One Touch Venting


 
J

Jeff S

TVWBB Pro
Had a problem this weekend while trying to do something as simple as burgers. I am a recent convert to charcoal cooking and this was my 3rd time on my performer. I had some leftover coals which I gathered into the basket to light. I also loaded up a chimney full of charcoal. I let the chimney burn for about 20 min. and the leftover coals we were lit with the gas ignition. I scattered the new coals and left the others in the basket. The grill quickly heated up to 450* and I placed 15 burgers on the grill. I turned my top vent to 100% and my OT vent to about 60%. I noticed a fast drop in temp to about 300*. I figired that was from having the lid open and putting all those burgers on the grill. Temp only went back up to about 350*. After my first flip, I checked again, and I could tell the burgers were not cooking due to the low temp. I finished them off on the gasser. Can someone Diagnose my problem? I figire it is one of 3 things:
1: I was not patient enough and should have given the burgers more time to cook.
2: My venting was off.
3: My coals were not ashed over enough. The 4 corners of the coals were gray ash and had been in the chimney lit for 20 min.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Jeff
 
Sounds to me like number 3 - the coals should be mostly gray before dumping the chimney. I know my coals sometimes take 15 minutes, sometimes 30, depending on the weather; wind, humidity, etc. Also, how spread out were the coals? They like to be fairly close together.
 
I agree with Mikey. I usually let my coals completely ash over before I start cooking. 30 minutes in the chimney usually works for me as well.
 
The main problem is your charcoal needed more time to light, esp. if using Rancher. Also, when cooking direct I always leave all vents wide open. There's no reason to shut down to 60%.
 
Thanks, Guys! Must not be giving the coals enough time. I think I will use the gas assist over the chimney when grilling direct!
 
Light your chimney over the gas it's the easiest way.
For a full chimney I usually put the gas on for 5 (or up to 10) minutes and leave the chimney for another 5 or 10 minutes before emptying onto the grate. from there I usually turn the vents down a bit too but open them up once the charcoal has calmed down a bit. I either put the lit coals on top of any leftovers, just clearing enough space for the chimney to stand over the gas, or else put some new ump in the chimney first and add any leftovers onto the top.
I see the other replies saying give the charcoal more time - briquettes take longer but I find lump is very quick with the gas ignition and half an hour in a chimney would see at least half of it burned away! However I am in the UK where (I am lead to believe) lump is lighter and burns faster and hotter (and is more variable!).
 
Tried it tonight. I did 10 min over the gas and another 20 min in the chimney, Ashed over and HOT! Temp was over 600* and cooked my pork and ribeyes perfectly! Thanks for the help!
 
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