In 2004, Weber launched its Q series with the initial Q gas grill model. Since then, the Q series has enjoyed enormous popularity, and the Baby Q series – a range of compact, portable gas grills aimed at campers – was born.
There are some similarities and differences between the original Q series and the Baby Q, plus important differences between the Baby Q and the Baby Q Premium.
There are also plenty of comparisons to be made between the Baby Q series and portable grills manufactured by other brands.
We’ve put together this FAQ guide to answer all your questions about the Weber Baby Q. Hopefully, this article will help you to understand what the Baby Q is, how it works, and whether you should buy it!
Why Weber Grills Are The Best
Your first question about the Weber Baby Q might be about the Weber brand itself. With so many brands to choose from when it comes to portable barbecues, why choose Weber?
Simply put, Weber is widely considered to be the best cooking appliance brand on the market. This is for a variety of reasons, but primarily, Weber produces really high-quality, reliable grills for affordable prices.
Why Weber Grills Are So Expensive
We mentioned in the last section that Weber grills are sold for affordable prices.
Of course, affordability is largely subjective, and it’s true that if you look only at the price tag of the Weber Baby Q grill, as well as other grills made by Weber, it might not initially seem like a budget-friendly buy.
However, Weber grills are made of durable, quality materials such as stainless steel, aluminum, and cast iron, and some components have porcelain coatings.
This means that Weber grills often outlast grills made by other brands so you get as much value as possible for your money.
Ultimately, you get what you pay for when you buy a product from Weber. Sure, buying a grill from Weber is an investment, but it’s an investment you definitely won’t regret.
What Is The Weber Baby Q?
The Weber Baby Q is Weber’s portable version of its original Q series. The Baby Q model is also known as the ‘traveling Q’ because of its compact design.
It was designed with campers in mind, so if you regularly like to explore the great outdoors and have been looking for a portable, convenient gas grill to enhance your enjoyment of your travels, the Weber Baby Q could be the perfect grill for you!
How To Use Weber Baby Q
The Weber Baby Q is easy to use with minimal set-up, which is one of the main advantages of choosing this grill over the competition.
You can use the Weber Baby Q in a variety of ways by utilizing the different cooking surfaces that come with (or are compatible with) the grill.
For steaks, it’s recommended to cook on the grill itself, but you can also use the hot plate if you’re cooking with eggs or fatty meat.
Alternatively, there’s also a compatible Weber Baby Q pizza stone for cooking pizzas (more on this later). If you use the Baby Q convection tray (also covered in more detail below), you can even cook perfect roasts!
First, you’ll need to preheat your grill. Do this by opening the grill lid and unfolding the grilling surfaces. Then, turn the knob that activates the burner.
It needs to be set to the ‘start’ position. Once you’ve done this, push the ignition button straight away. This should light the barbecue.
At this point, in order to let the temperature reach the right level, you should close the lid. The barbecue will take between 10 and 15 minutes to heat up.
When the barbecue has reached your desired temperature, you can start cooking using either the grill or the hot plate, although you’ll need to allow another 10 minutes for the hot plate to reach the right temperature. You should keep the lid down throughout the cooking process.
If you’re using the Weber Baby Q to make a roast, the process will look slightly different. For this, you won’t need the hotplate and you will just be using the two cooking grills that come with the unit.
You’ll also need the convection tray and the trivet, which are the components required to switch from barbecue into oven mode.
Put the convection tray on top of the grill, making sure that the locating tabs (there are 4 of them) are contained under the lid.
The trivet then goes on top of the tray, which should be in the center of the grill. The preheating process is the same as for barbecuing.
Again, you should keep the lid closed until your food has finished cooking (you may need to use a meat thermometer to check that your meat is properly cooked since cooking times can vary depending on weather conditions).
How To Clean The Weber Baby Q
We have already mentioned that the benefit of choosing a Weber grill over grills from other brands is that Weber grills are designed with durability as a priority.
However, part of extending the lifespan of your Weber Baby Q is regular maintenance, including thorough cleaning.
We can’t overstate how important it is to diligently clean your Weber Baby Q. Like any other grill, if you don’t clean food remnants, including fat, they will build up inside the grill and create a fire hazard.
You don’t need to clean the grill entirely every single time you use it, but once you’ve used the grill between 4 and 5 times, you should clean any excess fat.
However, it’s a good idea to clean the grill surface itself between uses using a grill brush, which you can also purchase from Weber.
For the best results, preheat your barbecue on a high heat setting (this takes roughly 10 minutes). This will soften any remaining food buildup so that you can scrape it away.
To finish, use a damp cloth to clean the grill. Since the grill will be hot at this point, don’t use your hands – hold the cloth with a pair of tongs.
