Are there any advantages to smoking on a kettle?


 
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dean

TVWBB Pro
I did not want to hijack the post below or seem like a jerk about anything. So I figured I would just ask it in a new thread. Why not just smoke in the WSM and use the kettle for grilling? I have often read these stories about those doing ribs or whatever on a kettle when most on here have a wsm smoker! Why pay more money and spend time building stuff to transform a kettle to smoke on it? Do you use less coal? Are the results and different? I am ready to take my bbq to the next level and want to learn from YOU PROS!
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Reasons for smoking on the kettle:

For shorter & smaller cooks, it is easier to fire up a kettle than get a WSM ready to go.

Cleanup is easier on a kettle than a WSM.

Capacity - If I have my WSMs full, I used my OTG and Performer for overflow, which is usually Chicken that I like to cook at a higher temp anyways.

Temp - Easier to manage 300°+ cooks. For the people that regularly cook this way on their WSM, it is easy for them, but if you don't always do it, a kettle will get up there fast and easy for a short cook.

Hope this helps.
 
That make sense to me now! tx JSM. I have over the years posted about a certain cooks on my wsm and folks have asked me, "dont you have a kettle"? Of course I do. I have way to many of them. I might even build a small smoker out of a smokey joe and a tamale pot as posted on this forum just for small cooks. I am on the fence about that tooo..
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Dean, if you want a sear and a smoke, say a tri tip, the kettle works great. Of course it can be done on in the WSM just takes a little more manipulation.

Mark
 
For people like myself with only the 18" WSM (a couple of them), the kettle works better for larger items like full racks of spares or a larger packer brisket.

I can easily get three full racks of spares on my 22 1/2 inch kettle. Untrimmed and unrolled. And because I build the fire on one side of the grill (with bricks containing the coals), there are no burnt ends to deal with. Try doing that on a single grate in the 18-inch WSM.

I can also get 7 hrs untended cooking time using this sort of modified minion method. Next time I try a brisket I'm gonna do it on the kettle. I've seen pics posted here (or somewhere) of people getting upwards of 12-13 hrs "fuse-method" on a single load.
 
i use the kettle as i find it easier to use for most of my cooks. being in a wheelchair has a lot to do with that but i suspect i would do it either way. but i still would not get rid of my wsm.
 
Reasons mentioned above (not often for me). One additional is if I need to low temp or smoke two different items at the same time that aren't that "complimentary" to cook together in the WSM.

Fish and anything, chicken and beef or pork, etc.

Anytime I need to cook two different items at the same time where I really don't want juices from one dropping on the other, it can just be simple to press the Performer into service to augment.
 
Three racks of spares on the kettle. I said in my previous post "untrimmed", but that's not exactly true. I trimmed the top portion and cut these "St Louis" style, but they could have fit even with the top there.

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I prefer to smoke chicken and turkey on the kettle, its a short cook with easier cleanup and easier to hit higher temps
 
I've always wanted to try some ribs on the kettle. Just 1 or 2 slabs when I'm just cooking for me and my freezer. I've done chicken on it before with good results. The WSM lives in a shed so it's a bit of a pain to break out unless I know I'm doing a long, extended smoke.
 
I agree with all of the above. Capacity is the convenience for me and I have to much capacity for my actual needs but I love my Weber's.
If I'm doing enough to justify firing up one of the WSM's then I do. If I'm just doing a small cook then I go with one of the One Touch's.
 
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