3 Webers in the family now. A 22 in kettle, a Smokey Joe (Baby) plus as a result of a Stateside tour a gas Weber 'Q' for those times when I have forgotten to get the charcoal! Also got a monster gas Charbroil.....we eat alfresco alot!

Original Kettle now 15 yrs old and still going strong, had to fix that wonky foreleg that falls out though!!

This is incredibly timely as todays top job for me is to source a BBQ..

Cheers!

WWW

Weber handles
 

Bought mine in the 80's at Bruggen. Couldn't squeeze it onto the removals van so left it with a mate who got it on a herc to Lyneham and I collected it from there. It had the old wooden handles which finally fell apart so I knitted some new ones from an old broom handle. I'm not pikey and would have bought replacements if I could but the new ones are bakelite and don't fit. Would have got it's LSGM by now if I hadn't burnt my hand during the last moments of the handles life.
Gas be bu****ed!

Picked up 4 webers from BX in Osan on a VC10 Gurkah rotation to their cerimonial duties at Panmunjom. One had been purchased specifically for use on unit BBQs - unit had the task of hosting many Senior Officers (and their indulgence wifes) from UK, who just happen to have a requirement to visit HKG as part of their 'Official' duties, and getting nearer to 97, the visits picked up somewhat. Upshot was that with such heavy usage, Webber gave up the ghost within a year..., mind you, the 80%+ humidity, and the beating it took getting blown around the unit car park in a category 4 typhoon did play a part in its demise.

We picked up a replacement and some additional Webbers for our local Army mess on a trip to Okinawa - we had chartered a Heavy Lift Belfast as the load out was such that it would not fit into anything we had available at the time, and as the a/c was empty on the return leg, decided that a dozen or so webbers would make no difference.

The best laid plans o' mice and men....

The movers got delayed at the BX which we found out later, was about 5 miles from the isolated pan we were allocated. After off-load, Capt of Belfast decided to depart early, received clearance, refused to wait for Movers, and started engines for early departure...., the rest as they say is history - but history that is known to a select few!!!!

Suffice to say that the Okinawa Webber run (as it became known locally),
was the talking point around many BBQs in the colony for some time after.

GengisK :ok:

You charcoaleers are all stuck in the rut of yesteryear. Gas is the way ahead! I got me an Optimus 24" Firerite with auto-ignition, twin-swirl combustion chambers, 360 castoring rollers and side hung foldaway stove. It's the Typhoon of the Saturday afternoon patio scene. Anybody who slags me off is a technophobic caveman (or lady) who fears change!

OK, I'll say it,"Jehovah!" :)

I fully agree, grilling on gas is as gay as it comes. I only use it to start the coals. No mess/difficulty, no paraffin taste, less oily residue on the grill, it's the way ahead.

As for what I drive, certainly not a Boxster. Good ole' American 250hp V6 19mpg thingy. No shortage of testosterone at my house. I wrote my last post shortly after the pink and moist thing had left...

And grilling inch thick steak tonight....

Gas v Charcoal
 

My limited experience is that gas does not heat nearly as well as charcoal and with gas one needs a few wood chips to create the flavoursome and carcinogenic smoke! The first time I cooked on a charcoal BBQ, after years with a gas one, I burned everything to crisp due to the amazing temp difference.

gas v charcoal
 

Horses for courses really. I used to be a complete charcoal snob and scoffed at the gay gas users. Now, having the benefit of both I can appreciate the pluses and minuses. For example trying to cook a Beer Butt Chicken on a charcoal grill is a real faf and often the lack of heat control means the outside of the bird is burned or the beer boils over and puts the charcoal out! That said you can't beat a charcoal grill for burgers and bangers that need that carbon taste! Use both I say, just for different stuff!:=

Smudge

Wber Q gives me all the fire power I need to grill big and it comes with a set of wheels to drag it down the beach. Last time I flew it, I loaded it up with two 1 inch thick porterhouses and two 1 1/2 pound lobsters..plenty of room. No mess, no cleaning = more time playing! Not burning my eyebrows off every time I try to light it helps too!!
Aloha!