Weber Baby Q Camping Recipes
You can cook plenty of delicious recipes using the Weber Baby Q! As we’ve mentioned, you can cook in a variety of styles, including barbecue and oven-style. Here are just a few examples of recipes you can execute with your Weber Baby Q:
The Weber Baby Q allows you to cook a full breakfast, including bacon, sausages, eggs, and tomatoes using the hotplate. If you invest in the pizza tray, you can cook almost any kind of pizza you like.
Weber provides a recipe for a ‘meat lovers pizza’ in the product guide, which features pepperoni, shredded ham, and salami, but you could easily make a plain margherita or vegetarian pizza, too.
Of course, this grill is perfect for cooking steaks, including porterhouse steaks. You can prepare various types of meat using the roasting function, such as leg of lamb, and roast chicken.
But did you know that it’s also suitable for fish-based dishes? That’s right! By adjusting the settings and accessories on your Baby Q grill, you can create delicious meals such as prawn satay, grilled salmon, and baked snapper.
If all that wasn’t enough, you can even use the Weber Baby Q to make sumptuous desserts! Bread and butter pudding is one of Weber’s recommendations.
In short, there’s almost no limit to the incredible recipes you can follow using the versatile Weber Baby Q model.
Weber Baby Q Dimensions
The Weber Baby Q is designed to maximize portability, so just by looking at it, you might assume that you won’t have a lot of space to cook with.
However, the clever design of this grill means that it’s easy to transport but offers a surprising amount of grill space.
When folded up to its smallest size, with the lid closed, the Weber Baby Q measures 42 cm X 68.8 cm X 36.9 cm. This makes it easy to move around when you need to.
However, when you open the lid and unfold the cooking surface, the unit measures 52.1 cm X 68.6 cm X 59.7 cm.
In total, this grill provides a generous 1200 square cm of cooking space on the primary cooking area. The cooking height is 13 cm.
Weber Baby Q Half Hotplate
If you’re interested in cooking fatty meats or other fried foods like eggs using your Weber Baby Q grill, you should invest in Weber’s half hotplate, which has been designed to fit this grill.
The half hotplate from Weber has a dual-sided surface for cooking food that is more delicate. If you’re planning to cook bacon, seafood, or eggs on your grill, you won’t be able to do this on the grill itself, so you’ll need the hotplate.
Note that the size of the Weber Baby Q only accommodates a single hotplate, so you will be limited in terms of the quantities of these foods that you’re able to prepare.
Nonetheless, the half hotplate is a great investment if you want to branch out in terms of cooking styles and recipes.
Weber Baby Q Pizza Stone
Weber has produced a compatible pizza stone with accompanying tray that you can place on top of the grill to cook pizza outdoors in a convenient and practical way!
The pizza stone is different from your average pizza tray because, although it’s not made of stone as the name might suggest, it has a specialized cooking surface for authentic pizza making.
The tray that comes with the stone means that when one pizza has finished cooking, you can easily transfer it to a tray without having to remove the stone itself from the heat.
You can purchase as many trays as you need in order to prepare more pizzas efficiently using the stone.
Weber Baby Q Drip Tray
The Weber Baby Q comes with a drip tray to catch any fat that comes off the meat during the cooking process.
The drip tray may not be the most exciting feature of the Weber Baby Q, but it’s one of the most important because it helps to move residual fat away from the heat, minimizing the risk of a fat fire.
Weber has named the drip tray for the Weber Baby Q the ‘catch pan’, and it’s removable, which makes for easy cleaning.
Weber Baby Q Convection Tray
The convection tray, unlike the drip tray, does not come included with the purchase of the Weber Baby Q.
Instead, it comes as part of the Weber Baby Q Roasting Pack, which you can purchase separately if you want to use your portable grill for roasting.
The Baby Q Roasting Pack includes the convection tray, of course, but it also comes with the Weber Q trivet.
As described in our ‘how to use Weber Baby Q’ section (see above), these two items effectively transform your grill into an oven cooking appliance so you can make roast meat dishes like leg of lamb or roasted poultry.
If you’re on the fence about whether you’ll be using your grill to roast, we highly recommend investing in this set. It’s great value for money and the trays have strategically positioned vents to allow for optimal heat circulation around the meat.
This creates perfectly even cooking so that your meat doesn’t end up cooked through in some areas and undercooked in others, as is common with some multipurpose grills.
Weber Baby Q Bag
The Weber Baby Q doesn’t come with a carry bag, but you can purchase Weber’s official Baby Q Duffle Bag separately.
Although the Baby Q grill has been designed for maximum portability, it’s still not super convenient to have to carry or transport a grill of any size without a bag of the correct size.
That’s why Weber has created this bag, which has all the features necessary to ensure that transporting your Baby Q is never an issue.
