With removable catch pans, you can clean the grease quite easily. As with all Weber BBQ grills, intelligent design coupled with quality construction produces an attractive cooker that works great. The heavy cast aluminum housing holds and distributes heat while the cast iron grates can do a decent job of searing. In 2014 Weber split the cooking grate to accommodate an optional cast on griddle on one side.
While Piezo igniters can also be finicky in cold weather, the electronic ignition system is entirely dependable (as long as you remember to replace the battery when needed). The sturdy handles extend far enough away from the grill body to make it reasonable to pick up and move even while lit. Last, but certainly not least, we wish this model came with a latch to secure the lid. Though it doesn’t solve the issue, the cast aluminum lid is at least heavier than most, so it doesn’t bounce around much during normal travel. But if you’re planning on four-wheeling into your BBQ site, consider using a bungee cord to help secure it.
The lids have built-in thermometers to monitor how hot the grill gets so you know when it’s ready for searing steaks or if you are trying to keep the temperature a bit lower. The Weber Q 320′s cooking performance is good too, easily taking under 9-10 minutes to cook a burger patty, regardless of where it was placed on the grill plate. Beware, however, that the body temperature does go up considerably more so it’s worth taking care around it when cooking. Naturally, the Weber Q 2200 is meant to be portable, so its small cooking space isn’t too surprising.
As long as you keep the lid closed, you shouldn’t lose heat and will be able to cook the food faster. The weber q 1200 is an unexpectedly powerful grill, resulting in cook times that were much faster than expected for such a petite barbecue. Like other top models, this is all thanks to a single, U-shaped burner that effectively delivers heat across the range of the grill surface. When you make rubs at home we recommend you add salt first then the herbs and spices because salt penetrates deep and the other stuff remains on the surface.
Not surprisingly, this grill doesn’t offer the control of full-size grills. This is not to say that it cannot be controlled, but that it will likely take a bit of a learning curve until you figure out how to do so. Temperature control tends to run away if this grill still has room to heat, i.e., it has yet to achieve its maximum temperature. Still, our testers were able to control the heat of this grill better than other models. Like any gas grill, the 2200 needs to be cleaned after each use, but it’s incredibly easy to do. Once the grill cooled down a bit after cooking, I used my wire brush to clean food and grease off the grates.
Our R&D department develops high-quality, fairly priced grilling equipment. The only annoyance in the wind is the disposable aluminum drip tray liner, which is designed to save you from having to clean what can notoriously be the nastiest part of a grill. Without some significant weight added — like a rock — you can expect that this drip pan will pick up and fly away with the first significant gust of wind. It just so happened that while I was testing the grill, my boyfriend had an off-site event at work.
I also like the side tables – they are high quality and are perfectly designed to hold food. In case you think that this is a trivial feature, it isn’t one that is available with many larger models. At the same time, it saves you both money and hassle in having to buy third party side tables for outdoor grilling. The domed lid of the Q 1200 keeps the wind at bay — even high winds do not affect the flame, even on the lowest setting. Even though it is not necessarily insulated, the heavier-weight cast aluminum lid seems to be well-suited to retaining critical heat when outside temperatures drop.