I am seriously briquette-challenged


 
J

Jamie Mathews

TVWBB Member
When I grill direct (steaks, burgers), I've had great success for years with lump. I usually only use Kingsford for low and slow. But I have a ton of it, so I want to grill with it, but...

I CANNOT GET THE GRATE TEMPERATURE OVER 400 degrees.

Here's what I'm doing.

I have a Weber 22 inch kettle. I fill a Weber starter to just about overflowing. I dump my lit charcoal into the grill when the bulk of the coals are glowing orange and light gray. The coals at the very top are mostly still black, but clear flames are shooting throgh them.

I dump the lit to cover about two thirds of the charcoal grate, so my layer of coal is about 2 deep. I cover the grill with top and bottom vents opn 100%, sometimes I leave the lid ajar a bit to increase airflow.

I usually let the thing pre-heat for 5 minutes, especially for steaks, as I like the cooking grate really hot for attractive cross-hatch marks.

But by the time I put the steaks on, the temp is way down. I have a grate thermometer, I have a dome thermometer, and I know how to do the hand test. 5 minutes afetr dumping the coals onto the charcoal grate, temp is about 375 degrees or so. I canb't get a good sear on my steaks, and steaks and burgers are taking noticably longer to cook.

When the fire dies out, it looks like I have an awful lot of briquettes still on the grate that are gray colored and whole, though very flaky. Am I supposed to have that much debris still on the cooking grate? I would've thought more ash and less chunks of briquettes.

In desperation, I have even tried using 2 starters of charcoal in the 22 inch kettle, and not much difference.

Something tells me I'm dumping out the coal out of the starter way too early or way too late. I still do fine with lump, but I have 20 bags of briquettes that I don't want to waste.

Confused in CT.

Thanks,

Jamie
 
I usually wait to dump until the coals in the top of the chimney have just a little bit of gray on them. I also rotate the lid so the vent is over the coals. This seems to help with the draw and gets temps up. You can also skew the lid, as you mentioned. I'd offset so the opening is on the same side of the grill as the coals.

If it makes you feel any better, I don't seem to get very high temps with K either, but can usually get 450+. With other briquettes, I can peg the therm on my performer without too much effort.
 
Less time in the chimney would just mean more time in the grill to get them going hot. As long as you have a few briquettes going, the rest will light, just takes more time. Having your lid ajar is better than all the way on, but leaving it off of course will have them lit faster. To get real good sear marks on a steak, without CIGS, you'll need more than 5 minutes. I've never temped my kettles, so I guess I have no idea how hot they run, but I do know that after about 15 minutes with a full chimney of lit, it's hard to get close enough to flip the steaks. I would Just let them breathe longer and see what you get. I also bank my coals tighter to the side than you do, if i'm looking for 2/3 grate coverage, I would probably be using 1 1/2 chimney's worth of coals.
 
CIGS = cast iron grates.

Sometimes for steaks I just don't use the kettle lid at all.
 
Wow dude... I don't have this problem at all. I can easily get over 400 with 1/2 or 2/3 of a chimney.

But I leave mine in the chimney longer. There's almost no black on mine before I dump them.

I'm just guessing but I'd say leave in the chimney longer. It's like a jet engine in there. Get's em hot.
 
Michael L, what do you do afetr you dump the briquettes onto the charcoal grate? Do you leave the lid off, or put it on? How long after you dump the charcoal do you put the food on?
 
Kbb is cheap, so you get what you pay for. I try not to load up the grate too much and rotate to avoid drippings putting the coals out. Lump and better briqs do a much better job of STAYING lit...but that doesn't sound like your problem. Try using TWO chimneys, filled to the top of the handle. I do that most all the time because the briqs in the bottom won't be nearly burnt up by time that the top ones are mostly ashed over and ready to spread. I just leave vents open and get plenty of heat to sear steaks. To sear both sides good, turn them over and lay over a fresh spot on the grill.
 
Dave, thanks for the reply. I have done exactly what you suggested, filling 2 starters about halfway, so that the bottom ones aren't spent by the time the top is lit. Maybe I need to videotape what I'm doing and out in on youtube for you guys to critique. That, or stick with lump, cuz I have no troubles with lump.
 
