Recently - I have been cooking on my kettle more. The weather has been better and I have enjoyed being outside to fiddle more frequently while learning to cook low & slow. The snake method suited me quite well for results - but I was not caring for the reduced real estate and staying in front of my grate/lid turning.
That led me back to some videos on Youtube's The Woodshed Smoke & BBQ with Slowhand channel. I remember his calling out cooking with a steel deflector and naked basket was a good way to roll. Not wanting to visit the hardware store for expanded metal - I banked my coals between charcoal baskets. Over the top of the baskets, I am covering off with a cast iron 14" griddle. Then a stock pot lid which fits perfectly for an air gap. My grate fits over this rig without probem.
Testing without meat on the grate - I was losing control of grate temp and it was taking forever to correct. So today, I rolled with food on the grate plus a quart of water in a pyrex dish.
Chicken and vegetables were selected for this cook because I was afraid my temps would be closer to 300. But things were pretty easy to regulate with food on the grate. The vents were quite responsive and in the end - I was able to get where I wanted to be with the bottom barely cracked and adjusting the top. Kettle was running clean and stable, really enjoyed it.
It was a great cook and I found a sweet spot for 235 - that I hope to replicate (getting up to temp a bit faster than I did today.
Life got in the way and lunch was rushed. I have no plated pics. Condiments were an Alabama White Sauce and SC Mustard sauce (recipes both from Low & Slow).
These are my notes:
- buried cube and let burn 2 minutes after lighting
- assembled and grate temp @ 74 degrees. bottom vent was barely cracked open and my water was cool in the pyrex.
- @ 100 degrees I closed the top vent to a crack (took a pic to define "a crack")
@ 0938 grate temp was 102 F
@ 1004 grate temp was 152
@ 1024 grate temp was 190
@ 1044 grate temp was 218 -meat and veggies went on at this point
@ 1109 grate temp was 177 - opened top vent to about 1/2
@ 1129 grate temp was 188 - opened top to 3/4
@ 1149 grate temp was 201 -opened top full and put in meat probe (breast was at 119)
@ 1221 grate temp was 227 (this is when I felt stable and in control based on the grate temp starting to stand still)
@ 1253 grate temp was 236
@ 1306 grate temp was 236 - chicken was exactly where I wanted it and veggies were done too
(shut the vents down here and after cooling, ended up with one charcoal basket full of leftover briquettes. enough to fill a small Weber chimney!)
That led me back to some videos on Youtube's The Woodshed Smoke & BBQ with Slowhand channel. I remember his calling out cooking with a steel deflector and naked basket was a good way to roll. Not wanting to visit the hardware store for expanded metal - I banked my coals between charcoal baskets. Over the top of the baskets, I am covering off with a cast iron 14" griddle. Then a stock pot lid which fits perfectly for an air gap. My grate fits over this rig without probem.
Testing without meat on the grate - I was losing control of grate temp and it was taking forever to correct. So today, I rolled with food on the grate plus a quart of water in a pyrex dish.
Chicken and vegetables were selected for this cook because I was afraid my temps would be closer to 300. But things were pretty easy to regulate with food on the grate. The vents were quite responsive and in the end - I was able to get where I wanted to be with the bottom barely cracked and adjusting the top. Kettle was running clean and stable, really enjoyed it.
It was a great cook and I found a sweet spot for 235 - that I hope to replicate (getting up to temp a bit faster than I did today.
Life got in the way and lunch was rushed. I have no plated pics. Condiments were an Alabama White Sauce and SC Mustard sauce (recipes both from Low & Slow).
These are my notes:
- buried cube and let burn 2 minutes after lighting
- assembled and grate temp @ 74 degrees. bottom vent was barely cracked open and my water was cool in the pyrex.
- @ 100 degrees I closed the top vent to a crack (took a pic to define "a crack")
@ 0938 grate temp was 102 F
@ 1004 grate temp was 152
@ 1024 grate temp was 190
@ 1044 grate temp was 218 -meat and veggies went on at this point
@ 1109 grate temp was 177 - opened top vent to about 1/2
@ 1129 grate temp was 188 - opened top to 3/4
@ 1149 grate temp was 201 -opened top full and put in meat probe (breast was at 119)
@ 1221 grate temp was 227 (this is when I felt stable and in control based on the grate temp starting to stand still)
@ 1253 grate temp was 236
@ 1306 grate temp was 236 - chicken was exactly where I wanted it and veggies were done too
(shut the vents down here and after cooling, ended up with one charcoal basket full of leftover briquettes. enough to fill a small Weber chimney!)
