Newbie to grilling, need lots help! nothing was right when I did it!


 
C

Chueh

New member
I just bought a Weber Smokey Joe Silver. I love the very smoky woody flavor, so I bought charcoal instead of briquettes. But I was not sure:

1. In the Weber instruction, only are briquettes mentioned. Although the number of briquette are specified for each type of food, I had no idea how to substitute the briquettes with charcoal, which was in various sizes, unlike uniformly shaped briquettes.

2. I used brown papers to start the fire. However, papers burned so quickly that the charcoals were not even getting warm. I torn more brown papers and did it again, yet still papers burned too fast. How do I use brown papers or newsprint to start a fire? I intend to use these, because I have lots of them, thinking of recycling it in a good use.

3. Luckily, I bought the wax starter in case I failed with the papers. OK.....so it's very easy to use, but I don't like how the wax could crumble here and there, kind of messy, when taking them out of the box. They were lit easily, yet they all finished burning up while the coals were still not fired up. Well, I DID NOT know that the charcoals were not burning after the wax was gone, so I had to lift the food grate with the food and add the wax and charcoals so many times. Each time, the wax just finished burning up, yet the charcoals were not continuing burning. It was very frustrating. I did wait for 30 minutes for the fire to cease on the coals before I put the food grate with food on it. However, none of the coals was really EVENLY turning grey, but only 1/3 grey while 2/3 black. That meant that they were not burning properly or evenly. I did form a pyramid with charcoals and stuck the wax cubes in between. It seemed just so hard to keep the coals burning evenly for me........... How can you tell if the charcoals are properly burning? Why were my charcoals never really catching the fire up? I must have done something wrong, but have no idea what's wrong. I searched online how to start a fire and so forth. Well...... I won't survive if I was left out on an island alone......

So many questions, but how to maintain charcoals burning is the crucial one for now. Thanks in advance for helps
 
A weber chimney is the best way to start a fire. One wax cube will get it going. Many times, when you start the fire like you did, you can't see a lot of evidence of the fire. A little gray ash on a few coals may be all you see. Be sure the vents are open and allowing air to flow. If you see a little grey ash, you may just need to allow 20 minutes or so for the fire to catch. If you use the chimney, you won't have any problem seeing the fire and knowing where you stand.
 
Yes, get a chimney, you can use starter cubes or newspaper to light the charcoal, when flames are coming out of the top and it stops smoking your coals are ready.
 
You bought lump charcoal instead of briquets. Nothing wrong with lump and typically - lump burns hotter & cleaner than Kingsford. Some lump is a bit more difficult to get going much like you just experienced. The Weber charcoal chimney (15 bucks) is a god-send. I even use mine on the Performer which has gas assist. Take a sheet of newspaper, roll it corner-to-corner, and wrap it around the perimeter on the underside of the chimney, and fill the chimney with charcoal. Light the newspaper in a couple of places and you should be off to the races.

Personally, I prefer the side burner of my gas grill for lighting my charcoal. :D

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The Weber 7447 is a little smaller and a little cheaper and would be a perfect size for the Smokey Joe. I just bought one to make it easier to light fewer coals for my WSM. I've only used it once but, I love it already.
 
Chueh,
All the above posts about using a chimney are correct. To me it's the best way to light the charcoal. I use the wax cubes as well and you're right they do crumble but if you pull them out of the package over a trash can or outside in the yard it's not a problem. For a smokey joe you won't want to use a full chimney. Place a starter cube on your charcoal grate, light it, place the chimney with charcoal over the cube and give it time to light. You will have a lot of smelly smoke coming out of the chimney at first, but it will be ready to dump onto the grate when the coals at the top of the chimney are grey with ash. I would advise against putting your food on the grill until the charcoal is lit and spread out over the grate. It sounds like you put the food on before the charcoal was fully lit and getting them fully lit with a wax cube and the charcoal in a pyramid will be somewhat difficult. One thing I learned is to be patient and don't get frustrated. There is no rushing this process. My worst barbecues were when I tried to rush the process and force things. The beauty of BBQ is that it should be fun.
 
Thank you all. The chimney sounds like a good idea, but dumping the charcoals out into the grill just looks and feels dangerous...... Are there ways to kind of logically or mathematically arrange the charcoal lumps in a pyramid to get lit evenly, such as the bigger one at bottom, 3 on one side, 2 on the other, something like that (I don't know what I am talking about or if it's workable)......
 
if you run out of starter cubes, you can use kitchen roll tipped in vegtable oil, just leave a dry spot so you can light it.

On the danger front with the chimney, you have nothing to worry about, they are designed with a heat shield and handle, if you empty in carefully at arms length youll be good to go.
 
hello Chueh. both 1 & 2 can be handled easily. the smokey joe is too small for lump charcoal, just use briquettes its easier and faster. and you dont need many briquettes around 20-30 depending on the cook. the lump charcoal you tried is for big cooks, and it takes more time and space to get it started, and to get it going hot. 3 is easy too - just use newspaper to start the briquettes... its easy and free (get old ones from neighbors or from your workplace recycling or grocery store sales ads).

if you can, get a weber charcoal chimney starter like Darren, Mike, Chad, are saying. its well worth the cost and makes it easy to start the bbq process.

youre right, once you get the charcoal issues down you should be good to go. good luck.

don't lift the lid...
 
