BBQ

Both Merril and I did covid tests yesterday.  Results were negative.  Our self-enforced isolation could come to an end.  Both results meant we were free to break out.  We were free to mix and mingle.  The world was our oyster.
So we spent most of the day at home as usual.  There was one thing we did that we had planned.  We went to bbqs galore and purchased another bbq.  The advertised price was for a whole kitchen unit.  We just wanted the bbq.
Looking at our bbq one would wonder why there was a need to get another one.  It looks really good.  But recent experience has brought on a “once bitten twice shy” response.  Except it more like a twice bitten thing.
They reckon that the older someone gets the more inclined they are to be risk averse.  I am risk averse to fire and we have had about four at that bbq.  Probably the last time was due to fatty sausages.  The fat comes out of the sausages and disappears down the hole in the centre.
Trouble is the fat joins the flame from below and ignites the top of the bbq.  We do have a fire blanket, but we absolutely could not find it when we needed it.  Merril wet a blanket and gave it to the bbqer.
That did the trick.  I was really glad the bbqer stayed calm.  There was flame everywhere.  He threw to wet blanket on the flame.  There was something he did note and tell us about.  Don’t take the blanket off too soon and feed the flames oxygen.
That is not the only problem the bbq has had.  It had very uneven heat.  Some parts would cook in a big hurry and other parts would hardly cook at all.  And the flame was the same at all points.  Our reading has shown us that uneven cooking is an incredibly common problem.  The person who has done the cooking of late knew the hot and not so hot spots and cooked accordingly.  It was very much a case of local knowledge.
We are hoping the new bbq fixes that problem.  We will not know though until later in January.  The bbq we chose was on the floor as a demo but needed to be gotten in.  A great many have been ordered.  We have put down our deposit and eagerly await its arrival.
The differences are a few significant ones.  The fat soaker area is way smaller (leading from a tray).  The gas vents are covered to keep the fat from the flames, and the gas vents themselves are different to any I personally have ever had before.  They are made of a different material and have a reputation for more even cooking.
 We live in hope.  All will be revealed.  I am like the guy with the milk.  I just want a bbq that bbqs as it should.