Lawrence M.
TVWBB Super Fan
Long cross post here from my thread in the Charcoal Forum so please bear with me!
How big is the Ranch Kettle? This is my brother, he is about 4.5 feet tall.
I was able to transport it in the hatch of my Yukon Denali. It JUST fits without the lid on. I'll upload a pic later.
The Ranch Kettle is awesome if you need to cook alot of food on it. You have a whole 22" worth of direct, and another 22" kettle worth of space to use as indirect, with space to spare.
I love the SS Grate on it. It is sooo heavy to pick up, but the rods are super thick and it sears like a beast! Unlike the smaller kettles, the grill grate sits on a lip circumference. You can actually turn the grate while cooking using a spatula or tongs, making it super simple to go from direct to indirect if the other half is open.
I also really like the lid holder. It's easy to flip the lid up with one hand and you dont have to worry about where to put it. It's WAY better than the side holder on the performer. The second handle is also super useful to pic up the heavy lid.
The downsides of this grill is that it is HEAVY. It gives your forearms a workout just rolling it around on two wheels. The 3 bottom vents are also REALLY tiny. They are barely bigger than 3 top vents on the 22" Actually, I think its the smaller diameter vent holes from the older ones. Thus, the ash is really inconvenient to clean. The only way to get the ash out is to scoop it, not a fun task with there is 1-2 bags worth of ash in the bowl.
Aside from the minor gripes, its a blast to use.
I had a BBQ for about 40 people last weekend. I was able to cook 50 pork skewers, 10 lbs of wings, a dozen corn on the cobs, and steak without a sweat. It was nice being able to grill all at once for the most part and have the chance to hang out more instead. I'll let the pics speak for themselves
BBQ setup for the night
Who needs a warming rack?
The Kettle is so large its very easy to singe your arm hair if you put food in the middle. This is my buddy with burnt hair on the arm.
Corn and wings indirect. One Chimney of charcoal in a half moon on the right.
Gratuitous use of the RK for warming up stuff.
The next day I tried to cook 2 rack of Ribs on the RK. Soooo much space on the deck for 2 StL racks, trimmings, and the water bowl. I put the charcoal in a "C" shape underneath to coil through the cook. I didn't use enough charcoal unfortunately so the Ribs took forever to cook. (I didn't have access to a thermometer) So I finished them in the oven and the flavor was still good!
Charcoal snake. The ash isn't really an issue since the bowl is so big.
The top vent is so big you can peek in to check on the meat.
All done!
How big is the Ranch Kettle? This is my brother, he is about 4.5 feet tall.
I was able to transport it in the hatch of my Yukon Denali. It JUST fits without the lid on. I'll upload a pic later.
The Ranch Kettle is awesome if you need to cook alot of food on it. You have a whole 22" worth of direct, and another 22" kettle worth of space to use as indirect, with space to spare.
I love the SS Grate on it. It is sooo heavy to pick up, but the rods are super thick and it sears like a beast! Unlike the smaller kettles, the grill grate sits on a lip circumference. You can actually turn the grate while cooking using a spatula or tongs, making it super simple to go from direct to indirect if the other half is open.
I also really like the lid holder. It's easy to flip the lid up with one hand and you dont have to worry about where to put it. It's WAY better than the side holder on the performer. The second handle is also super useful to pic up the heavy lid.
The downsides of this grill is that it is HEAVY. It gives your forearms a workout just rolling it around on two wheels. The 3 bottom vents are also REALLY tiny. They are barely bigger than 3 top vents on the 22" Actually, I think its the smaller diameter vent holes from the older ones. Thus, the ash is really inconvenient to clean. The only way to get the ash out is to scoop it, not a fun task with there is 1-2 bags worth of ash in the bowl.
Aside from the minor gripes, its a blast to use.
I had a BBQ for about 40 people last weekend. I was able to cook 50 pork skewers, 10 lbs of wings, a dozen corn on the cobs, and steak without a sweat. It was nice being able to grill all at once for the most part and have the chance to hang out more instead. I'll let the pics speak for themselves
BBQ setup for the night
Who needs a warming rack?
The Kettle is so large its very easy to singe your arm hair if you put food in the middle. This is my buddy with burnt hair on the arm.
Corn and wings indirect. One Chimney of charcoal in a half moon on the right.
Gratuitous use of the RK for warming up stuff.
The next day I tried to cook 2 rack of Ribs on the RK. Soooo much space on the deck for 2 StL racks, trimmings, and the water bowl. I put the charcoal in a "C" shape underneath to coil through the cook. I didn't use enough charcoal unfortunately so the Ribs took forever to cook. (I didn't have access to a thermometer) So I finished them in the oven and the flavor was still good!
Charcoal snake. The ash isn't really an issue since the bowl is so big.
The top vent is so big you can peek in to check on the meat.
All done!
