First time grilling ! Questions...

[Seb F.]

Hi all, just received my first Weber OTG yesterday and I have a few questions after my first try.

How long does it usually take to completely cool down the remaining charcoal lumps before I can store my grill ? Is an hour with both vents closed enough ?

When exactly should I poor my charcoal into my grill ? I've read about charcoals getting covered in gray but does that apply also to lumps or only briquettes ?

Thanks for your replies !
Seb

 

[J. Morgan]

Bonjour Seb,

I've recently got past the novice stage of char-grilling myself so hopefully I can give you some useful info.

Yeah an hour is plenty to let the grill cool and coal to burn out. I suppose you are wanting to put the cover on then, or put in the garage/shed?

When to pour the coals depends on your purpose. If grilling say a 3/4" or thinner steak on direct high heat with lump coal I'd pour when most pieces are red hot thus having the highest heat available for the best sear & grill marks. I wouldn't wait for gray ash, you might burn your fuel too fast that way...

It also depends if you just want to cook a steak or other things like baked potato, peppers where you would put over indirect before the steak is on. After things like this are cooked you can get the fire roaring for the high heat needed with lid/vent adjustments.

Other applications such as chicken where mid heat is required would be different.

I'm sure other more experienced grillers here would be able to give more advice, I think it really depends on the application.

Have fun learning and check these forums for other posts and pictures, I learned alot from other's set-ups here.

Bon chance

 

[Seb F.]

Hey J !

Thanks for the quick reply and the French words

Yeah, I was talking about the time before I can put the cover on and store it in the shed. Good to know that an hour should be enough.

I'll continue to check out these forums for sure. They are the reason I've switch to charcoal and a very useful source of information.

Thanks,
Seb

 

[J. Morgan]

Glad to help Seb,

Ever use Basque Lump? Its maybe perffered lump and I also use Maple leaf Briquettes for low and slow stuff on the WSM. Both are product of PQ.

Have fun trying new things!

 

[Seb F.]

Done my 2nd grilling for diner tonight and both time I've used Maple Leaf hardwood lump. Went really good for yesterday's hot dogs (I wanted to go simple the first time

) but had little issues today with chicken thighs.

Is it normal that after an hour, there was only a little lumps left at the bottom ? I've used a full chimney of lumps. Was my vents too much open or is it normal that a full chimney last about an hour ?

Should I buy both lumps for steaks, burgers, etc and briquettes for slower cooking meats ?

Thanks again !
Sebastien

 

[W.Bedford]

Sebastien,

Like you, I recently acquired a Weber Kettle. I used lump for stuff that takes less than 20 minutes and briquettes for everything else.

I am up to 8 cooks on my Weber kettle and I am getting better at dealing with the live fire every time I use it. Stick with it and you will be rewarded. I love the ML hardwood lump for steaks!!!