Deciding between Weber master touch, performer or summit E6

[JGonzalez]

I have been looking into these 3 grills. I mostly do hot and fast right now. Steaks, skewers, pork chops chorizo, things like that. I am currently using a Santa Maria grill.

The only things I dislike of my current grill is cleanup and that I can’t really do things like ribs. I might be up to experimenting on pork butt or pulled pork as well but don’t quite think I will ever be interested into 12 hour + cooks like brisket. If any of these grills are good for pizza that would be a plus.

The prices here in my country are:

Master touch: €338

Performer:€484

Performer premium: €581

Performer Deluxe: €678

Summit E6: €1260

So as you can see, prices are a lot higher than in the us. I could save up a bit and go for the summit if it is head and shoulders better than the others, but I kind of get the feeling that the summit doesn’t make a lot of sense if I am not planning on doing 12hour + cooks since it looks like the other options as more than adécuate for ribs.

Between the master touch and the performers there is quite a difference in price. Of the 3 performers the premium is the one that has caught my eye, it has the large table and everything the deluxe has except the ignition, which I am not sure I would pay €85 more for. I enjoy starting the fire with my chimney. Anyone think that €581 is excessive for the performer premium? The same grill costs 459 in the us if I am not mistaken.

Interested to see your opinions.

 

[Richard Garcia]

Here in Costa Rica the Weber Performer Deluxe(WPD) with the gas ignition cost around $650. I bought mine new around 2 years ago for $550 which replaced my excellent Weber Mastertouch which I gifted to a friend. IME that gas ignition and the metal table are real winners on my excellent WPD that is a breeze to move around on my patio when need be!

Oh, in the photo on the left That's a Cajun Bandit Rotisserie Kit sitting atop my WPD which is also a real winner!

I am mostly a "griller" and when need-be I "smoke" some meat on my WSM 18" Classic that I bought new in the year 2008.

 

[David-B]

performer premium , gas ignition is nice but I rarely used it....out of habit I use the weber cubes with a small chimney ....the summit is super nice but the regular kettle design will do everything you could ever want...unless you just want one

 

[Mark Foreman]

performer premium , gas ignition is nice but I rarely used it....out of habit I use the weber cubes with a small chimney ....the summit is super nice but the regular kettle design will do everything you could ever want...unless you just want one

Agreed that a kettle will do what you want, I throw my vote for the E6. It’s the best grill I’ve ever used and you can also use it as a full up smoker. After getting used to the E6, my performer and 14 WSM moved to my daughters house.

 

[DanHoo]

Welcome !

I think if I was going to have one grill, it might be the Summit E6.

Do you have space for more than one grill? Is there a market for buying a used weber's in Spain ?

If you picked up a used 22 inch kettle you could decide if it meets your cooking needs, and then decide on an upgraded one later.

I went a few years without having a kettle, and I'm glad I have one again even with my other grills.

Good luck!

 

[Grant Cunningham]

First, off, welcome! I hope you enjoy the forum.

Since I’ve gotten the Sumit Kamado E6, my MasterTouch has been relegated to rotisserie duty (mainly because a rotisserie for the E6 is not readily available.) I happen to like rotisserie cooking, so it’s not a total loss, but for everything else the E6 is simply a better tool. It maintains temperature better, cooks longer on any given amount of charcoal, and is more responsive. The additional cooking area is a nice bonus.

That being said, it comes down to your experience level, what you cook, and what your future BBQ plans are. Someone who has a lot of BBQ experience (especially if they do a lot of longer cooks) will be able to appreciate the advantages of the Summit Kamado over the Kettle; someone who mainly grills and only occasionally does a low-and-slow cook, or cooks very infrequently, may not. For them, the Kettle is a completely adequate tool that has a lot of potential.

Only you can decide if that kind of performance is worth your hard-earned money. For me it was, because I cook on it 2-3 days a week, and a good percentage of those cooks run more than an hour or two. (As I said, it almost completely displaced my Kettle.) However, I got along for many years with an older standard Weber Kettle — and many others still do.

