What is BBQ to you ?

  • I was cooking a humble snag on the grill for lunch and it occurred to me that I was back in a very happy place on the deck with a pair of tongs, radio on listening to the footy and grilling over the gas BBQ. I'm not saying home isn't happy without the BBQ, far from it but I just love being out there cooking something. It doesn't have to be a gourmet meal or a low and slow pork shoulder where more thought has to go in to the result. No, it's just that being over the grill is just so soothing and a release from the everyday ups and downs of life. No politics, no covid, no worry about health problems.

    Just good old sizzle and smoke which putsd a smile on the dial. :bbq: :) :bbq:

    Hope that's not being too deep but I thought it was worth posting. :cheers:

    The pic is there so nobody can post this..... :w

    Is that what it does for you ? I'd be interested to see some comments.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • what you said is exactly what BBQ is to me, its the memories, the experience, the environment, the company and not just the food.

    i have many fond memories of when i was still living at home and dad would BBQ (werent allowed to touch another mans grill) and i would just sit and watch and talk about anything, mainly footy but anything really.

    when i moved in to my own place i hoped to do the same thing but it sooned fizzled out as i didnt have an outdoor area / verandah / pergola or anything else conducive to the BBQing experience.

    Its taken me 16years but i now have my ultimate outdoors area on its way (will be ready 2 weeks before grandfinal weekend).

    Even the wife and kids are excited, they have started shopping for it. :shrug:

    My possessions: GMG DB - Ziggy Triple

  • Not that long ago, yes even in this present Century, many of us Aussies were happy enough to have an open grill and hotplate on a Jarrah trolley, many of these Aussiefied structures adorned our backyards. A few of us had Weber Kettles, just the standard one with 3 legs and an ashtray underneath...great for roasts and that's mostly all we did on them. Before the Americanisation of Australian BBQ came about, a BBQ was something we probably did once a Month maybe 2 Months, it was not a huge deal.

    Australian BBQ wasn't a gourmet affair either, chops, snags, steaks, bacon, eggs and lots of fried onion.

    There were no Komados, huge offset smokers, that's something the Butchers did, a few Kettles floating around and nobody knew what to do with them....now they are collectors items.

    But sometimes, you just want a simple feed, turn on the Gas Barby, scrape down the hotplate, oil it and off you go and some people used to say...you may as well cook in a pan.....oh no no no.....a Hotplate got blazing hot...more than any kitchen stove could handle....and the moment you check the onions, the mushies, the snags etc on the hotplate and you hear that Sizzle.....that's what it's all about.......it all just made sense...no complications, just a good hotplate, meat and a few Beers while Dad flipped them for the 235th time. Oh we used to get a bit fancy sometimes, pour some beer on the onions to caramelise them or throw a slab of butter over our Mushrooms to make them more delicious and if you threw a steak at the back fence, it'd knock a few planks out....yep...the steaks had to be dead 8o There were no shrimps on the barbie at our place. :shrug: Now those same steaks are almost out of reach for the average family. =O

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • Davo thanks again for your post, took me back to dad wearing his thongs, cooking at the homemade brick-built barbie in the back yard burning sticks under the plate. The plate was bit of weathered steel that spent its life uncovered and had to be seasoned after every cook so it’s didn’t turn to rust flakes.

    Gumb for me barbie is what we’ve done this weekend, cooking and sharing food as a family, trying new things and getting back to the simple things.

  • I remember the old BBQ we had at home when I was young which was basically just a round grill over a pan which dad filled with kindling. I think there was a way to change the height of the grill but that's about all.

    How times have changed.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Ian, we had something like that too that we used to take with us in the caravan to our weekends at Anna Bay, Port Stephens when I was a young teen only ours had a solid round aluminium hotplate with a single ring burner powered by a small 2 kg gas bottle which also powered the gas light which I still have. Made sure I grabbed them from my Parent's place after they passed on and having to clear their place out.

