Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So easy, 29 April 2009
The best part for a pair of very disorganised BBQ'ers was the speed in which it heats up allowing us to seize the day (and the weather) without missing out because the coals need hours to get to the right temperature.
Would strongly recommend.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An American design classic, 21 Jun 2009
Look at reviews on Amazon.com and you will see that people have had these for 20 years and they are still going strong.
So what makes it a classic? First, it was the first of its kind in its design. The food should be cooked with the lid on. This allows even cooking of the food and not the burnt outside/uncooked inside phenomena beloved of barbecues.
Most items should not actually be cooked over the coals, but instead "indirectly". This is really simple- pile the coals on one side, the food on the other, and put the lid on. Try beer can chicken. Get a small chicken or two, rub in salad oil dressing, get a small beer can, drink half, then shove it (with the remaining beer) up the chicken's jacksi. Put it on indirect heat for 2 hours covered- basting in a mixture of white wine vinegar and soy sauce every 30 mins or so. It comes out so succulent it is unbelieveable. Try that on your £500 gas barbecue!
Second reason- it is a classic in its build quality. It is designed to last years, left outside, uncovered. It is covered in a ceramic paint, and takes some hammer. I dropped the lid on stone flags when it was brand new, but I don't worry about a bit of scuffing/ chipping on it- it will get plenty more abuse over the years. You will see other "kettle" barbecues (ripped off from the original design of this); don't even bother.
The food tastes so much better on this than a gas barbecue- no drying out of the food, and a smoky taste.
So how does the product work? Well it is easily assembled (just a hammer needed) in about half an hour. There is a grate near the bottom of the kettle where the coals are put, then a cooking grill that rests further up the bottom half. The "one touch" feature is three metal "leafs" that sit in the very bottom of the kettle. These leafs can be rotated with a handle on the outside, and cover some vents which should be open when cooking. As the ash develops from the coals on the grate, it drops down into the bottom of the kettle- some of it will fall out of the holes onto the circular silver tray you can see on the photo between the tripod legs. However, when you have finished your cooking and the coals have cooled, you can then rotate the silver leafs, and they will gradually push all of the ash in the bottom out onto the silver tray, which is then removed and poured into a bin.
Fat also runs out of the bottom of the barbecue onto the silver tray.
There is also a metal vent on the top of the barbecue which can be opened and closed to increase/ decrease the heat- the more the vents are open, the more air gets in and the hotter it gets.
Don't bother cleaning it (apart from shifting the ash) after barbecuing. It used to take me forever to clear my gas barbecue. Here, all you do next time you heat it up is rub the cooking grill with a wire brush and all muck comes off it. Weber recommend you wash the kettle out once a year- that is it!
There is one reason many of the professional barbecuer's use this - search for example for the barbecue pit boys who show you how to barbecue properly- it is because it is the best.
Also get a Weber fire starter chimney. This essential piece of equipment is filled with your coals/ charcoal, put four pieces of scrunched up newspaper underneath, and light it. The fire is forced up the chimney and ignites all the coals- no firelighters required! Then when the coals are hot, tip them into the barbecue.
Only downside is that the wheels and legs are not great and it is cumbersome to move as a result- it was when I was doing this my lid fell off.
On my first barbecue on this I did said beer can chicken, baby back ribs (slow cooked 2.5 hours indirect heat) as well as the usual burgers, sausages etc and people said it was the best barbecue food they had eaten.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Probably the best braai I've ever used, 2 Jul 2009
We had one of these for years in South Africa, and it was left outside all the time. Eventually started showing a bit of wear around the edges, but still solid and cooked as well as ever. Beer can chicken is great, and so are roasts, but you can cook steaks, chops and sausages etc on the open grill (lid off) easily. You just have to keep an eye on it. One tip, rub the grid with a raw onion before you start cooking and it'll wipe clean afterwards without a lot of scrubbing. There are a lot of accessories, and the ones we used all the time are the roasting rack and the fish holder (supports the fish completely and makes it easy to turn without breaking it up). I recommend this barbeque without reservation.
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