Charcoal ash on food


 
J

Jacob

TVWBB Member
So, I just bought my WSM a few weeks ago. I really like it, but one thing I noticed when doing some mac and cheese is how much charcoal ash ended up on top of it.

I assume this happens when I open the side door to add wood chunks . Is there a way to prevent this? Should I just be more gentle when adding wood chunks?
 
What are you cooking the Mac and cheese in? Did you put wood chunks in when you started the cook?

just noticed, welcome to the site.
 
why not just start out with the wood added in the beginning or just use long handled tong's to lower the wood in during the cook
 
Some brands of charcoal produce more fly-away ash than others. Closing the top vent before opening the door reduces the draw of air that helps ash go up.
When you open the lid don't pull straight up on it quickly. That makes a vacuum of sorts, and pulls the ash up and onto your dish. Crack the lid slightly and pull it to the side.

Tim
 
timothy said:
Some brands of charcoal produce more fly-away ash than others. Closing the top vent before opening the door reduces the draw of air that helps ash go up.
When you open the lid don't pull straight up on it quickly. That makes a vacuum of sorts, and pulls the ash up and onto your dish. Crack the lid slightly and pull it to the side.

Tim
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me!
 
I've never had this problem. I use kingsford charcoal and wood chunks. I know this is not an overly helpful response, but I thought that was worth noting.
 
timothy said:
When you open the lid don't pull straight up on it quickly. That makes a vacuum of sorts, and pulls the ash up and onto your dish. Crack the lid slightly and pull it to the side.
Tim
Click to expand...

What Tim said. Also, try not to be opening the door when you're cooking. I try to get my charcoal all set before I light it and leave it alone. Personally, I've never opened the door after I learned to manage my fire better. However when I started out, I stirred my coals to get a little more heat out of them and got the same results as you - ash on my food. Not too good.

If I had to tend my fire, I would do the hot squat.
 
Jerry N. said:
What Tim said. Also, try not to be opening the door when you're cooking. I try to get my charcoal all set before I light it and leave it alone. Personally, I've never opened the door after I learned to manage my fire better. However when I started out, I stirred my coals to get a little more heat out of them and got the same results as you - ash on my food. Not too good.

If I had to tend my fire, I would do the hot squat.
Click to expand...

I totally agree!
 
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