    Those old Besser block Backyard BBQs were great.....Dad brought back one of those in his VW Beetle from Long Jetty Central Coast to Newcastle...the exhaust pipes were almost touching the ground :D

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • yeah, I had a besser block BBQ and incinerator when I bought my first house in 1981. $45,000 in Chadstone on 1/3 acre. There are 4 units on it now.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • yeah, I had a besser block BBQ and incinerator when I bought my first house in 1981. $45,000 in Chadstone on 1/3 acre. There are 4 units on it now.

    We stayed out near there a few Months ago when we done a road trip to Melbourne, we booked these villas at Mount Waverly and when we got there and in the place, we were nearly knocked over by the stench of smoking in the unit, closer investigation showed someone forgot to take their Meth Bong from the Kitchen.....so we cancelled immediately and found this other place in Oakleigh, again someone had been smoking in the room, we then seen that they glad wrapped the smoking detectors and the sprinkler system....what some people do eh!!

    Have you been to the Queen Vic markets on a Wednesday evening lately...they got huge smokers and lots of BBQ there including Greek BBW, low n slow BBQ....definitely going again...my next trip!!

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • I grew up around Oakleigh but I stay as far away from the CBD as I can. Bloody awful place but i do like the markets.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • I don't remember my Father ever really being into BBQ at all. We used to have a Brick BBQ out the back with a plate on top which rarely got used.

    It was just something he wasn't in to I guess. :shrug:

    Mum however was a gun cook so I am thinking he just let her do all of the cooking. It was never on a BBQ though.

    When I was a kid we generally caught up with friends who just had the standard Gasser with Jarrah trolley or Brick BBQ with plate out the back. The friends cooked and we ate as you say Dave-O steaks that were cooked to within an inch of their life.

    Fast forward to my journey and it started with a standard BBQG 4 Burner Ranchero Gasser half Plate and half grill. The guy at BBQG upsold me to a Vitreous enamel base so that the paint wouldn't flake in the event of a fat fire (glad I did the upgrade as well, saved me quite a few times). That BBQ lasted a good 20 years before it made its way to the BBQ cemetery aka tip. Burners were pretty much rusted away and Grills were about to disintegrate as well.

    Then picked up a portable Ziggy from the Father in law when he passed to replace the Ranchero and the rest is history.

    From there I have had or still have a GMG DB, Saffire Kamado, Akorn Jr, Grill 2 Go, Primo XL, GMG DC & a Primo Jr.

    The grill purchases were driven by me looking for a hobby to take my mind off of cigarette smoking and the cost was subsidised by not smoking Cigarettes. Happy to say I haven't had 1 cigarette now going on 5-6 years.

    For me its a passion that I find truly relaxing. It lets me tune out from work and life pressures. To me there is nothing better than relaxing out the back next to a Grill doing its thing, listening to some good music & having a drink (my poison is Bourbon either neat or with coke). Its my time alone to enjoy what I am creating.

    It then becomes the sharing with family and friends the fantastic food / tastes and recipes that you have tried or want to try.

    The fellowship of talking grills and cooks with other backyard BBqers as well is something I enjoy.

    Only last weekend I caught up with a mate in Newcastle who was saying " I only have a Oklahoma Joe Drum smoker " like he was embarrassed about it. I was quick to say "they are a great grill, I know some guys who rave about how good Drum Smokers are. Have you used the hooks in it " ?

    He said it came with the hooks but he hasn't been game enough to give it a try. Again I was able (thanks to the guys in here) to say I am told its fantastic. He then told me all about how he had just done his first reverse sear steak and was blown away by how good the result is.

    I mentioned this little part of the internet so that he can ask questions etc... as he sounded like yep he has been bitten by the bug.

    I am really happy to say that I have broken the mould in our family as my son now uses his Akorn pretty much every week.

    Randomly get pics from him of his exploits.

    I am sure I will learn more on the BBQ journey and thanks to you all in here for making the journey enjoyable and a positive experience.

    Enjoy your "Q"
    James

    Primo XL, GMG Davy Crockett, Char-Broil Grill2go, Akorn Jr and Weber Baby Q.

