ProQ Frontier vs ProQ Excel

[chokethechicken]

Hi,

I'm going to buy one of the above (from here of course!)- as I understand it, the Frontier and Excel differ in size only?

The largest garden BBQ that I'll host for friends and family will be up to 10-12 people. Most of the time it will probably be a handful. Will the Frontier be enough, would I regret not getting the bigger Excel? Hmmm...what to get?! Perhaps the Frontier and my Weber grill will be enough...

[Steve]

I own 2 Excels and a Frontier, each has its own pros and cons.

Obviously the Excel trumps the Frontier on size. Even though it can feed a small army, the size is handy if you want to do several racks of ribs or other space hungry items.

The Excel is made from thicker steel and the grills, waterpan and charcoal basket all seem slightly better build quality to me.

The Excel is however, quite a bit more charcoal hungry than the Frontier and is more prone to losing temperature in the wind. I find however that my Frontier likes to run a bit hot for my tastes but the Excels burn at a solid 250F. I use the clay saucer method in my Excels to keep them stable and it works very well indeed.

Personally I like both models it's just down to personal choice which one you go for.

Cheers

Steve

[chokethechicken]

Thanks for the sound advice - anyone else on here who owns the Frontier care to comment?

[esselle]

Thanks for the sound advice - anyone else on here who owns the Frontier care to comment?

I own a frontier and it has served me well for a few years now, although I haven't used an excel I would imagine with hindsight I might have opted for that with the bigger space.

[Smokin Mark]

Same with me as well!

I bought the Frontier and as a smoker it will be fine for me.
However, I'm not always going to smoke and I think the Excel would be a better choice for doing 'Normal' BBQ's.
You know, cooking sausage and burgers on a kettle style BBQ.

The larger diameter means you can get more on it when used in this way.

Mark

[chokethechicken]

Thanks. Looks like I'd best be safe and go for the excel then.

[All Weather Griller]

The good thing about these two models is that if you ever wanted to insulate a frontier, you could just sit it inside the Excel

I think I'm right in saying that ProQ used to suggest the Frontier as an "Entry" level smoker and the Excel as the tool for more advanced users. The view about grilling space is extremely valid, the frontier is a small grate.

Go for the Excel... You'll love it!

Plus with both these models they are modular and the capacity can be expanded. Here is a pic of a couple of tight northerners who wanted to save on charcoal at a recent comp.

[allstars666]

I've just received my Excel and put it together on Sunday. Didn't have enough time to do my first cook, so I'm busy preparing for this weekend as long as the weather holds.

I want the conditions to be right so I don't get annoyed with myself or stressed out if it pours down.

I want to create an ambient atmosphere where I am completely chilled and my meat gets smoked well for the first attempt.

Anyways enough with the softness above, I have a quick question for y'all. Please don't laugh as this will probably sound really noobish.

I have been researching BBQ rubs and 'moppin' sauces on the net and I stumbled across some good videos on youtube, namely http://www.barbecueweb.com/.

What is the easiest method to mop my meat if it is cooking on the first grill?

[All Weather Griller]

Evening!

Not a daft question at all. The one thing that separates the ProQ from all the others is the flexibility within the cooking sections.

Simply unlatch the top stacker from the first and lift the top stacker complete with the lid off. Baste to your hearts content and place it back on.

When I want to change the order of the meats, I simply do the same, but swap the grates, this way there is no messing about with the water pan.

Hope this makes sense.

Beerz

Adie

[Steve]

I'll be honest with you, I don't really mop anymore, I will sometimes spritz with apple juice sporadically if I'm feeling in the mood but I don't think that it makes much difference.

If you choose to spritz then you can fill an oil sprayer with apple juice and use that to just spray the meat through the door or by lifting the stacker off.