I’ve really come to love is the 2-level coal grate. You can adjust the height of the coals so they either sit 10” down, way deep in the body for roasting or slow smoking or else just 4” underneath the grill surface for hot and fast action like searing steaks or cooking burgers. And with a 2-zone set up on the higher grate you have an incredibly effective direct / indirect option that I’ve found I use for the majority of cooks.
The daisy wheel control is as functional as it is great looking. It’s well made and highly adjustable meaning the entire unit can be dialled in very precisely.
You know when you get a new phone and get to peel that clingy plastic protective film off it gives you a weird pleasure. It has that on it too. I love peeling that stuff off shiny new things.
All kamados rely on some sort of heat diffuser that sits above the coals for when you are slow cooking. It helps regulate the temperature over long periods as well as deflecting the heat of the coals away from the underside of the food. It turns the BBQ into an oven essentially. Again, Weber thought about this a little differently and chose to use an air insulated metal diffuser instead of the usual ceramic plate.
Yes mine looks dirty but so would you be if you’d had that many racks of ribs and briskets drip on you. I know I should cover it in foil but I am lazy.
The point is, clean or dirty, it works flawlessly and whilst it looks like it’s made from lightweight sheet aluminium in all the photos, it’s fabricated from thick gauge stainless steel weighing in at over 3kgs! Along with the grill grate, the diffuser is also hinged which - unlike traditional kamados - makes it a doddle to top up the fuel mid cook.
A feature I initially fobbed off as a bit of a gimmick was the gas ignition system. A little metal box attached to the side of the body contains a small butane canister that connects to a small arm that sits inside the BBQ directly under the coals. This means you can tip in your coals, hit the gas ignition and ten minutes later your coals are hot and ready to cook. This simple addition, for me, has just removed one of the key objections most people have to buying a charcoal BBQ - that they’re hard and time consuming to light. This is now as fast and as easy as a gas BBQ. Fact. Just make sure you switch the little gas burner off once the coals are going or you’ll rinse through the little butane cans. That’s experience talking.
One area I think Weber let themselves down a little is on the wheels. A £1500 BBQ should come with some sexy polished alloy wheels in my book. What can I say, I’m a wheels guys! The plastic ones on the Summit are no different to the plastic ones that come on the regular kettles much lower down the food chain. Yes they function fine and they
16