frustrated...feels like a disaster


 

Becky M-M

TVWBB Pro
These darned ribs want to get the best of me! i was supposed to have them on the grill hours ago.... but for one reason or another couldnt get out there. When i finally did my coals wouldnt light. dont know why.... not much wind, they never got wet, darned things just didnt want to catch. Moved my grill and used lighter fluid and they got going.

Went to put my ribs on and they both didnt fit.
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quickly rolled them up using metal skewers. never done that before little tricky, but got them rolled.... somewhat. They keep falling over, but managed to work something out. all i wanted was to get them covered and going.

after i came in, realized i forgot to put my drip pan underneath, but i dont want to bother the grill for a good hour.

ugh.... i feel like such a newbie.

im not gonna cry.... like some girl!
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It'll be alright Becky. I once assembled my WSM, with meat on the upper grate, before I realized I hadn't lit the charcoal. Happens to the best of us!

Scotty W.
 
Becky, I always try to have some of the Weber firestarter cubes on hand, just in case. I've started MANY a cook with less than a smooth start, though. I guess all's well that ends well.
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i will keep in mind to pick up some starter cubes as a backup. dont know if it was because this was the last of the bag or not.

ribs have been on for a couple of hours... i can tell they are not done, of course. so i foiled them. this is what they looked like....

they were rolled up....


 
Becky, Sounds like you have a "Full Plate" (pun intended) already. Most of us Guy's can lounge around, plan and BBQ while doing 12 oz curls.

Those ribs are looking Great!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike David P:
Becky, Sounds like you have a "Full Plate" (pun intended) already. Most of us Guy's can lounge around, plan and BBQ while doing 12 oz curls.

Those ribs are looking Great! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

HA ya' wanna talk about a full plate!? my 3 yr old just fell over and broke the kitchen chair. lol

whew.... my relief is the end result.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Becky M-M:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike David P:
Becky, Sounds like you have a "Full Plate" (pun intended) already. Most of us Guy's can lounge around, plan and BBQ while doing 12 oz curls.

Those ribs are looking Great! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

HA ya' wanna talk about a full plate!? my 3 yr old just fell over and broke the kitchen chair. lol

whew.... my relief is the end result. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Glad the baby is OK. I did it about 30 years ago and now know why young folks have kids. Endless supply of energy required and all.

They grow up quick.
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Hope they turned out all right. One of the great things about smoking is even if you don't think they're your best ever, everyone else will rave about them. Do you use a chiminey starter?

And what's wrong with crying like a girl? I do it all the time!!
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easiest way for me to start the coals is w/ my chimney starter & a couple of paper towels. I drizzle some cheap vegetable oil straight out of the bottle over the middle of the paper towels, roll them up & coil under the chimney, light, & presto.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike David P:

Glad the baby is OK. I did it about 30 years ago and now know why young folks have kids. Endless supply of energy required and all.

They grow up quick.
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</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

oh hes ok! that boy is built solid, his nickname is Baby Hulk if thats any indication lol

whew.... i need all the energy i can get... psssttt dont tell anybody, but i like to bbq for some free time outside
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Canada Mike... they turned out ok.... not the best, i know that. but yeah everyone liked them....just need to practice more.

no chimney starter..... i think i need to gift myself one. i am thinking it would be a much appreciated addition.

i have been grilling for a long time, just now getting pretty serious about it. so learning a lot of different things that i need to be doing.

i got my finished pics up on the photo gallery.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Becky M-M:
no chimney starter..... i think i need to gift myself one. i am thinking it would be a much appreciated addition.

so learning a lot of different things that i need to be doing.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

You need a chimney starter unless you're going to get something like a weed burner to start your charcoal.

Learning is the best part about your day. You learned a lot and you'll take that into the next cook and so on and so on . . . Unfortunately, you have to go through a couple cooks like you did today. I don't know why, but it's a right of passage.

The hardest thing I had to learn was temp control. When I started out, it seemed like the temp in my WSM was either going up or going down - never stable. Couple that with a Maverick thermometer going off every half hour and I didn't get much (any) sleep the first couple of overnight cooks I did. Now it takes about an hour for me to get the temps stable and I'm off to sleep. I don't even monitor the temps overnight any more. Keep the WSM out of the wind and the temp holds rock solid for a good 8 to 10 hours.
 
Becky M-M;
Let me give you a tip about chimney starters. My first Weber was a gift of a 18.5" OTS along with a GENERIC chimney starter. That dern thing would go out and not light the coals about 25% of the time. My son and family were visiting from N.C. and he told me to quit screwing around with that chimney starter and get a Weber Chimney starter. You wouldn't BELIEVE the difference.

