If you’ve spent any time at the Chef Hacker Kitchen website or YouTube page you may know that I have an early model Ducane Grill that I absolutely love. I bought it in 1997 and I’ve been using it several times a week, winter and summer, for the last 25 plus years! But what I haven’t written about until now is that in 2013 I purchased a second grill and it turns out that I like my “new” grill at least as much as like my old one.
By 2013, when I started looking for a 2nd gas grill, the original Ducane company had essentially shut down and sold off it’s assets to Weber. Weber continued selling a line of gas grills with “Ducane” on the outside but, from what I could see, on the inside those grills used the typical Weber gas grill technology. I was okay with the way that technology performed – good heat, good control, low instance of flareups – but I am not a fan of their “burner tents” because they tend to burn up and burn out within a few years. As a “Ducanian”, I had come to expect at least a decade or two of grill life so the thought of having to replace parts after two or three seasons turned me off. Especially so since Weber sells the replacements for about 70 bucks which to me seems excessive.
However, while I was kicking the tires on the Weber Spirit, an unusual looking couple of grills in the back corner of the store caught my eye. Three sizes apparently, a cute little table top model, a two-three person middle child and the big fella that can cook enough for extended family get-togethers.
These were called Weber Q’s and they looked like no other grill I had ever seen. I purchased the big one.
The grill box is of a shape that I can most easily describe as looking like the head of Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin. In fact I nicknamed my Q “Stewie”. The Q uses a battery powered igniter that works every time. It has two separately controlled burners; A small center burner that runs left and right and a ring burner that loops around the burner box. The Q heats up faster and hotter than most grills I’ve worked with and I’m happy with the ease and precision when adjusting temperature. The cooking surface is courtesy of a pair of uncoated cast iron grates (great for grill marks) that separate left and right. The bonus for me is that instead of the fragile burner tents used on other Webers, the Q’s engineers designed the grates so that they alone shield the burners from food drippings. I’m thinking that since they are cast iron they should last virtually forever. Brilliant!
Just this year I realized that Weber makes a griddle plate that can be interchanged with one or both of the cooking grates. So for an additional $100 I now have a grill, a griddle and, thanks to a Chef Hack, a smoker and wood fired pizza oven. Watch for the those videos on the Chef Hacker Kitchen YouTube channel.
It just so happens that, outside of the U.S. there is a cult-like following of Weber Q’s and after using this grill for more than a couple of years I can definitely understand why. If you want a new gas grill, check them out.
Let us know your thoughts on grilling and grilling products in the “Leave A Reply” section below. I’m always interested in learning about other folks uses and experiences with outdoor cooking!