Masport RBW Supreme+ 6 burner BBQ REVIEW

This Christmas we decided to take the guesswork out of gifting and pool our resources to buy a new BBQ. We already have the rather excellent Green Mountain pellet grill, but we also wanted a Gas BBQ to give us BBQ cooking options.

After much research, I finally settled on the Masport RBW Supreme+. Several reasons figured in my decision. Firstly, it’s made locally, which means support and getting spare parts/accessories should be a reasonably straightforward process. But crucially, compared to the other imported BBQ brands, the RBW Supreme+ offered far more bang per buck.

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Trust me on this. You’ll want to get it delivered. It comes in two HUGE boxes, neither of which will fit in a car, and they both weigh about as much as a baby elephant. One box is for the trolley, and the other for the actual BBQ that sits atop of the trolley unit.

It took a few hours to assemble. This should have been quicker, except the supplied assembly instructions were less than intuitive and a one-size-fits-all affair, covering several BBQ models. Given the $1400+ sticker price, I’m surprised that Masport didn’t put a little more effort into their manuals.  It’s not rocket science, after all. We got there in the end though, and once we’d tidied up the mountain of cardboard and Styrofoam packaging left over, we had ourselves a shiny new BBQ.

It’s a good-looking beast. It feels solid, and it’s an absolute pleasure to use. I’d have thought it would have had more cooking surface with six burners. The overall cooking area appears to be marginally larger than on a 4-burner BBQ. On the plus side, this makes it easier to store when not in use. The roasting hood feels solid, and it has a built-in glass window, so you can look at the food while the hood’s down. This takes a lot of guesswork out of hooded BBQ cooking.

There’s a load of other bells and whistles. Its burners use an electronic igniter, which works via a handy push button located on the front of the BBQ. There are six main burners, a side wok burner, and a back burner, hence the RBW moniker (rear, back and wok, geddit?). It also has a drip tray fat catcher system, which makes keeping it clean a doddle and avoiding fat fires easier.

Its cooking surfaces consist of an enamelled plate and several grills, under which sit flame tamers and stainless-steel tubular burners. You can also get an optional separate internal inset cooking system with a pizza stone and a large cast-iron pan. The BBQ includes shish kebab racks/skewers, a BBQ cover, and a battery-powered rotisserie kit. With the other BBQ brands I looked at, these were costly extras.

Speaking of which, the Rotisserie produced epic results when combined with the rear burner. Attaching a chicken that had been liberally coated in a Cajun spice paste several hours earlier made a beautifully moist yet mouth-watering feed.

On its left-hand side sits a handy bottle opener. Given the symbiotic relationship between a coldie and BBQ scorched Bambi, its inclusion makes a lot of sense. Above this inset into the left side tray is a USB port which proved handy for keeping smartphones, Bluetooth speakers and other useful BBQ widgets charged. Next to this is a mechanical timer dial which also proved helpful. Masport has also included LED lighting under the grill hood. This means that even when the light is fading, you can still keep an eye on what’s cooking. Last (but by no means least) is a small slide-out smoker box. It can be filled with sawdust which will slowly burn when the centre burners are on. This produces fragrant smoke which will impart a delicious smoky taste to anything you’re cooking. I used wine barrel oak sawdust for smoking a coffee-rubbed chicken breast. The results were smoky, and dare I say it, spectacularly tasty.

The trolley unit that the BBQ sits atop of is a stainless-steel affair that has ample storage. In it, I had the gas cylinder, a bunch of BBQ tools and other bits and bobs and there were still acres of room. A slide-out drawer sits above the cupboard – ideal for storing BBQ tongs, knives, spatulas, and other cooking utensils.

Well thought out bells and whistles aside, you get a hell of a lot of BBQ for your money with the SBW Supreme+. Where other brands charge buyers for many of these goodies, they come as standard with Masport’s RBW Supreme+. Instead of offering gimmicky extras, Masport has wisely focused on features that’ll enhance your BBQ experience. The SBW Supreme+ is an excellent BBQ, hence it’s well-earned 10 out 10 rating.

www.masport.co.nz