Ultimate Weber Q Roast Pork with Crackling

If you are new to cooking on your Weber Q grill then in this recipe I am going to teach you how to make the most perfect, juicy Weber Q roast pork with crackling that you have ever tasted.

Yes! The weekend is finally here, and you have your family and friends around for the weekend. Oh, but wait. What are you going to cook?

If you are one of the lucky few that happen to have a Weber Q sitting on their back patio, then your in for a treat.

By reading my step by step guide until the end, you will have nailed pork crackling every time, and yes, even pork that comes vacuum-sealed in a bag with a little trick I am going to teach you.

Which cut of pork is best for crackling?

I am only speaking from my own experience here. You are welcome to use whichever cut of meat you prefer.

I have tried different cuts of pork since getting my Weber Q grill, and haven’t had a great deal of success with anything, other than a boneless pork LEG roast.

Before cooking on my Weber Q I had a Weber kettle, and I could cook a perfect boned leg or shoulder roast with beautiful crunchy crackling. But I never had success with a boneless pork shoulder or leg.

The crackle would always turn out soft and rubbery.

But since I have switched to the Weber Q, it has become the complete opposite. Provided I have correctly prepared the boneless pork leg. I can get perfect crackling every time.

I don’t use the pork shoulder simply because I find the skin and fat much thinner in a cut of boneless pork. But again this is from my personal preference.

So for the sake of this recipe, I recommend using a boneless pork leg when cooking on your Weber Q grill.

How do you get crackling with vacuum-sealed pork?

Yes I know, you could go to the local butcher, but hey sometimes I am lazy and like the convenience.

But if you are like me and bought home a vacuum-sealed pork leg, then this is how you’re going to get crispy crackling every time.

TIP: This method will also work with meat that has not been vacuum-sealed, and I recommend you to do this every time to guarantee the odds of achieving crackling around every part of the skin.

To start slice open the packaging and pat down the pork thoroughly with a paper towel, making sure to remove any excess blood and moisture from the top, sides and bottom of the meat.

Next, take a sharp carving knife and begin scoring the skin from one side to the other, just deep enough to cut through the skin. Try not to cut too deeply. Otherwise, you will cut into the meat.

Do this every 2 centimetres apart throughout the skin.

If your carving knife just happens to be blunt, then a sharp box cutter will work just as well.

After scoring the pork, you need to sprinkle granulated salt over the skin. Some salt will fall into the score marks you have made previously but don’t concern yourself with rubbing the salt into the skin.

Doing this will draw out the moisture trapped within the skin, giving that perfect crackling we all try to achieve.

Cover the pork and leave to sit at room temperature for a few hours before cooking, or pop it into the fridge uncovered.

How to Prepare your Weber Q for Roasting?

A Weber Q is effectively a grill and an oven. But are also two completely different styles of cooking. It is important to remember this.

So to cook a Weber Q roast pork effectively without burning the bottom of your meat, you will need to convert your Weber into a convection oven.

To do this, you will need what is called a convection tray made from aluminium, and you will also need a trivet to lift your meat above the convection tray so heat can circulate around the meat.

The holes in the convection tray are so the fat, can escape and drip to tray at the bottom of Weber Q.

Before placing anything onto the grill, make sure your Weber Q is clean. If you have a lot of fat build-up, it can become unsafe and cause a fire.

Check and clean your grill, change your drip tray and check to make sure the large hole at the bottom is clear of any fat build-up.

There are four grooves in the grill two each side. Make sure to place the convection tray into those grooves, so the tray doesn’t move around.

Then place the trivet in the middle of the convection tray.

Next, we want to move onto preheating our Weber Q BBQ.

How to preheat the Weber Q?

There are two different Weber Q models, one that has a temperature gauge, and the other does not.

So how do we tell the temperature of our Weber Q?

We need to have something like what I have called the iGrill. This great little tool is a must-have for anyone with a Weber Q.

You must know the temperature of your Weber at all times. Otherwise, you could essentially burn your meat.

The iGrill 2 comes packaged with two probes. 

Probe one is placed on the convection tray inside your Weber. This will tell you the temperature of the grill.

And probe two is inserted into the centre of your meat, giving you direct access to the porks internal temperature.

If you’re not confident in your ability to check if your Pork is ready then grab yourself an iGrill 2 Meat Thermometer.

Then you can sit back pick up your phone and check the temps of both the Weber Q and the meat without leaving your seat.

Now it’s time to fire up your Weber Q by turning both gas control knobs to the Start/High position and pressing the red ignition switch until you hear the gas going.

The lid must be closed at times during the preheating and cooking process.

Preheat the bbq for at least 10 to 15 minutes before placing your roast pork into the Weber Q.

How do you get good crackling on a pork leg?

Providing you have followed my previous instructions and pre-salted the skin, the next part of the crackling process will be simple.

I recommend using sea salt flakes when salting your pork for the second time. I have found when using this type of salt. The skin will bubble and become much more crunchy.

I haven’t had a great deal of success with table salt.

Cover the pork with sea salt, and I mean plenty of it. Rub it all over the skin, making sure to get it into the score marks you made previously.

Work the salt into every nook and cranny on the skin. By doing this, you will maximize your chances of getting all of the skin to crackle.

When you are happy that every square inch of the skin is salted, you will want to pour a layer of olive oil onto the surface, as well as the bottom of the pork.

By doing this, you will help to lock in the juices inside pork and prevent it from burning.

Then finally sprinkle some more sea salt onto the skin and rub it in.

Your Weber Q roast pork is now ready to roll!

It’s time to blast the pork with heat!