  • Handing down the tradiion goes on here too. My son has a Pit Boss pellet grill and a family Ziggy. He'll sometimes ring me to say he's relaxing at home on a Sunday with the kids (6&4) and doing a low and slow brisket. Like me, he finds it a great release from a hectic week at work, except I l no longer work. :P

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Handing down the tradiion goes on here too. My son has a Pit Boss pellet grill and a family Ziggy. He'll sometimes ring me to say he's relaxing at home on a Sunday with the kids (6&4) and doing a low and slow brisket. Like me, he finds it a great release from a hectic week at work, except I l no longer work. :P

    And the fact we don't have to get up with the sparrows in Winter has gotta be a plus eh Ian 8o

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • Yep, you sure got that right. :)

    But retirement brings other challenges and you have to have something to keep you getting up each day.

    For me, this place helps, as does my 4WD club and the trips we do. As a mate once told me, you have to retire TO something, not retire FROM something. That was wise advice.

    Big Green Egg - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Weber Kettle - Maximus Pizza Oven - Dragon Hibachi - Ziggy Portable - baby kamado - Grillz 2 burner - Cobb BBQ - Converted Gas Bottle Spit - Charbroil Grill2go - Anova sous vide - Digi Q controller - plus Tip Top Temp - Smokeware cap - Grill Grates

  • Yep, you sure got that right. :)

    But retirement brings other challenges and you have to have something to keep you getting up each day.

    For me, this place helps, as does my 4WD club and the trips we do. As a mate once told me, you have to retire TO something, not retire FROM something. That was wise advice.

    Great advice Ian, I'm only in Semi -retirement mode ie: having a break....just waiting till I get to Albury and move into my house down there and I'll be looking for work and there's a lot going on in my field too so I shouldn't have too much worry...I need a full time job for 4 years to buy all the upgrades for my Hobbies and maybe start a few more....and BBQ's are included with upgrades. Trying to decide to buy a really good gasser and maybe a WSM or one of those EX4 Weber Pellet poopers....decisions decisions.....but can't do anything yet till after January.

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • My granddad retired and basically waited to die for almost 3 decades.

    Crikey....it took him almost 3 decades to get his wish....hard to know what to think of this....he either had a good life for almost 3 decades doing stuff he always wanted to do or just sat at home for the same amount of time doing nothing......did he have any hobbies? I do know many people in my line of work, who are well in their 70's coz they are worried about keeling over once they stop....1 lady who is a senior Supervisor, she is about 84 now and still as sharp as a tack but i think Company Changes are getting the best of her....

      Weber Performer (Sage) Weber Jumbo Joe (Black) Weber Master Touch Plus (Deep Ocean Blue)

  • My experiences are similar to most here by the sounds of it. My dad made this besser block, wood fired bbq with a flat plate that took two of us to lift into place. I don't really remember him using it that much, but he used to crank it up and incinerate everything on it, but it was outdoors and fun at the time.

    I never got my own gas bbq until I moved out of home and I had moved in with my then girlfriend, now wife. I had a bit of a revelation when I discovered that there were different temperature settings and you could actually use a lower temp to cook with :shock: .

    Where I was working at the time, it was hot most of the time, so the gasser got a fair workout. So much so that I wore it out, plus moving house a few times didn't help it. So I got a new gasser, with a hood =O, which opened up more possibilities than the flat plate job ever could offer.

    I used that thing most weeks, if not a few times a week in summer and learnt a lot. Then a work mate lent me one of his Weber GA's to have a play with, holy dooley, what a revelation that was. Back to the drawing board to learn some new skills cooking with real fire.

    Finding sites like this and the Aussie BBQ site really opened my eyes to the American style of BBQ, learning different cooking methods and styles. When I was growing up, I didn't even know about gas bbq's, let alone pellet cookers, kettles and kamados. What a time to be alive.

    Fast forward to now and the list of outdoor cooking things that I've owned over the years is long and varied and they've each been fun in their own way. Some have gone and some have stayed, but they each hold a memory or some sort.

    I also try and involve my kids in the bbq process, hopefully passing on a few skills to them, as well as making memories of our own. Some of the lessons are hopefully ones that they won't repeat, like vapourising the skin on my arm as it touched the steel pizza oven shell 8o .

    Thanks for looking,

    Steve

    Primo large oval, GMG Daniel Boone, Weber kettle, Weber Q3200, Weber Go Anywhere.

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