I honestly don't think there's a "wrong" choice here, but you may find one fits your circumstances better.

 

[Shane - glitchy]

I love my WSCG and use it more for hot n fast and 2 zone grilling than long LnS cooks. However, it does great on those long cooks too. If you’re not going to do a lot of low n slow, the main benefit you’re going to see is capacity. It‘s surprising how much bigger 2” of diameter is on a round grate. I haven’t gotten into pizzas much, but on one of the FB groups I belong to, people love them for that. The dual walls and flip up damper make it easier to get hotter temps.

If you really never see doing cooks longer than a few hours and the capacity of the 22” isn’t limiting for you, you might be happier with a Performer though. I had one before the WSCG and do miss the table. You can also use any accessory designed for the 22” kettles on a performer.

You can use a Big Joetisserie on the WSCG/Kamado E6 with some grinding work, but that means you have to buy a $200+ accessory then grind on it, but depending on what country you’re in, the Spit on Fire might be more easily available to you that’s designed specifically for the WSCG/Kamado. It’s not easy to get in the US.

 

[MichaelLC]

The built-in table is nice if you don't have a lot of other counter space around your grill.

Performer is $290, Performer Premium is $460, with MasterTouch at $230.

I went from a Original Premium to a MT and it was a big upgrade. MT has the char-baskets and better grates.

So I guess I would recommend either the MT or Performer and get some baskets or a Vortex.

 

[Jeff Boudman]

I think you should go to YouTube and watch some videos of the cookers you are interested in. I canceled an order for the Kamado E6 after watching some videos. It appears to be an excellent cooker but I’m more into using a kettle or WSM for my purposes.

 

[TimA]

The Summit Charcoal/Kamado is the greatest grill I’ve ever used or been around. It does everything a kettle can, but better. And can frankly do more than the kettle and is perfectly suited for it.

A kettle can do anything and everything but lacks in certain areas. Baking for instance.

There is no shortcoming to the Kamado. It is simply a superior kettle. It’s spendy yes. But worth it. It’s the LAST grill I would sell out of all my grills.

 

[MichaelM]

I have to add another vote for the E6. I was using a regular kettle22 along side a Lynx gasser (primarily for super quick cooks and rotis). The E6 is the best grill I have used. I thought that about the Lynx, but after chasing the perfect sear for years I finally acquiesced. The gasser just doesn't get hot enough. Anyway... I am now cooking 90% on the Gen I E6. I have gas assist, but rarely use it. To be candid, I rarely use the WSM either. The E6 does it all for me.

 

[Gary London]

Like many others I would go for the Summit Kamado as a one and only grill. I only use my MT for rotisserie or plancha now.
Looked at the Spit on Fire rotisserie yesterday. Looks good, but it's too expensive.

Maybe keep the Santa Maria grill and get the cheapest MT, even a secondhand one for what you have described.
All the 57cm Weber kettles are basically the same when it comes to flexibility and performance, so why pay more than you need to?

 

[JGonzalez]

Welcome !

I think if I was going to have one grill, it might be the Summit E6.

Do you have space for more than one grill? Is there a market for buying a used weber's in Spain ?

If you picked up a used 22 inch kettle you could decide if it meets your cooking needs, and then decide on an upgraded one later.

I went a few years without having a kettle, and I'm glad I have one again even with my other grills.

Good luck!

The second hand market here is pretty bad. 5 year old kettles posted for 20% less than the new ones is pretty common. and There are less than 200 weber kettles posted country wide.

 

[JGonzalez]

Agreed that a kettle will do what you want, I throw my vote for the E6. It’s the best grill I’ve ever used and you can also use it as a full up smoker. After getting used to the E6, my performer and 14 WSM moved to my daughters house.

I have read a lot on the E6 needing an hour of setup in order to be ready for low and slow, is the prep time faster for hot and Fast? I would guess that for hot and fast it should be similar to a kettle, so 20 minutes or so?

