Grilling on a kettle


 

Dave K

TVWBB Pro
I bought a used kettle a few months ago for grilling only. I find that if I cover it with the lid, my temps drop. It is an EZ model, with three vents on the bottom (same as WSM), and one on the top. Is this normal, that to grill I need to leave the lid off?
 
kettle and performer are the same thing as far as the metal part is concerned. you can grill with the lid on or off. usually you cook with the lid on. yes the temp might go down a little but the meat will cook faster with the lid on. the lid is the whole point of the kettle.
 
When I first dump a full chimney of lit in my Performer or Kettle (I've got one of the old three vent models, too)dome temperatures will run up over 500 degrees. I usually leave all the vents open and the temp generally settles around 450 and that's where I do most of my cooking.

If I want to bring the temp down a bit, I'll close off the top vent just a little bit.

The lid creates a convection effect and the food cooks much more evenly and quicker than cooking with the lid off.

Just my 2Cents worth.

Pat
 
I've heard that the rule of thumb is to grill with the lid off if the meat is thinner than your hand; lid on if the meat is thicker. Seems like a good general concept.
 
no real rules for this but yes, if its very thin then you might want to grill without the lid on. flare ups will have you putting the lid back on or moving the meat away from the coals.
 
Lid off for thin meats does make sense, on a hot fire. Their cook time is so quick that messing with the lid is going to be a hassle.
 

 

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