Weber Q not hot enough? Try natural convection!

October 12th, 2015

Appliance Hack Appliance Talk BBQs Ovens & Cooking

Our customers have a lot of great things to say about Weber Qs. These portable appliances are ideal for convenient outdoor cooking, whether in the backyard, out and about, or on the road.

That said, some customers have found themselves frustrated when cooking on a Weber Q. One common complaint is that the Weber Q doesn’t get hot enough to provide satisfactory grilling.

But there is a simple two-step solution to this problem:

1. CLOSE THE LID

2. KEEP IT CLOSED

There. Simple, right?

Okay, here’s a more in-depth explanation:

Direct cooking vs Natural Convection

A barbeque is one of the simplest home appliances you can imagine – a metal cooking surface and a source of heat. It’s so simple that a child could build one. And they have – my cousins and I once cobbled together a home-made barbeque out of a pile of rocks, a broken piece of a farm equipment, and the element of fire (with our parents’ supervision – don’t play with matches, kids).

source: _BuBBy_ on Wikimedia Commons

However, the Weber Q series – including the Baby Q, the Family Q, and everything in between – is a little different. Unlike most barbeques, which directly heat your food using a single hot surface, the Weber Q has been specifically designed to cook using Natural Convection, searing one side of your food with a hot surface, and cooking the other side by encircling it with hot air.

Weber Baby Q 50060224 Q1000 BBQ

To get the best results from your Weber Q, light it with the lid open, then close the lid and leave the Q to preheat for 10 minutes or so. Once it’s nice and hot, stick your meat on the Q, close the lid and leave it closed, at least until it’s time to turn things over.

Benefits of Natural Convection

Now, you may protest that you bought a barbeque, not an oven, and that a big part of barbequing’s appeal is watching your food cook, poking and prodding at the meat while an audience of spectators comment. This cooking style is practically instinctual, and it can take some real willpower to break away from this mindset.

But trust us – while natural convection may seem counter to everything you expect from a BBQ, this method offers some very real benefits:

• Better BBQ flavour – Allowing the barbeque smoke to circulate around your meat, rather than letting it escape in to the atmosphere, will give your cooking a unique taste.
• Gas-efficiency – Maintaining the high temperature required for direct cooking uses up a fair bit of gas. Indirect cooking on a Weber Q requires far less gas, which means fewer trips to the servo to refill your LPG tank.
• Cleaner BBQ area – Even the most careful BBQ cooks will experience spattering fat and grease during cooking. This won’t only make a mess of your barbeque and your shirt front (keep that apron on!), but it can also leave the area surrounding your BBQ area a mess. By cooking with the lid down on a Weber Q, your balcony, verandah, or pergola can remain neat and tidy, which means less time spent cleaning up after each cooking sesh.

So if you’re frustrated that your new Weber Q isn’t getting hot enough to grill effectively, try closing the lid to experience its natural convection. It may take a bit of getting used to, but it will be worth it in the long run.