OP
OP
- Nov 22, 2018
- 1,970
- 19,537
- Funster No
- 57,328
- MH
- Rimor Europeo 87
- Exp
- Five years plus three tugging
The aluminium foil idea is better than mine. I was looking at some sort of trivet to raise the roasting pan. Thanks! Not sure if we need the rotisserie. The boys don't eat anything rotisseried (sic - is that a word?) and we kind of live off marinated chicken, sis type kebabs, sausages, chops and steaks. With local salad and bread obvs!You've ordered the Weber which I'm sure you won't be disappointed with at all. I've had one for many many years and though I've always looked for alternatives to it's versatility I've never found one. Cadacs are just toys in my opinionIt's true you do not need a regulator when using the van connection so no worries there. One complaint I have heard of the Weber is that the cast iron griddle doesn't get hot enough and sometimes this can be the case when your trying to sear more than a couple of steaks at a high temp. Filling the griddle completely can cool it somewhat but that is the only minus to this BBQ. To counter this I bought a Coleman adjustable regulator which goes up to 50mbar but for this you need an extra bottle. Having a 5kg roaming bottle is a good thing however as sometimes the sun or wind is on the wrong side of the van so you can move your BBQ around to wherever you want it without the restrictions of a length of hose. And please all you health and safety people....the BBQ just gets a bit hotter thats all.....no danger.
To roast in your Weber I suggest you take length of aluminium foil about one and half metres long and scrunch it up into a long sausage of foil....not scrunched tight but kind of loosely to about a normal sausage diameter. Then coil it up and put it on the griddle and then your roasting pan on top. This will prevent the bottom of your pan becoming too hot and burning though you still have to watch for this. I have an older Weber when the lid had less height, I believe the newer ones are a tad taller but investing in the rotisserie isn't a bad idea not necessarily for the rotisserie - I hardly ever use it - but for the extra height the surrounding stainless steel guard gives you. Quite large joints such as full shoulder of Lamb can be roasted this way and two large chickens no problem! For the winter time I put a large folded towel on the lid to help retain the heat. Probably should invest in an old style fire blanket for this but still alive so far.
I have some experience with feeding an Autistic Child so I do sympathise greatly on the challenging meal times. Texture is everything to them as I found out. Crispy Food seems to be favoured. At home I bought an Air Fryer in which I would fry slices of Parsnip for snacks which she loved! experimenting with different root vegetables in this with a bit of Olive oil was wonderful....! The air fryer mean't that producing crispy food was fairly odour free, quick and clean with minimal oil and safer also as no large amounts of hot oil hanging around. Fresh Cod generously coated with homemade bread crumbs - the dried stuff is far too small to get an attractive, crunchy coating to satisfy her - mean't she would eat some fish finally! On the other end of the texture scale was her favourite meal of boiled mashed potatoes blended with a healthy portion of fresh spinach cooked in a non stick pan with some butter. Either blended with a hand blender or put into a food processor. Proportionally it was two thirds spinach to one of potato....I love both these foods but this stuff tasted fairly awful without any other seasoning but she absolutely loved it! And ate it most days. I guess it may be the connection to early memories of baby food? Who knows.
I clean my weber....er....maybe....once a year? lol! Apart from after cooking where I give it a good scrub with a wire brush and then prior to cooking I wipe the griddle down with some oil on kitchen paper until the paper is almost coming off cleanish......I don't clean the rest of it at all until I decide to give it a good going over perhaps once a year. But then I mostly use it for roasting where I put the joint in a tin....but I also use it in the traditional way often but just not as much. Just line the drip tray with some Alu-Foil rather than the Weber trays, such cheaper. I have a large motorhome with underfloor storage where I keep it and eventually traced a strange musky smell to the Weber in the winter as the van heated up underfloor.....now I keep it in a custom made zipper bag which keeps any smells contained. Even if you clean it....it's a BBQ....it will have a scent.
That'll do....enjoy your Weber! You'll love it!
Anyway, it has arrived and is about the same weight as the cheapo grease bucket thing that I am throwing out, which is good. The replacement adapter and a new length of gas hose is scheduled to arrive on Weds. I always think that re-using gas hose is asking for trouble. Just need remember to unscrew clockwise and tighten anti-clockwise...
Re: ASD offspring. Without a motorhome, we wouldn't get away on holiday. The boys won't fly, one loves trains, one hates them, one likes this, the other likes that. But we like travelling and need to keep ourselves sane, so we tugged for three years before spending a bloody kings ransom on a new bus. What we do is leave the moho open as much as possible and the boys can go in and out whenever, which then creates the feeling that the moho is just an extension of home, so they love being in it. But food? Breakfast & dinner is the same 365 days a year. Lunch is always a huge plate of fruit, so they are covered for vitamins! Green veg? Forget it!
I saw that you have to have a throwaway foil tray under the Weber. Weber stamp their trays with their logo and charge a fortune for them. Ebay got me 60 that will fit under the Weber, for a fiver.
Our BBQ lives in a lined canvas holdall. You are right, it doesn't stop it smelling, but it does reduce it. I won't be adding to Weber share dividend by buying their >£40 carry bag!