Jamie, a couple of things come to mind. First of all, if you want crosshatch marks, you really need to get some cast iron grates as others suggested. I don't cook for pics though, and I like the even sear that is produced from the radiant heat off hot coals. Not many gas grills can do that. It might not be as pretty as cross-hatch grill marks, but the taste is just as good or better, depending on preference. I've cooked on both, and just feel that CIG's are a little over-rated, at least for charcoal grills, and high maintenance compared to regular grates. Just my .02 cents, though.

Only other things I could think of is possible humidity/moisture absorption of your charcoal. Just something I've noticed and try to be aware of. I don't use the bin in my Performer for charcoal storage if I'm getting a bunch of bad or humid weather. My Kbb stockpile is in a vented shed, but the Missus complains about my "charcoal rotation" inside the house in a closet and the utility room.

Also, might try letting the top layer ash over and don't crowd the grate. That'll really put a damper on temps. I cook for a bunch so use both my Performer and my OTG most of the time. I've actually got to get another chimney since I gave my third one to my daughter with my old OTS.

Just don't know what else to tell ya other than the fact that Kbb just doesn't burn as hot as lump or other briqs. It's cheap, so I'd try to fill those chimneys up a little higher and let it ash over better.
 
I agree with Mike R......Bank your coals tighter. I use nothing but Kbb in my Performer and get temps 450-500 with no problem. I ususally only have coals covering about 1/3 of the grill.
 
I have no problem getting 400+ with KB in my kettle, i use only 3/4 of the grill when doing steaks. If you want extreme hot heat add a 2nd exhaust vent to your lid. The kettle is built with more intake than exhaust so your top end heat is limited. By adding a 2nd vent to the lid you even out the intake exhaust ratio, more exhaust means more air going through your coals = more heat.
 
I think you are dumping too soon and then putting the lid on. Wait until the top at least has ashes on the edges. No need to preheat unless you are trying to cleans a grate.

A full load of of red coals is plenty hot fot me
 
i agree with the others that you are dumping out the briquettes way too soon and not allowing them to get as hot as they possibly can be. in addition, if you are using the lid to cover the grill while trying to get it to reach 400+ degrees, that it is also causing you problems. the lid is good for controlling flare-ups and maintaining consistent temps between 225-400 degrees but ironically the lid also prevents you from reaching temps above 450 degrees as easily as without it. for getting a good sear i would recommend ditching the lid and possibly even using two chimney starters full of charcoal but i am able to get up to about 450-475 on my 22" kettle with only one chimney full and i use kingsford blue all the time. also, wait about ten minutes longer from when you are dumping out your briquettes now. make sure the briquettes at the very top of the chimney are all covered with a light gray ash and then they will be ready to go.
 
'Tis true that there's really not much needed in the way of pre-heating a kettle. The chimney does that for ya. Pre-heating is for ceramics and gassers, unless you have CIG's.
 
Thanks guys. I had a feeling that I was dumping them out too soon. I think I was afraid that if I waited until the briquettes on top were ashed, the ones on the bottom would be spent. Since I have 2 starters, I should get in the habit of filling each two-thirds of the way, and go that route.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Less time in the chimney would just mean more time in the grill to get them going hot. As long as you have a few briquettes going, the rest will light, just takes more time. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Correct.

It is not a matter of more time in the chimney, it's a matter of more time period - before starting to cook. I'm sure I dump as early as you - probably sooner. (I use one chimney.) I just pour a few coals off the top onto one side of the grill, a few to the other side (I almost never cook with one pile of coals - I much prefer two), then repeat, back and forth. This pretty much splits up the less-than-lit, less-lit, and lit evenly. The key then is to put the grate on, and wait several minutes till the coals are well lit and the grate is quite hot. As long as the lower and upper vents are fully open 'quite hot' is unavoidable.
 
If I want a hot fire for stuff like that, I usually use the charcoal rails and pile the lit coals between them. That works very well for making a concentrted heat source.
 
when you guys are saying your getting temps in the 500 degree rangs, is this with the thermometer directly over the coals or on the indirect side?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top