So, take some of that Christmas money you been holding and run right out a get a WEBER chimney starter. They are not expensive and work splendidly!

Good luck and GOOD GRILLING!
Dale53

22.5" OTG, 18.5" OTS
 
Oh, you've GOT to have a chimney, Becky! And go ahead and get the Weber. Costs a little more but it's got a better design, holds more than most, and will last longer.

I assumed you were having problems with newspaper in your chimney when I posted above about the starter cubes. Anyway, get a chimney and keep some firestarters on hand for when you're in a hurry. Your days of stinky lighter fluid are OVER!

Happy New Year!
 
Hey Becky, just filtering through the post and the replies so bear with me. Actually have to run out in about 30 minutes.

One theme I'm picking up is being able to light a chimney of charcoal either lump or briquettes.

It seems like you have a chimney.

K style (not 100% hardwood briquettes) will not light or will be hard to light if they have gotten wet or damp. Just a point to remember. If they have been setting out in the bag on the porch, say in wet or humid weather, they could be harder to light.

The helpers listed above will resolve that.

That said - do you have a decent chimney for lighting fuel? If not, get the largest capacity one that you can find (more are circulation).

Second - I have used the ring of paper as a lighter for years with good success. Thing is, on occasion I've had to re-load/re-light as the fuel didn't co-operate. Not a big deal, just put another ring of paper in there and light. Another suggestion is to apply a little vegetable oil, etc.

But here's the final thing. And I know folks will say how this is unnecessarily expensive. And I am assuming you do not have a Weber Performer as I do.

Pick up a propane fired chimney lighter. Reason I say this is that in the end you will be able to light a full chimney (even an overloaded one) and accommodate for any issue that arise with fuel that may have gotten damp.

You can adjust by just leaving the lighter burning until the fuel catches rather than loosing time adjusting for any weird issue that comes up by trying to restart a number of times.

If the fuel doesn't light after 20-30 minutes of "on time"with this unit there are other more serious issues afoot IMHO. Usually the fuel will start in 5-10 minutes or so and you can shut off the propane and let it finish lighting on it's own.

It's also hand to quickly light another chimney if you are wanting to add more lit fuel while grilling.

Max BBQ Lighter

I will use the Performer to light a chimney typically. If it's in use I use this unit now.

Previous I used to light the chimney of fuel using the paper method with good results, and I like playing with fire
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In the end, as far as pure convenience - this $40 is well spent. Because one typically has a system in place that allows for the typical time it takes to light the fuel.

If the goes haywire during a cook, especially if you are on a tight window it can be a real PIA to stop and fiddle to get the fuel lit and figure out what's up.

With one of these (in the absence of a Perfromer) you can just leave the gas burning until the fuel catches.

This has been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion.

All of the recommendations above are warranted, but this solution although it comes with a price tag is overall the simplest solution that eliminates fiddling should something throw off your timing.
 
I use the Weber starter cubes and a Weber Chimney and have never had a fire fail to start and I've cooked at around 32 degrees. I personally wouldn't do any cooking on a charcoal grill or WSM without a chimney starter.

Years ago before there was chimney starters, I used to get very frustrated trying to cook using charcoal because I would always have problems getting the coals going. I actually bought a gas grill because of that and didn't get back into charcoal grilling until 2007.

Like others have said, get a weber chimney starter and some Weber fire starters. You can buy these at Lowes and the chimney is usually about $15 and the starters at about $3.99 for a box of 24. I only use one fire starter at a time and have no problems getting a chimney of coals to start. Good luck.

Wayne
 
Before I got my Performer, I had a great method of lighting a chimney that I picked up on some random YouTube video.

Take three half sized strips of paper towels. Wad them up in a bowl and drizzle vegetable oil on them. They don't need to be soaked, but mostly moist (they can also be partly dry).

Just stuff it under the chimney and light. It doesn't have to be rolled, or anything like that. The paper towels burn up nicely, they don't leave the ashy mess that newspaper does and I never had to relight!
 
The oil soaked paper towel is definately a life saver. Recently I have discovered a method that is cleaner and burns longer. Talk about win/win!!! I got a broil king keg back in november and they suggest using crisco to season the cast iron elements. I rubbed the crisco on with a paper towel and afterwards just used that paper towel to light the coals. Talk about wow. That paper towel burned with a nice big fame forever. Being a soft solid, the crisco doesn't make any of the mess you can sometimes get with oil. If you like the oiled paper towel method definately give crisco a try.
 
really good suggestions... much appreciated. i am one of those do-not-waste-anything-AT-ALL types of people. so i always cringe when i throw away my paper towels that i oil the grill with and i also use a bit of paper towel to season my cast iron. i am going to have to get a little baggie or jar to start saving these up.
 

 

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