsonj
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

For those interested, I ended up with a Weber Genesis 415.

Looked at quite a few, but the Weber seems to have the best support and warranty, was reasonably priced for the size and ticked most of the boxes.

Went to BBQ Galore and was not impressed. Felt very "salesy". I'm sure each store is different.

Now to find time to build this thing!

Cheers
Jamie
titch
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by titch »

Great piece of BBQ, Weber warranty is second to none.
I just had a 6 year old kettle replaced due to rust, simple and just happened
Make sure you show your first cook on your new BBQ
What part of SA are you in?
Cheers
Titch
paulr
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by paulr »

Thatsa great BBQ, did you get the iGrill gadget?
Please let us know how your first BBQ goes...

Happy BBQ-ing, Paul
http://aussiebbq.info/wp - my blog
https://lifesafeast.com.au/cookingclass ... criptions/ - great cooking classes
See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Beer Me.
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

titch wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 1:13 pm Great piece of BBQ, Weber warranty is second to none.
I just had a 6 year old kettle replaced due to rust, simple and just happened
Make sure you show your first cook on your new BBQ
What part of SA are you in?
Thanks. Yes the continuous praise I kept reading about Weber finally pushed me in that direction. Both performance and support.

I'm very much a novice when it comes to BBQ. I've used one for years, but looking back I really wasn't doing it right. I'm going to put some effort in and learn the ropes. Really looking forward to it!

I'm in the Riverland btw.

Cheers
Jamie
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

paulr wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:58 pm Thatsa great BBQ, did you get the iGrill gadget?
Please let us know how your first BBQ goes...

Happy BBQ-ing, Paul
Thanks Paul. I will be happy to report back. We have some scotchies lined up for tomorrow as well as some sausages for the kids.

Yup, I did get the iGrill, as well as tools, pizza stone, light, cleaning brush and cover.

I hope I've got enough gas in my bottle!! ha.

Cheers
Jamie
hjl
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by hjl »

Hi wilsonj
I believe you would or should have got a flat plate with your genesis. So that should cover a lot of bases. Did you get a cookbook with your new bbq. ?
That would guide you on using the new bbq. I think you have made a wise choice. Bbq is what Weber do. Enjoy.
Cheers
hjl
wilsonj
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2020 1:03 pm

Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by wilsonj »

hjl wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:39 pm Hi wilsonj
I believe you would or should have got a flat plate with your genesis. So that should cover a lot of bases. Did you get a cookbook with your new bbq. ?
That would guide you on using the new bbq. I think you have made a wise choice. Bbq is what Weber do. Enjoy.
Cheers
hjl

Hi hjl,

Yes, there was a flat plate, however it is quite small, only about 1/3 the cooking area.
I might be surprised, and find I really didn't need a larger one.
Yes I did get a cookbook also. Had a quick flick though it, looks like some good recipes in there.

And thank you. I feel good about the purchase also. More so than had I bought the Turbo Elite.

Cheers
Jamie
Davo
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Re: BBQ gurus advice needed on new BBQ this week, please

Post by Davo »

wilsonj wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:56 am
hjl wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2020 10:39 pm Hi wilsonj
I believe you would or should have got a flat plate with your genesis. So that should cover a lot of bases. Did you get a cookbook with your new bbq. ?
That would guide you on using the new bbq. I think you have made a wise choice. Bbq is what Weber do. Enjoy.
Cheers
hjl

Hi hjl,

Yes, there was a flat plate, however it is quite small, only about 1/3 the cooking area.
I might be surprised, and find I really didn't need a larger one.
Yes I did get a cookbook also. Had a quick flick though it, looks like some good recipes in there.

And thank you. I feel good about the purchase also. More so than had I bought the Turbo Elite.

Cheers
Jamie

Looked up the E415 last night when i seen this post and yeah, good choice, If I ever get a gas BBQ again, I think I might also go down this path.
Due to Weber being primarily an American Company, they don't use hotplates on BBQs like Aussies do so it's why they don't factor these much into the equation, they usually use griddle pans on top of their grills for foods that need a solid base, also those BBQs that do have Hotplate only are usually built for this kind of cooking in mind. I had a mate like this once, he would never get a BBQ with grill bars, always wanted the sausage sizzle thing happening with the onions and mushies.
Quite often a BBQ has to be built so they have proper ventilation in the areas required and seeing Weber is mostly lid down cooking, you can't do that with Australian designed BBQs mainly because of the way they are ventilated and that BBQs such as the Beefeater can't high heat grill with lid down, it must be up otherwise too much heat builds up and things start to melt or like what happened with a mate's BBQ, it developed a major fat fire inside the BBQ when I tried the Weber way....didn't take long for it to happen either...scary stuff but it made me then realise why it happened.
So perhaps if you want more hotplate room, you could always buy a separate hotplate only grill not needing a lid and then you've got the Weber to do other stuff. I like having more than 1 BBQ for this very reason so i don't have to do too many batches of different food.
Weber BBQs were designed from the beginning to be lid down cooking and once you get used to the concept and trust your grill, you won't go back to the old ways. It happened to me a few years back when i sold a Weber Q2200 and bought this huge 6 burner Masport BBQ, after using Weber's for so long, I ended up hating the fact i couldn't high heat grill with that thing, so it wasn't long before i sold it and went back and bought a new Weber gasser....i was a happy chappy but I had seen the dark side :lol:

Mate I hope you have fun with your new Weber....hope to see some great cookups on here.

for photos, see under posting window, you have 2 tabs, Options & Attachments, click on attachments and you can then click on a photo file in your computer but you'll need to resize your pics to around 640 or thereabouts.

Cheers

Davo
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