Gary S
TVWBB Guru
I’ve been cooking on my 26” kettle for a couple of months now and it’s the most versatile BBQ I’ve ever owned. I have yet to use the original charcoal grate. I’m using an 18” cast iron BGE cooking grate for charcoal. I've also used the charcoal grate from a 22” kettle. The results are similar but the BGE cast iron holds the heat much better and improves the fuel efficiency of the kettle. Placing the charcoal grate lower into the kettle gives more cooking options too. I've not needed the surface area of the standard charcoal grate so far. Maybe with the rotisserie I will want the higher charcoal level, not sure? To some it may seem that I've spent a lot of money building this Custom 26 but in actual fact what I invested is about half the cost of a large BGE with nest, side tables and a plate setter. From my point of view this set up is more versatile up to 650F.
Fire brick are an essential tool in my arsenal for indirect cooking, searing and grill placement. I have also used a charcoal ring from the 18.5 WSM. It works well for LNS depending upon the set up you choose. You can lay fuel around the outside, adopting the snake method or lay fuel inside the ring and use a diffuser/drip pan, water pan, clay saucer whatever, on top of the ring. It can cook much the same as a ceramic cooker if you choose or the WSM. With coals placed outside the ring, holes in the ring allow for air flow through the ring creating a large indirect cooking area.
Air control is the key for this big guy! The bottom vents are not as air tight as my 22 so to off-set that I have installed a 1/2” wide Nomex Gasket around the perimeter of the underside of the lid. Justin @ bbqgaskets.com has a peel and stick product that was easy to apply, fits like a glove and is working great. It takes about 7 feet. I also use foil over any part of the charcoal grate that does not have coals on it drawing the air up through the lit coals or lump. I find the 26 to be pretty fuel efficient doing this. I mostly use lump for up to 3-4 hours and briquettes for longer cooks. A single chimney of lump will last about 3 hours depending on the temp I’m running at.
To make air control more precise I’ve cut 3, 1”inch plugs from hardwood dowel to use as stoppers in the top vent. Most cooks from 250-350F are simply a matter of reducing exhaust 50-75% using two or three plugs placed in the vent holes. I try to position my lid vent, when possible opposite coals in the kettle. I expect these plugs to be sacrificial over time but they are easy to make and allow me to dial in temps right to the mark every time.
I have calibrated the bottom vent into four positions; closed, ¼ open, ½ open and full open. For cooks at 250F I set the vent arm on the low side of the ¼ open setting with the top vent 25% open. The kettle seems to exhaust well, the smoke is light and temps remain constant. 300F is achieved with the vent at or on the high side of the ¼ open setting. Consistent temps are easy to dial in using this method. I can hit 350 just by opening up the top vent to 50%. Settings like 275 and 325 are harder to achieve but I have not bothered to work with the Maverick, just the dome thermometer so far. I've cooked PP and Brisket just using my dome therm and the Maverick for internal temps.
One thing to watch for is leaving that big lid open too long while you're working inside. Given its size you can get flare-ups quickly or temperature spikes. Plan what you are doing before you do it. I've become accustomed to lifting the grill out and closing the lid then working on whatever before putting the grill back. Sneak peeks do not make much difference as the kettle settles back in pretty quickly.
The kettle’s depth offers the ability to use a 22” cooking grate placed on 4 four fire brick. The brick on their edge at the charcoal grate level allows for searing and the use of the Weber grate system which I kept when I sold my 22. This brings your meat 2” closer to the fire than a standard kettle setup. There is plenty of room for searing and indirect cooking. An upper 22” modified grate or warming rack could easily be placed above the standard grill grate as well. You can smoke using the main grate and an upper grate much like the WSM. A water pan can be used if preferred.
Thinking outside the box with the 26 is easy and many of us have the accessories from other Weber products to experiment.
If I could only have one charcoal cooker this would be it.
Fire brick are an essential tool in my arsenal for indirect cooking, searing and grill placement. I have also used a charcoal ring from the 18.5 WSM. It works well for LNS depending upon the set up you choose. You can lay fuel around the outside, adopting the snake method or lay fuel inside the ring and use a diffuser/drip pan, water pan, clay saucer whatever, on top of the ring. It can cook much the same as a ceramic cooker if you choose or the WSM. With coals placed outside the ring, holes in the ring allow for air flow through the ring creating a large indirect cooking area.
Air control is the key for this big guy! The bottom vents are not as air tight as my 22 so to off-set that I have installed a 1/2” wide Nomex Gasket around the perimeter of the underside of the lid. Justin @ bbqgaskets.com has a peel and stick product that was easy to apply, fits like a glove and is working great. It takes about 7 feet. I also use foil over any part of the charcoal grate that does not have coals on it drawing the air up through the lit coals or lump. I find the 26 to be pretty fuel efficient doing this. I mostly use lump for up to 3-4 hours and briquettes for longer cooks. A single chimney of lump will last about 3 hours depending on the temp I’m running at.
To make air control more precise I’ve cut 3, 1”inch plugs from hardwood dowel to use as stoppers in the top vent. Most cooks from 250-350F are simply a matter of reducing exhaust 50-75% using two or three plugs placed in the vent holes. I try to position my lid vent, when possible opposite coals in the kettle. I expect these plugs to be sacrificial over time but they are easy to make and allow me to dial in temps right to the mark every time.
I have calibrated the bottom vent into four positions; closed, ¼ open, ½ open and full open. For cooks at 250F I set the vent arm on the low side of the ¼ open setting with the top vent 25% open. The kettle seems to exhaust well, the smoke is light and temps remain constant. 300F is achieved with the vent at or on the high side of the ¼ open setting. Consistent temps are easy to dial in using this method. I can hit 350 just by opening up the top vent to 50%. Settings like 275 and 325 are harder to achieve but I have not bothered to work with the Maverick, just the dome thermometer so far. I've cooked PP and Brisket just using my dome therm and the Maverick for internal temps.
One thing to watch for is leaving that big lid open too long while you're working inside. Given its size you can get flare-ups quickly or temperature spikes. Plan what you are doing before you do it. I've become accustomed to lifting the grill out and closing the lid then working on whatever before putting the grill back. Sneak peeks do not make much difference as the kettle settles back in pretty quickly.
The kettle’s depth offers the ability to use a 22” cooking grate placed on 4 four fire brick. The brick on their edge at the charcoal grate level allows for searing and the use of the Weber grate system which I kept when I sold my 22. This brings your meat 2” closer to the fire than a standard kettle setup. There is plenty of room for searing and indirect cooking. An upper 22” modified grate or warming rack could easily be placed above the standard grill grate as well. You can smoke using the main grate and an upper grate much like the WSM. A water pan can be used if preferred.
Thinking outside the box with the 26 is easy and many of us have the accessories from other Weber products to experiment.
If I could only have one charcoal cooker this would be it.
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