Top accessory is the tin tube with a handle on it and a metal grill near the bottom - fill with charcoal/briquettes with a firelighter at the bottom, stand tube on lower BBQ grill on top of second (lit) firelighter. Leave for 25 mins and then pour grey, ready to cook charcoal either on inside or outside of wire restrainer thingies and crack on. Made by Weber, about £8 in the shops.
Have done 16lb Christmas Turkey using indirect cooking - fabulous but don't forget to use a foil tray full of water to help steam it and keep it moist.

WEBF - you could make one out of a SHAR for posterity

:E

My father-in-law bought me one of these gadgets for Christmas, undoubtedly the best present I have ever had from him!!:ok: Light to cooking in about 15 mins I find. I have also done the Christmas turkey on the bbq (indirect method), and a 4 rib of beef and legs of lamb. All come out 'bootiful', perfectly cooked with just a hint of a smoked favour. Roll on the bank holiday weekend, now if I could only use my pressure washer to give the Weber a clean - b:mad:y Thames Water!!

Roly, was it this thing:


They cost about £18 from the place which supplied me with the hardware kit to unbugger my Weber, http://www.supergreenthumb.com

They also provide spare bits for gas gays.

On a totally different note, to petrolheads of a certain age, 'Weber' means twin fortys! As in 2 x 40DCOE carbs, the RR of bolt-on performance before the days of chavs 'n chips!

Beags

phew, I thought all this BBQ talk was getting a bit surreal there, but then we got onto carbs and I feel a whole lot better. Makes me want to go and start mine up and make lots of noise. Nice photo tho matey - that you? Dodgy looking gloves - no pretending it is an advert, we know the truth!

No - I'm not sensible enough to use gloves or that complicated fire lighter thing! Just the barbi'-gloop from Waitrose plus some firelighters and supermarket sharkhole, light, watch the flames blaze merrily and wait for a beer or few......30-ish minutes seems about right.

Always wanted a GT6 with the full-Monte SAH-tuning triple 40DCOEs and tuned twin exhaust. Cash never met desire though.....

A Confession
 

I had a 22" Weber for years - obtained in the US of course. Me and Mrs Max spent many happy evenings lighting it, eventually cooking on it and then sitting around it on pleasant but chilly UK summer evenings. But all good things must pass and a couple of years ago we invested in a - yes - gas Weber. It's brilliant. It lights instantly. The food tastes EXACTLY the same as from the old charcoal thingy. Does that make me gay? If so, I'm the only one in this village! No, I prefer to think that it shows I'm ready to adapt to the 21st century. So guys, give up the old charcoal monsters and move with the times. By the way, what's wrong with a Boxster?

Happy cooking everyone.:ok:

My first Webber cost £18 (US $ conversion in BX early '80s blah blah) - I aint gonna spend same on a device that starts it!.

Broken leg fixed by drill hole across leg and leg mounting with 6p bolt through entire thing. - Needs tightening annually.

Got an all black one - yep.... still black today!

I'm glad someone mentioned Rolls-Royce. My father-in-law gets a far-off look in his eyes, goes a bit misty and mutters something about 'Rolls-Royce of barbeques' when he lights his.

The boys got me one as a wedding present on the basis that i'd have no excuses not to lay on a barbeque when they Taceval me.

BEags

That's the gadget, it's ace at getting charcoal from cold to cooking hot in minutes. One match and some rolled up newspaper (I find that the Sunday Times works best) so no need for firelighters and a slow build up.

I too am too stupid to wear those dodgy looking gloves, but then I haven't burned myself yet (occasional smell of singeing hair though)!:ouch:

Just be careful...........

The Boss of a local AEF is currently ground-bound as a result of a self-inflicted burn.

Take care, out there.