New The Huntsman Kettle Kamado Grill from Spider coming.


 
Finally got the shelves on today. I was hesitant to get them for fear they’d be flimsy. I should have known better. That’s not the MO of spider grills. They are heavy duty and will no doubt be very useful on my next cook. Makes me all the more excited to get the rotisserie next month.
 

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Is the Huntsman a Warm Weather Grill?

So, on Sunday I gave my Spider Huntsman another tryout on a chilly day. This time I used TWO Weber charcoal starters, both full of Kingsford Professional High Heat charcoal. I lit them both setting on the charcoal grate inside the Huntsman and waited until charcoal was grayed over in both starters. That's over a half bag of Kingsford Pro!

The grill performed better, but I never did get over 470 with the top vent wide open and the Venom pumping full speed. The good news is that this was enough to put nice sears on my ribeyes which everyone liked. (Sorry, failed to take pics.) Another good news item was that my wife did not have her usual subsequent bad reaction to charcoal grilled food. In this case, waiting long enough and using my Huntsman did work out in the end.

The Huntsman can do low and slow bbq, even in cold weather. However, I am disappointed that I haven't been able to get roaring hot high heat grilling during the Midwest winter. I think a Bullseye pellet kettle - or a plain old Weber kettle for that matter - would not have had the same issues.

I am not ready to throw my Huntsman under the bus, but some suggestions that the Venom - originally designed for the 22" Weber kettle with considerably smaller interior volume - may not be able to keep up in the Huntsman during cold weather are perhaps true. The cold makes that thick metal get very cold and winter winds keep blowing on it presumably making it hard for the grill to get up to a high temperature.
 
I’ve searched and could not locate an answer. Will a SnS charcoal insert fit in the Huntsman? Or can someone provide vertical clearance of charcoal grate to cooking grate? Thank you.
 
John - au4stree said:
I’ve searched and could not locate an answer. Will a SnS charcoal insert fit in the Huntsman? Or can someone provide vertical clearance of charcoal grate to cooking grate? Thank you.
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Tom Horsman says it won't fit here:

Grill top experience says you shouldn't use the two together, unless the venom is turned off (but doesn't show it fitting in the Spider):

Maybe someone can measure charcoal grate to grill grate or show if it fits since I don't have one.
 
Todd K Wisc said:
Tom Horsman says it won't fit here:

Grill top experience says you shouldn't use the two together, unless the venom is turned off (but doesn't show it fitting in the Spider):

Maybe someone can measure charcoal grate to grill grate or show if it fits since I don't have one.
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Thank you. Obviously I should have searched further.
 
Good video with honest assessment. I posted a couple comments on that YouTube video. I have to say that it is not practical to use over a half bag of Kingsford Professional to only get to 480 degrees - and not even be able to hold that. I am disappointed. The Huntsman has fantastic build quality and does amazing low and slow bbq. But I had sprung for the early order price, plus bought the "Next Level" diffusers, expecting to have a year-round grill not only for bbq but also just to grill steaks or even burgers on. That appears to be limited to summertime for me here in central Indiana.

I guess I can hope Spider is working on a ramped-up Venom and maybe some kind of heat blanket that would hopefully address this. Meanwhile, I have to admit that if I could go back in time, I think I would have gone with the Recteq Bullseye Deluxe "Black Edition" instead.
 
Joe Anshien said:
I wonder if a nice bed of coals and a couple of splits could solve the cold weather issue?
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The split idea is interesting. I don't see how much more charcoal I could have thrown at it. TWO full starters, well lit, of Kingsford Pro spread out as a bed of charcoal still wasn't enough, apparently. That's a crazy cost to do a few burgers or even steaks. A gas grill, or a regular Weber kettle, would be a lot more efficient. I also think a pellet kettle - Recteq or the new Pit Boss Phoenix - would get hotter a lot easier, plus at a way lower cost.
 
So the other night I did my first apples to apples comparison of my Performer and the Huntsman. I did indirect cooks at a higher heat 280-300. I used BnB in both and used one charcoal basket in each poured from a chimney with about the same amount of fuel in each cooker. I did not use the Venom. The Performer shot up to temp quicker than the Huntsman and I had to back it down using the vents. The Huntsman took longer to get into temp with all vents wide open. I was doing some boneless pork steaks. I would estimate the Huntsman took about ten minutes longer to get into cooking range.
The cook went fine on both. When finished, I closed all the vents on both grills. In the morning, I checked to see how much charcoal was leftover. The Performer was mostly ash, maybe a couple very small coals still usable. The Huntsman had a good portion of the coal still in very good shape and able to be re-used. I did not take pictures but I would guess that 70% of the Huntsman coals will be used on my next cook.
The weather was a nice clear and dry, fairly warm evening with no wind.
What does this mean? No idea, really...just needed a lot of cooking space and thought it would be a fun exercise! Cheers!
 
Richard S said:
So the other night I did my first apples to apples comparison of my Performer and the Huntsman. I did indirect cooks at a higher heat 280-300. I used BnB in both and used one charcoal basket in each poured from a chimney with about the same amount of fuel in each cooker. I did not use the Venom. The Performer shot up to temp quicker than the Huntsman and I had to back it down using the vents. The Huntsman took longer to get into temp with all vents wide open. I was doing some boneless pork steaks. I would estimate the Huntsman took about ten minutes longer to get into cooking range.
The cook went fine on both. When finished, I closed all the vents on both grills. In the morning, I checked to see how much charcoal was leftover. The Performer was mostly ash, maybe a couple very small coals still usable. The Huntsman had a good portion of the coal still in very good shape and able to be re-used. I did not take pictures but I would guess that 70% of the Huntsman coals will be used on my next cook.
The weather was a nice clear and dry, fairly warm evening with no wind.
What does this mean? No idea, really...just needed a lot of cooking space and thought it would be a fun exercise! Cheers!
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Jon Tofte said:
The split idea is interesting. I don't see how much more charcoal I could have thrown at it. TWO full starters, well lit, of Kingsford Pro spread out as a bed of charcoal still wasn't enough, apparently. That's a crazy cost to do a few burgers or even steaks. A gas grill, or a regular Weber kettle, would be a lot more efficient. I also think a pellet kettle - Recteq or the new Pit Boss Phoenix - would get hotter a lot easier, plus at a way lower cost.
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Have you only tried getting to those really high temps without the fan? My huntsman hasn’t been delivered yet, but I was wondering if your open the vents down low to be fully open, pull the upper vent cap off, and crack open the front loading door if that wouldn’t get you there? Maybe even use a leaf blower through the front door really quick to really get your coals going.
 
I will soon be doing some warm weather cooks to see if it was the outside temperature or me that caused my issues back when it was cold. I do want to also try with and without the Venom fan.

I truly want to like the Huntsman’s cooking prowess as much as I admire its amazing construction and unique style.
 
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