Questions on Temp control


 
E

EddieG

New member
All,
I have been grilling/BBq'ing for a while. For years I had a BGE but life events forced me to get rid of it and lived in apartment complexes that did not allow grills. I am in a house now and don't have the ability to spend on an Egg so I picked up a Weber OTG as I am a huge fan of Weber gassers and before the BGE I had a WSM. I am having some issues with my OTG. I guess my forst question is how hot can you cook on the One Touch? I do not see anything in the pamphlet it comes with or on their website. Second I cannot seem to get this thing passed 375 - 400. I know it's not the product so I am looking for some advice. I have only done small short cooks so far like chicken parts, burgers and dogs. I want to get hold of temperature control. I want to be able to do low and slow as well as high heat (seaing steaks) if it can handle it. You rhelp is much appreciated.

Regards,
Eddie
 
I suggest you not go much above 550*.


I got my kettle super hot, prolly over 700 this year, in order to sear steaks and I melted the plastic rollers from the lid bail. That was a little aggressive of me. I did it by lighting 2 chimneys of K until they got going really well, then dumped them on the back half of the kettle and covered them in RO lump. 10 minutes later and I had a blaze and a half.


You should not have any problems getting your kettle to go over 400. Charcoal WANTS to BURN. Just get it lit, and give it plenty of airflow, and it will go. *A big exception to this is if that particular charcoal has been wet, as in "I left the bag out in the rain". Good, dry, new bag of K will get hot, just let it get going. Are you using a chimney? It's really the best way to go.


Lump charcoal will get hotter than briquettes.
 
Definitely have dry coal. I also tried some Cowboy (picked it up quickly at Lowe's) and the pieces were HUGE. I didn't have success with that either. I am picking up a maverick today and I'll jam a probe in a potatoe so I can see what the temp is at the grate. Are the Dome thermometers accurate? I did not see a way to calibrate it.
 
Eddie, with respect to kettle temps, three particulars immediately come to mind, none of which were revealed in your narrative: vents, charcoal amount, and charcoal temps. Higher temps are dependent on wide-open vents (both bottom and top), fully-engaged charcoal, and the relative amount of fully-engaged charcoal being used.

If lower temps are your "problem", I'm thinking one of the three aforementioned variables were to blame, as I've never seemed to experience the issue you describe when barbecuing (cooking low and slow) on my kettle(s) - it's normally quite the opposite, for me at least. Hope that helps.

Regards,

Rooster
 
EddieG said:
Definitely have dry coal. I also tried some Cowboy (picked it up quickly at Lowe's) and the pieces were HUGE. I didn't have success with that either. I am picking up a maverick today and I'll jam a probe in a potatoe so I can see what the temp is at the grate. Are the Dome thermometers accurate? I did not see a way to calibrate it.
Click to expand...

Dome temperature and grate temperature will be different, how much different varies from grill to grill, and from wind, ambient air temps, humidity, etc. - best thing to do is use a thermometer at grate level next to the food - however, if you DO wish to calibrate your thermometer, there are a number of ways to do so; here's a site that explains in detail.

Regards,

Rooster
 
Here is my two cents from my own experience(s). Natural lump charcoal burn hotter than charcoal briquettes. However to get the fire really hot I go to a chunk or two of hardwood, wood will burn hotter than charcoal. As far as how hot should you get your OTG I can not answer that question, I have a pizzakettle attachment so I went to CL and picked up a used 3 legger (much like the OTG), the 3 legger has wood handles and I've fires in this pit close to 1,000 degrees with no problems. If you're purchasing the maverick it's my experience that these come with two probes and one has an attachment to put on the grill. BECAREFUL with the maverick probes don't expose them to flames.
 
Thanks for the response Rooster. I have varied the charcoal. I havent dumped a huge amount in. I have done enough to cover the grate then a 3/4 chimney full lit on top. Vents wide open. To start I was just looking to get the temp up to do some burgers. At that time being low was a problem. I absolutely want to do butt, ribs, brisket, whole chickens... However I also want to be comfortable with the temp control and keeping it low or getting it hot. I was spoiled with the egg being able to get it to 750 pretty quick to sear steaks. I know I can't do that with this, but wanted to know the limitations so i don't ruin the grill. I appreciate the link on calibrating the dome thermometer! I will just mess around. I may try out some ribs this weekend.

Eddie
 
When I do steaks, I put a couple bricks under the charcoal grate to bring the coals right up under the grill. With the coals about an inch away from the steak, you get a really nice crust, but the inside is pink and beautiful. I also normally use lump for steaks.
 
Put the lid on a little off kilter to give more air flow for a hot fire. For pizzas I prop my lid on 2 old rotisserie skewers and close the top vent and I get that sucker up over 700.
 
If you want to get your kettle super hot just add a 2nd exhaust vent opposite from the original vent, will cook evenly across the grate.
 
I use firebrick to elevate the coal grate and put a bunch of lit lump charcoal. The heat from the lump and the coals being literally right under the cooking grate will sear your steaks nicely. If they steaks are super thick put them in the safe zone before or after searing depening on your reverse-sear vs sear-first religion.
 
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