I might add that I think part of the fun of outdoor cooking for many people (I know it's true for me) is improving your methods and finding that "groove" or set of techniques that works best for you. So, look at these issues as opportunities to improve and perfect your new hobby. The pursuit of perfection, not just in your food but in your technique is all part of the enjoyment.

Here's a link to the small chimney. But, you can order through the Amazon links here to help out the site.
 
I bought the chimney, but hated all the sparks that flew out of it. Too dry here to use that. Ended up buying the propane brush burner and now use that to start my WSM. I am sure a small torch would work just as well.
 
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Cheuh,

Welcome to the board. Really happy to have you here.

Give the chimney a try....once you do it once or twice you wont even have to think about it.

Enjoy! and let us know how its going!

James
 
I think I will get a chimney, after watching a few videos. question about lump charcoals: how long would they burn in an average? How often do i need to add more? Do you add the same amount as the initial?
 
I've never used a smokey joe. So, I can't speak from experience. But, I almost never add more charcoal to my kettle grills. I always use more coals than I expect to need. Then, when I'm done cooking, I close my vents and choke the fire. I use the remaining charcoal on the subsequent cook. To me, it burns about like new. So, I can't say how long it lasts other than to say it lasts long enough to cook and not add more.

One thing you can try to extend your cook time is to put some unlit charcoal in the grill, get the chimney going. When it is about 75% lit, dump it on the unlit coals on the grate. Give that 5-10 minutes to mellow and you've got yourself a hot *** fire that you can smother when your finished cooking. I do that frequently.
 
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All sound very exciting!!!!!! You guys are all so encouraging!!!! Thank you. I feel like I am a pro already ;) Oh....by the way, what do you get from hibachi grilling that's not from closed lid grilling? Do you cook right over the fire once you light the charcoals?
 
Chueh said:
All sound very exciting!!!!!! You guys are all so encouraging!!!! Thank you. I feel like I am a pro already ;) Oh....by the way, what do you get from hibachi grilling that's not from closed lid grilling? Do you cook right over the fire once you light the charcoals?
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hello chueh. Welcome to the forum. Cooking on the smoky joe is somewhat like cooking on a hibachi because it is so small. You can cook right over the coals with no lid to do hot dogs or to toast hamburger buns , but you will still want to use the lid to hold in the heat to cook larger pieces of meat like chicken or steak.
 
Chueh, all of the advice above is outstanding. Once you get proficient with the chimney and standard grilling (high heat), you can experiment with low and slow methods as well. Look up 'Minion Method' and 'Snake Method' to start with. You will have to scale these down a bit for your SJS but they should be very effective in any cooking system with air flow control. Also I suggest that you invest in a pair of leather BBQ gloves. There will be a number of times you wish to handle hot items or are concerned about safety when you are grilling. The long leather BBQ gloves (welding gloves will work as well) will keep you safe and give you peace of mind for a fairly minimal investment.

Regards,

John
 
Fantastic! Thanks all. Wow, John, i was watching youtube on the two methods you mentioned. Barbecue is quite an art an skill, isn't it? The snake method......how clever with overlapping coals....

Oh. About using the chimney? Do you wait for the flame out completely to dump the charcoals from the chimney to the grill? Or do you just wait 15 minutes like what Weber's ad says on the description "cut time in half?" Do all the coals have to be all grey before you dump them into a grill or half grey or ......?

Also, if i want to add wood chips, can I lay the damp wood chip at the bottom and dump the chimney started coals on top, or should I dump the coals first and wood chips over the top??
 
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Chueh said:
Fantastic! Thanks all. Wow, John, i was watching youtube on the two methods you mentioned. Barbecue is quite an art an skill, isn't it? The snake method......how clever with overlapping coals....

Oh. About using the chimney? Do you wait for the flame out completely to dump the charcoals from the chimney to the grill? Or do you just wait 15 minutes like what Weber's ad says on the description "cut time in half?" Do all the coals have to be all grey before you dump them into a grill or half grey or ......?

Also, if i want to add wood chips, can I lay the damp wood chip at the bottom and dump the chimney started coals on top, or should I dump the coals first and wood chips over the top??
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Chueh, it depends upon what you are going to do with the coals. When I am grilling (high direct heat), I usually wait until all of the coals are completely gray or glowing red (this is when they will be hottest). If I am planning a low and slow cook - I usually want a lower start temp so I will either use very few coals in the chimney and place them when they are all gray or place a larger amount before they are fully caught. For the snake I usually use just ten or so briquettes and place them carefully with tongs. As far as smoke wood, I generally add my initial chunks to the top of the lit coals for Minion or snake. When I build my Minion pile or my snake body, ad bury chunks among the charcoal to achieve a steady release of smoke as the fire spreads into the unlit charcoal. I use more or less depending upon what I am smoking. I might use a lot for brisket or pork butt with the Minion method or less for bacon or cheese using the snake...

If you need something rocket hot to cook your dish (think blackened redfish or blackened chicken), you can cook it right on the chimney (Cast Iron is excellent for this).

I hope this helps.

Regards,

John
 
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