An electric BBQ! Has the world gone mad? Weber Lumin review – it’s bloody great.

The humble BBQ is a simple thing, which for most is sitting outside ready for those days when you have mates around or the family wants sausages for dinner, and out we go, fire it up. Now – can you really have a BBQ with just electricity? I think the answer is yes after trying the Weber Lumin.

Now it was around Christmas time over the Summer break when I first fired it up at home, and boy, did that in turn fire some people up.

Just have a look at what some people are saying:

It’s a full hard NO for many, while others make some really simple assumptions.

So let me set the scene in my humble suburban backyard.

I’ve been lucky enough to have a fully WiFi enabled smart as heck Traeger Grill for some years now. Sadly, my family aren’t massive meat lovers, so it gets just occasional use as a Chicken roaster.

What gets far, far more use is my simple Weber Q – had one as a hand me down from family years ago, and during Covid burnt a bunch of Frequent Flyer points to refresh to a brand new model. It’s Gas – so a Servo swap and go is always on hand.

That’s the unit I use for most of our Sunday Sausages, Steaks and or Lamb Cutlets. Which is, in reality, the extent of my BBQing abilities.

A Gas BBQ is not allowed in many apartment balconies, and certainly there’s no room for Charcoal BBQs either. And let me be clear, when testing this Weber Lumin out, I’m not comparing it to charcoal, or wood fire, I’m comparing it to Gas at best.

The reality is though that this product is most likely aimed at those who simply cannot have a big, or any traditional form of BBQ. Instead, the Weber Lumin is small, can be packed away and needs nothing more than a power point, so in many cases is suited well to an Apartment Balcony.

Will it get hot enough? Will it cook as well?

Gotta say, those steaks look juicy, I love the grill marks and there’s certainly no heat issue here. Cast iron grill top means the heat is strong and even so frankly, I’ve gotta say, I’m choosing it over the Gas Weber Q many times.

Firstly, simple to turn on. Secondly, no risk of the bottle running out mid cook!

Most importantly though, tastes great. I’m not going for a wood or charcoal flavour, you’d unlikely be considering this if you were.

HOWEVER, something I’ve not tried yet is the smoker. This Weber Lumin allows you to remove one side of the grill plate and replace it with a supplied metal tray. In that tray you could do one of two things. Firstly, you could put wood pellets to allow you to get enough heat on them to emit some smoke for flavour – legitimately.

Secondly, you can use the trays to put water in and add veges to steam them on the BBQ while you cook.

Perfect for a single bachelor or a couple, but for a family there’s just no room – it’s small.

At $649 it’s about $100 more than the Gas Weber Q – but you’re paying for electricity not gas, so maybe there’s a saving? And again, I doubt it’s a comparison for most buyers.

My biggest gripe would be that the $250 optional extra stand is just so low and feels flimsy as it’s plastic. As is the Weber Q stand, but for some reason, it’s far more sturdy.

If a Gas BBQ is out of the question and you have to go electric – this is a winner.

If you’re like me and don’t count yourself as some fancy BBQ chef then the simplicity of the Electric power is just spot on here.

Gets hot fast, stays hot consistently and cooks just the same.

Cleaning is something worth thinking about though, I’d say this needs more cleaning than a Gas model, just at a glance, after just a few cooks this thing looks like it’s been used for a year – but that adds to the mystique and the flavour – just don’t let it build up or you’ll just get smoke, and not the tasty kind.

Big fan, haters gunna hate, but a man’s gotta eat.

Web: Weber