New Performer Owner


 
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Tim Harcoff

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After years of using a gas grill, I have decided to move on to a charcoal kettle. My in-laws have a Big Green Egg, and you just can't beat the nice smokey flavour you get from charcoal/wood chips. I bought a Performer last night from Home Depot. The large table, built-in charcoal storage, and gas-assist lighting are all nice features that should help make my transition a little easier. Plus, all the positive reviews on the internet didn't hurt my decision either.

Anyway, I'll likely test it out this weekend with something simple…probably just some big hot dogs to get started (I more just want to experiment with temperatures than anything else). I'm probably in for a big learning curve, but I'm looking forward to it.

Just a couple questions: The charcoal baskets…people here don't seem to use them too much? For indirect cooking, are they good to use when placed at the edges (underneath the part of the cooking grill that can flip up)?

Do people use the gas assist with the charcoal in the baskets, and then dump the baskets out? Is it possible to use the gas assist without the baskets?

This forum seems like a great resource. Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome Tim
You will love the performer. The gas assist works best with a chimney starter. I, of course, use the weber chimney starter. Once the coals are burning hot, you simply pour your coals into the side baskets and you are good to go.
Good luck to you!
 
Welcome to the show Tim. What color Performer did you score?
I use the baskets for both direct and indirect cooking. I find that the charcoals light just fine with the coals in the baskets. Once lit, I move them to the sides of the grill using tongs. I leave the charcoal right in the baskets and position my food either around or directly over them.
 
I got the boring old black Performer. It was on sale at Home Depot for $350, while the Blue and Red ones were $400.

I think I'll just try lighting the charcoal in the baskets for now and see how that goes. It does seem like a lot of folks like the chimneys.

I bought some lump charcoal to start. That's what my father-in-law uses, and it seems to provide good flavour. I've also done some reading on the additives in briquettes and figured I'd like to avoid that. I've also done some reading that it burns a little cooler (I think)? What do most people here use? I also got some mesquite wood chips...is there any point using them for direct-cook meat like steak? Do they still impart good flavour even if you're meat isn't on the grill that long?
 
Lot's of folk here, including myself, are big fans of Stubbs natural charcoal. I use it mostly for long burns, like a roast chicken or pork roast. It definitely heats a little cooler but longer - and leaves a lot less ash than other brands. And it's on sale for $5 a bag at Lowes right now.

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I've only just begun using woodchips so there's bound to be somebody here with a lot more to say about them than me.
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A big welcome Tim!Nothing wrong with the black performer, that is what I have,I think it is sleek and sharp! I don't use the baskets.I light with the chimney, it gets things going real fast,then I dump the coals to one side for my cooks.For example for steaks I dump the coals to one side of the grill using Royal Oak lump charcoal for a high heat sear.I personally like hickory for steaks.Yes you could use mesquite,it will taste good also, just don't use too much, it can make your food taste bitter,at least in my experience. I love Stubbs charcoal (on sale at Lowes now for $5 a bag, great deal).No fillers in Stubbs, tastes great and burns a long time.Lump charcoal is high heat,but a shorter burn time.If I need both, I put some unlit Stubbs about 12 or so on the grate unlit,light a chimney with lump and then dump that over the Stubbs.This gives me a good sear and long burn time,so if I were doing alot of chicken pieces that is how I do my setup. If you can watch Primal Grill or Barbeque USA the Steve Raichlin shows,you will learn a lot.The folks here are so very generous with their time and knowledge,so ask away with anymore questions.A short grilling with some hot dogs or hamburgers is a great way to start.Sorry for the long post,hope this helps you.
 
Im with Regina on this. I never use my baskets anymore. I ALWAYS fill 1/3 of the coal grate with coals. And this is for everything i cook(exept if im woking. I cook 95% indirect with a fast sear @ the start or the end depending on protein.

Lump burn time: Well its the same as briqs ASLONG as you choke the oxygen. It does burn hotter with the same amount of oxygen as briqs.

My Primo burns over 35h @240 with one filling of lump.

In my kettle i normaly use briqs...And in my WSM Lump.
 
Tim, welcome to the club. I'm quite surprised that Home Depot would jack the prices up based on the colors unless the Black model you purchased was an earlier model. I agree with everyone else regarding the use of the baskets, but if you don't have a chimney yet you'll have to use them to light your coals then push them to the sides with your tongs for indirect cooking.
 
Welcome to the performer club. I use the baskets some of the time. Like has been mentioned you can start the fuel right in. Them and the move the entire basket where you want it. The baskets seem to work to concentrate the heat and gives me a nice two zone fire. Other times I want a one zone fire so I spread the coals out. When I use my pizza stone I do not use the pans. Try it both ways and get a feel for when to use themand when to leave them under the grill.