 

[Paul Warner]

i have several kettles both 22 and 26 inch and now have a Weber Summit Kamado S6 with cart. For sure the regular kettles
are great grills but as others say the Kamado is just loads better. Id also add that many people want to cook with charcoal
and invest in a kettle and then get rid without learning how to cook on it properly, i believe that if you can stretch to the Kamado
mastering charcoal cooking is easier than on a kettle. I also have a BGE large but the Weber Kamado remains my go to machine!!
enjoy the forum.

 

[JGonzalez]

I love my WSCG and use it more for hot n fast and 2 zone grilling than long LnS cooks. However, it does great on those long cooks too. If you’re not going to do a lot of low n slow, the main benefit you’re going to see is capacity. It‘s surprising how much bigger 2” of diameter is on a round grate. I haven’t gotten into pizzas much, but on one of the FB groups I belong to, people love them for that. The dual walls and flip up damper make it easier to get hotter temps.

If you really never see doing cooks longer than a few hours and the capacity of the 22” isn’t limiting for you, you might be happier with a Performer though. I had one before the WSCG and do miss the table. You can also use any accessory designed for the 22” kettles on a performer.

You can use a Big Joetisserie on the WSCG/Kamado E6 with some grinding work, but that means you have to buy a $200+ accessory then grind on it, but depending on what country you’re in, the Spit on Fire might be more easily available to you that’s designed specifically for the WSCG/Kamado. It’s not easy to get in the US.

Can you share a link to the facebook group? Don't know if that's allowed here . On the idea of making Pizza on the E6 I am still not sure it will match my expectations. All the pizza I see made on the E6 looks ok like the image I attached. But for the price of the E6 I could get a Performer and an ooni and still have 200 left for fuel and steaks.
If the summit can make pizza as good as the ooni then I would prefer to have just one grill/oven but I haven't been able to find a video or review about the summit making pizzas that nice.

 

[Mark Foreman]

I have read a lot on the E6 needing an hour of setup in order to be ready for low and slow, is the prep time faster for hot and Fast? I would guess that for hot and fast it should be similar to a kettle, so 20 minutes or so?

Not sure how long my E6 takes to get to temp. I usually start with a smaller fire and let it come up from there as it can a bit of work to cool it down. I start with a dozen or so coals and let it rise from there. Never had an issue. It is very efficient.

 

[DanHoo]

I have read a lot on the E6 needing an hour of setup in order to be ready for low and slow, is the prep time faster for hot and Fast? I would guess that for hot and fast it should be similar to a kettle, so 20 minutes or so?

I don't have an E6, but on my large BGE, if I want a stable low and slow temp with "thin blue smoke", I plan 45 to 60 mins to get it started and stable and for the smoke to clear up. When I rush it I risk overshooting the low temp and then it takes work to get it back down to my target temp.

Low in slow for me is cooks in the 220F to 275F range.

If I'm doing a higher heat cook, the time to get a kettle started or the BGE started is the same, and I'd expect the E6 to also be the same.

 

[Rick-SC]

I have read a lot on the E6 needing an hour of setup in order to be ready for low and slow, is the prep time faster for hot and Fast? I would guess that for hot and fast it should be similar to a kettle, so 20 minutes or so?

As far as SETUP is concerned, it takes all of about 5 minutes for low and slow. Fill the charcoal chamber, foil the heat deflector and get a drip pan foiled or ready to go.

As far as lighting and getting it up to temp, the attached graph shows my last cook. I lit the coals with the gas starter 5 minutes before I plugged the fireboard in at 7:11. Temps were up to 217 by 7:38 when I put the meat on, and up to stable 275 by 8:10. honestly I don't know how any cooker could be faster other than maybe a pellet grill. I don't think a kettle would get you stably to your target temp any quicker.

 

[Bruno]

Well I would vote for a performer, I think it’s possibly the best grill I have owned. You don’t know how much you need a table until you have a table, so out of the 3 it gets my vote.
Now I’m going to be thinning out my grills SLOWLY and work on a spot for an S6. I’m thinking of losing the WSM 22 and a master touch 22 to make some room.
Good luck!