I grabbed a new in box, copper colored SJG from craigslist this week. Having lurked on tvwbb for a while, my plan was to add the bottom vent from a SJS and use it for a firebox on my ECB. Last night my girlfriend had to work late, so I decided to give the unmodified baby grill a run.
Since I was worried about airflow (and too lazy and hungry to defrost some good meat), I picked up some cheap steak tips on the way home, just in case I couldn't get a good fire on the wee grill. I cut them up and left them to marinate while I built the fire. I also drizzled a banana in honey and rolled it in sugar for a side.
I had read some of the fire building tips in this thread, so I tried a fire between the two grates. I put some Kingsford in the bowl to measure the quantity, then poured it into my chimney. I ended up adding a few more briquettes because it seemed like so little charcoal in the chimney, probably about 1/3 full. I used my Performer to torch the chimney, and it was ready pretty fast. I was working in the dark, so if you check the pictures you can see that I should have let the chimney go a couple more minutes before dumping.
I banked the coals on the near side of the grill, opposite the handle/lid holder, added the cooking grate, and set both side vents wide open. Since I had dumped the charcoal prematurely, I let it burn uncovered for a few minutes. This helped, but it didn't get the fire roaring like an open burn on a 22.5" kettle would.
At this point, I just couldn't wait anymore. I put my banana on the indirect side, and added the skewers of tips to the near side to sear. Opened the top vent and aligned it on the indirect side. (If I use the SJG again before modifying, I'll try it over the direct side for comparison) I dangled the thermometer from my performer through the lid vent to get a rough idea what was going on inside. Temperature shot up to about 425 and stayed there, keeping me happy.
After about 90 seconds, I flipped the tips to sear the other side. After covering the grill again, I couldn't get the thermometer to read above 350. This could be because I didn't plan in advance and thus didn't bring a cork or anything to help me position the thermometer, or it could be because I built a crappy fire.
90 more seconds, and I moved the tips to the indirect side and slid the bananas a little closer to the coals to crisp. Cooked the tips over indirect heat for about 5 minutes per side, then shut down all the vents to try to smother the coals.
The tips were good, but not great. The sear wasn't as intense as I could have gotten on my performer, and the meat wasn't as done as I expected given the time on the indirect side. (I like it hovering right on the line between rare/medium rare, and these were a perfect rare.)
Bottom line: Decent little grill, but I didn't have the temperature control I'm used to with a full-sized kettle. Based on what I've read, I pretty much expected the fire to go out as soon as I covered it, and that didn't happen, putting me ahead of expectations. I'll still add the bottom vent, but I don't feel like the grill is unusable without it. Among other things, I'll try using it in the daytime so I can judge the state of my coals better before I dump the chimney.
Pictures of my trial run.
Since I was worried about airflow (and too lazy and hungry to defrost some good meat), I picked up some cheap steak tips on the way home, just in case I couldn't get a good fire on the wee grill. I cut them up and left them to marinate while I built the fire. I also drizzled a banana in honey and rolled it in sugar for a side.
I had read some of the fire building tips in this thread, so I tried a fire between the two grates. I put some Kingsford in the bowl to measure the quantity, then poured it into my chimney. I ended up adding a few more briquettes because it seemed like so little charcoal in the chimney, probably about 1/3 full. I used my Performer to torch the chimney, and it was ready pretty fast. I was working in the dark, so if you check the pictures you can see that I should have let the chimney go a couple more minutes before dumping.
I banked the coals on the near side of the grill, opposite the handle/lid holder, added the cooking grate, and set both side vents wide open. Since I had dumped the charcoal prematurely, I let it burn uncovered for a few minutes. This helped, but it didn't get the fire roaring like an open burn on a 22.5" kettle would.
At this point, I just couldn't wait anymore. I put my banana on the indirect side, and added the skewers of tips to the near side to sear. Opened the top vent and aligned it on the indirect side. (If I use the SJG again before modifying, I'll try it over the direct side for comparison) I dangled the thermometer from my performer through the lid vent to get a rough idea what was going on inside. Temperature shot up to about 425 and stayed there, keeping me happy.
After about 90 seconds, I flipped the tips to sear the other side. After covering the grill again, I couldn't get the thermometer to read above 350. This could be because I didn't plan in advance and thus didn't bring a cork or anything to help me position the thermometer, or it could be because I built a crappy fire.
90 more seconds, and I moved the tips to the indirect side and slid the bananas a little closer to the coals to crisp. Cooked the tips over indirect heat for about 5 minutes per side, then shut down all the vents to try to smother the coals.
The tips were good, but not great. The sear wasn't as intense as I could have gotten on my performer, and the meat wasn't as done as I expected given the time on the indirect side. (I like it hovering right on the line between rare/medium rare, and these were a perfect rare.)
Bottom line: Decent little grill, but I didn't have the temperature control I'm used to with a full-sized kettle. Based on what I've read, I pretty much expected the fire to go out as soon as I covered it, and that didn't happen, putting me ahead of expectations. I'll still add the bottom vent, but I don't feel like the grill is unusable without it. Among other things, I'll try using it in the daytime so I can judge the state of my coals better before I dump the chimney.
Pictures of my trial run.