Mike
 
I think the baskets help if you are trying to acheive a good sear on whatever you are cooking. You can also used a single basket for cooking low and slow indirect. I use them a lot, and about the charcoal chinmey, get one, it with the gas lighting system helps a lot. You will waste a lot of gas lighting the coals in the basket. Another thing I did was get the cable that allows you to hook a 20 lb tank to it and I use that for my gas lighting.
 
I like the black Performer, but mine is lime green which is Crate and Barrel's color. I bought it off CL and it was still in the box.

I use the baskets all of the time for indirect cooking. The light just five over the propane flame.

For direct cooking I use my 18.5 or 22.5 OTG grills.
 
Thanks for all the great replies. On Sunday I used my Performer for the first time. I did up some hamburgers. I didn't use the baskets, I just piled my lump charcoal over the burner and let that rip for a few minutes. Then I spread out the lit charcoal for some grillin'. Unfortunately, I mismanaged my heat a little, and ended up having most of the charcoal go out, which lead to a bit of a fiasco, and a longer cooking time, but I ended up getting the burgers cooked well, and I learned some lessons (like, use more charcoal). Anyway, the burgers turned out great and had that wonderful charcoal taste.

On Monday I grilled some striploin steak. I used more charcoal this time (and still no baskets), and had a nice, consistent high heat. The steaks turned out very well. At the same time, I had some foil wrapped/pre-cooked potatoes with seasoning on the grill. They turned out great as well.

For my next act, I plan on doing a whole chicken. I will obviously need to use indirect-cooking, and figure this will be a good time to use the charcoal baskets. From what I understand, the briquets will perform better for a lower, longer-lasting heat? Any thoughts as to what temperature and how long for a whole chicken?

Thanks again.
 
I use lump for all of my cooks from grilling steaks to smoking at 250 degrees for long periods of time. Never had any issues with temp spikes.

I would suggest cooking the chicken at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours.

Fill both baskets with lit lump. To fill both baskets you'll probably only require 3/4 of a chimney starter worth of charcoal. Start closing the vents to 1/2 way or a little more when the lid temp gets to 300 (it'll then start to steady around 350). Make sure the grate hinge openings are lined up with the baskets in case you need to add more charcoal or wood (don't think you'll need to for this length of time but better safe than sorry).

Enjoy!
 
Well I'm just a peasant with my old style kettle, no baskets and no gas assist. I use lump all the time and like Daniel says you get just as long a cook from them as I get from briquettes. One exception might be if you buy 100% maple lump which tends to burn faster than your run of the mill RO or WG. Different lumps will also give you different flavour characteristics.

As far as grilling steaks with wood chips goes I highly recommend it. Soak your chips for 1/2 hour or more and throw a handful directly on the coals just before you put your steaks or other meat on. You'll love it.
 
I cooked an 8lb beer-can chicken this past weekend using indirect heat (don't forget to put the drip pan in between the baskets)at 375* for two hours and it came out beautifully.

I removed the hinged grate and cooked bird-zilla on the lower grate. I also alum foiled the fronts of the two baskets so as to avoid overcooking the breasts.
 
Tim, just wanted to echo what the others said. The lump works great in the baskets, and it will give you pleeeeeeeenty of time to cook a chicken. In fact, I've found that when I use lump in those baskets- cooking burgers, dogs, steaks, sausage stuffed portobellos, or whatever- if I close the vents as soon as I'm done, I save a fair amount of charcoal.

My Performer has really cut down on my fuel costs that way.
 
Tim,

If you are doing a full chicken I would recommend the beer can method (just as the others have said) with two baskets side to side for indirect and a drip can between them. Go with a medium size chicken so you won't have any issue with the lid not fitting over the chicken. Once you try this method, you'll never go back to any other way, well maybe using a rotisserie, but that's another story.

Enjoy,

Mike
 
I did my beer can chicken yesterday, and it came out great. I overcooked it slightly, but it was still juicy and delicious. It's definitely the best chicken I've ever made.

I used a fairly tall beer-can chicken stand, and ended up having to remove my cooking grate, and put the chicken in the drip pan, between the charcoal baskets on the charcoal grate. I tin-foiled the inside parts of the charcoal baskets closest to the chicken, so I wouldn't burn it. I ended up cooking it for about two hours at everywhere between 300 and 400. I only added a few lumps of charcoal to each basket partway through, and that might have been unnecessary. I loosely put some tin foil over the bird after about an hour and a half because the skin was crisping up pretty good. Anyway, it was amazing.

Thanks again for the tips.
 
Tim-

Congrats on the beer can chicken, you are well on your way. May I suggest using an internal temp probe that you can stick in the thigh while cooking. I usually use internal probes when smoking on my WSM but in cases like BCC, I use the probe just to make sure it comes out perfect since every chicken is different.

Mike
 
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