Once your Weber Q has been preheated, we need to turn down the small control knob to the low position, after all, we don’t want to charcoal our meat.

Next, place your pork onto the centre of the trivet, and listen to it sizzle hmmm.

If you have a meat probe such as the iGrill 2 Meat Thermometer, insert it into the centre of the meat.

If your pork has a bone, make sure not to let the probe touch the bone otherwise the internal temperature of the meat will give you a false positive. In other words, it won’t be accurate.

The reason we cook the Weber Q roast pork on such a high temperature for a short time is to begin to get the skin to crackle quickly.

If the temp is too low when putting in our meat, it will not have enough heat to crackle the skin. Instead, it will be soft and rubbery during the cooking process.

Continue to cook with the small knob on the low setting and the large knob in the high position for 25 to 30 minutes. Please try not to be tempted to lift the lid during this time.

Trust your Weber Q to do its job.

What is the roast setting on a Weber Q grill?

After you have blasted your pork with heat, we need to turn it down.

You will want to turn off the small control knob completely. And turn down the large control knob to the medium setting.

Provided your Weber Q is not out in the open air on a windy day, you should not need to change this setting again.

But just in case there is a lot of fluctuation in the temperature, you can adjust the roast control knob between the HI/MEDIUM setting to keep the temperature within the ballpark of where it needs to be to roast.

What is the roasting temperature on a Weber Q grill?

If you have an iGrill meat thermometer, then this will be easy for you to monitor.

The Weber Q was never designed to be like the Weber kettle where you can roast at temperatures as low as 170°C to 180°C

This bbq needs heat to do its job correctly.

To successfully achieve a Weber Q roast pork with crunchy crackling, you need to maintain the temperature between 190°C to 230°C at all times. Or 375°F to 450°F.

You should also make sure to keep the Weber out of the wind and the elements, as this will cause it to struggle to maintain its correct temperature.

And you will often find yourself battling to keep the temp within this zone if left in the elements.

Can I roast vegetables in a Weber Q?

Absolutely! And I encourage it. Especially if you are lucky enough to own the medium and family series grill.

I have always added potatoes and pumpkin side by side with my Weber Q roast pork, lamb or chicken.

That smoky aroma that comes from the pork will be absorbed into your vegetables, giving them a unique and subtle smell and flavour.

I tend to add my potatoes and pumpkin when the internal temperature of the meat is at about 45°C or 113°F.

If adding vegetables, make sure to add them as quickly as possible to the trivet and close the lid as not to let a lot of heat escape.

Remembering to bring the roast control setting back up if required.

Check out my Super Crunchy Weber Q Roast Potatoes recipe

How long does it take to cook a Weber Q roast pork?

To know the time it takes to cook a Weber Q roast pork is dependent on its weight and thickness.

I go by neither method. This takes me back to when I talked earlier about the importance of having a meat probe in your arsenal.

Because honestly if you have one of these, it doesn’t matter. A roast of any kind will cook when it cooks.

But to give you an example: If I have a roast that weighs approximately 2 ½kg then I know I am going to be looking at about 2 ½ hours to cook.

It is generally 1hr of cooking time to every 1kg of weight. This method worked for me in my Weber kettle days because I was cooking my roast pork at around 180°C.

But trying to do this method on a Weber Q is impossible, because of the higher temperatures it will cook your meat. The Weber Q was never designed to cook meat at such low temperatures.

The other method is to measure the thickness of the meat. We do this because meat absorbs heat from the outside to its core. Theoretically the thicker the meat, the longer it will take to cook.

Place a ruler at the large and thickest part of the pork. Make a note of the measurement and do some quick maths.

For every millimetre, you add one minute of cooking time. For example, if a pork roast was 110 millimetres thick, it would take about 110 minutes of cooking time.

I tend to not worry about doing this and rely on my iGrill meat thermometer.

I always allow extra time to preheat, blast the pork skin for 25-30 minutes and finally, the roasting faze. And I still manage to have my roast rested and served before 6 pm, after starting the whole process at about 2:30 pm.

What should the internal temperature of a boneless pork roast be?

Always be mindful of the internal temperature of your Weber Q roast pork, it is white meat and if consumed while undercooked can make you sick.

A boneless pork roast is safe to take out of your Weber Q when the internal temperature reaches 155°F or 68°C.

Allow 15 to 20 minutes to rest as the internal temperature will begin to rise to bring the pork up to a juicy 160°F or 71°C.

Another way to be sure the meat is cooked perfectly is to make an incision into the side and check if the juice is running clear.

Source: putporkonyourfork.com

The best part is carving your Weber Q roast pork!

Like the title above says, this is the best part.

If you have followed my steps correctly, you should have a delicious, juicy pork roast when you begin carving into it. Crackling so crunchy your tastebuds are on overload.

This is the love the Weber Q provides, and I don’t know if I can ever go back to my Weber kettle.

If you had a go at cooking a Weber Q roast pork, then please let me know how you went in the comments.

If it didn’t work out for you, then I am more than happy to help you figure out where it went wrong.

What else can be cooked in a Weber Q BBQ?

Luckily you own one of the most universal BBQ’s available on the market, and thankfully the list is endless to what you can roast in it, Such as:

• Weber Q Roast Lamb
• Weber Q Roast Chicken
• Weber Q Roast Potatoes
• Roasted Root Vegetables With Garlic and Rosemary

And surprisingly you can even bake on your Weber Q. And I have the proof.

• Weber Q Potato Bake
• Weber Q Banana and Walnut Bread

The possibilities are endless, and I would like to share just some of the recipes I have tried and tested.

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