FireButler


 
interesting system,well built from quality materials.
I would like to see it being used to do many different types of cooks from ribs to breakfast.
I do like the fact that you get a Vortex with a gravity feed loader, a sear plate and a flat top so you do have many uses.
would like to see the sear plate in action and the flat top being used for a breakfast cook.
 
It's funny i just read about this Fire Butler here on Friday and then over the weekend a buddy of mine who owns an outdoor grilling store here posts a picture of a cook he's doing using the Fire Butler. Looks interesting for sure. Haven't watched the youtube vids yet but i wonder how the gravity feed action actually works.
 
I posted a few very short clips of 3 8-10lb butts using the fire butler. I am really liking it. Using the searing plate the coals are 3in or less away it gets Hot!

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Meant to say under charcoal kettles
 
It seems to me that the Fire Butler would limit the amount of space available for direct cooking when doing burgers for a party. Otherwise, looks like a neat idea.
 
I think Jerry should just come and visit all of us and show his skills, I am interested but, not "sold" yet.
Everyone get a slab of meat, bundle of pork, herd of chicken and have a real teaching experience, we can use my backyard!
 
steveD said:
It seems to me that the Fire Butler would limit the amount of space available for direct cooking when doing burgers for a party. Otherwise, looks like a neat idea.
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Not sure i understand? you can use the whole grate direct. Indirect with the hibatchi in place you can use the whole grate something you cant do without it
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I think Jerry should just come and visit all of us and show his skills, I am interested but, not "sold" yet.
Everyone get a slab of meat, bundle of pork, herd of chicken and have a real teaching experience, we can use my backyard!
Click to expand...

Timothy i have no horse in this race. I have had a WSM for over 10 years now have 2. Just sold my Stumps and this Firebutler is slick as Frogs Snot, it allows you to do things on a Weber kettle that you cannot usually do. If you buy one you will be pleased.
 
Jerry Walker said:
Not sure i understand? you can use the whole grate direct. Indirect with the hibatchi in place you can use the whole grate something you cant do without it
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What I meant is that it concentrates the coals to the box in the center of the grate leaving a fairly small area of grate directly above the coals for searing. By comparison, with my regular grate for coals I can spread the coals out so that they cover the entire grate, or as much of it as I want, so that I can maximize the hot area available for searing over direct heat.
 
steveD said:
What I meant is that it concentrates the coals to the box in the center of the grate leaving a fairly small area of grate directly above the coals for searing. By comparison, with my regular grate for coals I can spread the coals out so that they cover the entire grate, or as much of it as I want, so that I can maximize the hot area available for searing over direct heat.
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Ah i see what you are reffering to. It is closer to the grate than any other readily avail method so sears better but you have somewhere else to go to get out of direct nuclear heat on the perimeter. That box is pretty large, remember the fire grate at the bottom of a stock bowl is quite a bit smaller than the cooking grate
 
Jerry Walker said:
Ah i see what you are reffering to. It is closer to the grate than any other readily avail method so sears better but you have somewhere else to go to get out of direct nuclear heat on the perimeter. That box is pretty large, remember the fire grate at the bottom of a stock bowl is quite a bit smaller than the cooking grate
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The top of the fire box is 12" square on the 22" model... That's a direct cooking surface area of 144 sq. in. compared to a direct cooking surface of 227 sq. in. if the coals are spread out over the entire bottom grate. That is a significant reduction in capacity for direct cooking. At the same time, based on your descriptions it sounds like the area immediately above the fire box may actually get too hot to cook over, even for hamburgers, so the total cooking surface would be reduced by that 227 sq. in.

I like the idea and concept of the product for chicken wings and indirect cooking, and I really like the pan that acts like a large flat top/griddle, but I question whether it is really something to be left in place at all times, or if it is something that I'd end up swapping out for the standard charcoal grate more often than not.

If you were having a cookout for, say, a kid's birthday party or a picnic and you were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs (and maybe a few brats) for say 20-30 people how would you do it with this device in place?
 
steveD said:
The top of the fire box is 12" square on the 22" model... That's a direct cooking surface area of 144 sq. in. compared to a direct cooking surface of 227 sq. in. if the coals are spread out over the entire bottom grate. That is a significant reduction in capacity for direct cooking. At the same time, based on your descriptions it sounds like the area immediately above the fire box may actually get too hot to cook over, even for hamburgers, so the total cooking surface would be reduced by that 227 sq. in.

I like the idea and concept of the product for chicken wings and indirect cooking, and I really like the pan that acts like a large flat top/griddle, but I question whether it is really something to be left in place at all times, or if it is something that I'd end up swapping out for the standard charcoal grate more often than not.

If you were having a cookout for, say, a kid's birthday party or a picnic and you were grilling hamburgers and hotdogs (and maybe a few brats) for say 20-30 people how would you do it with this device in place?
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Cooking just Burgers and dawgs you wouldnt have the hibatchi on at all, just the standard grate. I have cooked a bunch of hamburgers and Hot dogs and it worked great. Personaly i liked having the searing area and could jockey the burgers and dogs off and on of that area and just off to the side when needed. It isnt like it is exactly cool to the side of the firebox. On my 26 it works out to my liking. With all direct there is no where to go. I just did a Chicken wing cook with the hibachi in place and it run at 290-300 at the lid and didnt move. 1 chimney of lit in the firebox place the hibatchi on top and vents wide open. 2 family packs of wings using the whole grate. I could tell no discernable difference in those wings compared to the wings i have done in my 18 or 22 WSM.
 
CE.
I expect a full critique, (with pics), in the very near future. ;)
The FB intrigues me as I'm a bit of a gadget fiend.
 
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TonyUK said:
CE.
I expect a full critique, (with pics), in the very near future. ;)
The FB intirgues me as I'm a bit of a gadget fiend.
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Tony,
I must admit my excitement over this item. I did some research, and decided on this over the Slow N Sear or an ATC. I really like the idea of being able to use the entire surface of my 26.75" for smoking, plus I'm planning to drag out my old Weber GBS grate from my Performer and make a Hover Grill out of it for those really big cooks (admittedly wishful 🤔, but I'd much rather have the room and not need it, and so on...). And yes, I will post my results 😀!
Thanks!
 
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