Weber Baby Q Vs Premium
It’s important not to confuse the Weber Baby Q with the Weber Baby Q premium. These Q-series models have different product codes, with the Baby Q being referred to as the Q1000, and the Baby Q Premium being the Q1200.
The Q1200 comes with side tables and the lid profile is taller, which means you have more room for roasting large cuts of meat.
If you purchase the Baby Q Premium, you’ll get to enjoy the added benefit of a built-in thermometer, which means that you don’t have to open the lid (allowing heat to escape the grill) to check the temperature of the meat.
Also, the Q1200 features an electric ignition system rather than the mechanical ignition built into the Q1000.
While the Baby Q1200’s additional features make it a worthwhile investment despite the higher price tag.
Ultimately, whether the Baby Q1000 or the Baby Q1200 is the best choice for you is a decision you should make by considering whether you want to use your grill for larger oven roasting tasks and whether the extra cost is worth it for more efficient temperature monitoring and ignition.
Weber Baby Q Vs Family Q
Another grill in Weber’s Q series is the Weber Family Q. While it can be difficult to tell the difference between the Baby Q1000 and the Q1200 at first glance, the Baby Q and Family Q are more visibly different and it’s much easier to decide which is best suited to your needs.
First, and most importantly, Weber’s Family Q grills are not portable grills, nor are they specifically designed for campers. If you want a lightweight grill that’s easy to carry in a bag, you should choose the Baby Q and not the Family Q.
However, if you’re looking for a high-quality, economical way to cook for large groups of people in your own backyard, the Family Q is an excellent investment.
The Family Q comes with folding side tables, maximizing the already sizable (4200 square cm) cooking area.
Like the Baby Q, it comes with a catch pan, but it also includes more advanced features like a built-in thermometer, which isn’t an option on the standard Baby Q1000 model, although it is included with the Q1200.
Both the Baby Q and Family Q have high-quality builds featuring durable materials, so there’s no overall difference in quality or longevity.
The main thing you need to consider is whether the ability to take your grill on your travels is important to you, or whether you prefer a larger cooking area.
Weber Baby Q Vs Gasmate
One of Weber’s leading competitors is Gasmate, a brand that also has a range of portable barbecue grills.
The Gasmate Voyager, which has a similar design to the Weber Baby Q, features a larger cooking space of 1,600 cm rather than 1,200. It also has a higher MJ/h heat output than the Baby Q (12 as opposed to 9).
Gasmate’s Voyager grill also has a built-in temperature gauge, which is only available on the Baby Q1200 and not the Q1000.
Since the Voyager retails for a lower price than the Baby Q, it might seem like a no-brainer to choose the Voyager. However, it’s important to note that the Voyager is less likely to last as long as the Baby Q.
While both grills are made from a combination of stainless steel and cast iron, the Baby Q features porcelain enameling, which is nonstick, lightweight, and highly durable. Since the Baby Q grill features a higher-quality construction, it’s likely to be a longer-lasting purchase.
Weber Baby Q Vs Jumbuck
Leading grill manufacturer, Jumbuck, also has a portable barbecue range that is in close competition with Weber’s Baby Q series.
Jumbuck’s single-burner portable gas barbecue features a built-in temperature gauge, which isn’t featured on the Baby Q1000. If you want a temperature gauge on your Baby Q grill, you’ll need to purchase the premium model.
Featuring a solid steel construction and enamel coating on the hot plate cast iron grill, there’s no doubt that the Jumbuck portable gas barbecue is high-quality and highly functional when it comes to even, efficient cooking.
With that being said, the portable barbecue from Jumbuck weighs more than the Baby Q (12.5 kg as opposed to 10.5 kg). This means that the Baby Q is ultimately the more portable choice.
Jumbuck also doesn’t provide any compatible rotisserie accessories for this grill, so it’s not a good choice if you want the flexibility of cooking oven-style on your grill.
If you want your grill to be as portable as possible and if you love using your grill to make roast chicken or other oven dishes, the Weber Baby Q is definitely the best choice.
However, if you want a built-in thermometer without having to invest in a premium grill model, you might want to consider the Jumbuck model. Other than that, though, these grills aren’t drastically different.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading our FAQ guide to the Weber Baby Q. Hopefully, the answers to these questions and the information provided about Weber’s grills compared to other top brands have demonstrated why the Weber Baby Q is a great investment for camping cookouts!
Remember that not all of the accessories discussed in this guide are included with the purchase of the Baby Q, so if you’re planning to use your grill for more than standard barbecuing, please go to the product page and see if you will need to make additional purchases.
While the Weber Baby Q is in close competition with similar products from other brands, and while some competitor products do have more advanced features or more cooking space, the Weber Baby Q offers a level of portability and durability that most other brands struggle to match.
That’s why we recommend considering the Weber Baby Q or Baby Q Premium if you’re looking for a new camping grill.
