Slow n Sear---explain it to me?

[Bruce McClure]

Would any of you fine fellows be willing to explain to me the Slow n Sear accessory? Especially if you can explain it to me like I'm 5? I'm a dope.

 

[EricV.]

Here's a quick 2 minute video to get you started, there are plenty of videos smoking or searing different meats. Just start researching!

 

[Joe Anshien]

And if you want to try the concept but don't want to lay out the $$, you can make the Bro N Sear. I love mine and use it all the time.

 

[Bruce McClure]

Here's a quick 2 minute video to get you started, there are plenty of videos smoking or searing different meats. Just start researching!

Thanks. I'll have to pay more attention to what one can find on YouTube.

 

[Joe Anshien]

Thanks. I'll have to pay more attention to what one can find on YouTube.

Do you remember the poster (if you are old enough) "Everything I needed to know I learned from Startrek"? Well now substitute Startrek for Youtube. When ever I need to figure something out I head there first. They few times I thought I could give back, and make a video about something, I searched and it is already there.

 

[C Lewis]

Pretty much a glorified charcoal basket, and an awesome one at that. Keeps the heat off of the side of the kettle, making the charcoal last longer, (not losing heat through the kettle), and can prevent damage to the kettle finish as well. Easy to remove the old coals by lifting out, if you want to do that, or just rake through them to "de-ash" and put the new ones on top. Contains the coals in one concentrated area for searing, and with the water pan in, I can get up to about 8 hours of low and slow. I can't say enough about how much I love and use my SNS, and how great of a product it is. Never have taken it out of my Performer since I put it in 4 or 5 years ago. Not selling them, just a big fan.

Charlie

 

[MichaelM]

I've used both the Slow N Sear and the Bro N Sear. Speaking candidly, there is very little the SNS can do that the BNS can't. SNS has stainless construction, a water trough and greater capacity, but you can make the BNS as big or little as you want and add a water pan, and save a bunch of money.

Mine lives in my kettle (and now in my Summit Charcoal, though I did have to cut a half inch off the top lip to fit in in the WSC). I am using it as I type for a Spatchcock Chicken LnS.

 

[Andy Kaminski]

I know this thread is a few weeks old but I will toss in my 2 briquettes in any way .

I used to just set up extra larger sections of wood to barricade the coals in and use a drip pan with water in it.
Kinda works I won’t deny but I’ve never seen the water boil or act as a shield.

The slow n sear‘s thin vertical pan sits right there kissing the fire and it does boil and shield the meat while adding great humidity.

As others have said the coals last longer and it has to be better on the porcelain.
I totally agree with them.

I am a cheap bastard so parting with that hundred bucks and change didn’t come easy but I’m grad I did it.

 

[Chad-Burnt to a T]

I'll be doing my own. Got this from another site and poster. Will do a 22 and 26 version.

 

[RJ Humphrey]

I currently use the SnS deluxe and SnS charcoal basket. Along with charcoal baskets that I fabricated from a 22” Weber kettle.

 

[John K BBQ]

SNS isn't bad. I like it for smoking, but it's not a must have accessory in my book, and I don't like it much for searing. The semi-circle shape.... well, my meat just isn't shaped that way. My favorite kettle accessory is the Vortex, used in conjunction with a stainless steel grate. Weber's stock nickel plated cooking grate can't take the heat.

 

[MichaelM]

I'll be doing my own. Got this from another site and poster. Will do a 22 and 26 version.

View attachment 32837View attachment 32838

That looks like a nice project. I like the size of it... more cooking real estate than the SNS has especially when using the SMS in 27" WSC. Construction would look to be easy enough, though those cuts might be a bit tedious. A band saw would be useful.

Have you priced out the parts? With the spacer pictured (I assume that is a spacer to reduce the basket volume for smaller cooks) it will use a fair amount of expanded mesh. Once you add labor to the parts list, I am not confident there is going to be a huge cost savings, although, that additional cooking space is certainly welcome.

Looking forward to seeing your results with this

 

[Chad-Burnt to a T]

SNS isn't bad. I like it for smoking, but it's not a must have accessory in my book, and I don't like it much for searing. The semi-circle shape.... well, my meat just isn't shaped that way. My favorite kettle accessory is the Vortex, used in conjunction with a stainless steel grate. Weber's stock nickel plated cooking grate can't take the heat.

It really depends on the access to the steel. It was about half the cost to build vs buy for him. I have access so it won't cost me much at all. I'll post his post here later wheni get time. This is a 26 that I'm attaching pictures of for reference.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

I have purchased what most " regular bbq using folks " would feel is a crazy amount of accessories for the bbq's I have. Most here would find what I bought to be a normal amount perhaps but the SNS is by far......way out in the lead my favorite one I have purchased. I also have a vortex but I don't like it as much as the SNS. I like it so much it basically only leaves for rotisserie cooking, and I went out and dumped a considerable amount on one to fit my Jumbo Joe when buying them new at the same time. That was a little tough as the basket is about $50 and the bbq was about $90, but I already knew, and I used it last night in the 18". I do not work for that company or sell the product, I just enjoy it. The drip pan with rack that can sit next to it in the kettle is a treat too but again considerable more $$$$.

 

[Richard Garcia]

Sometime ago I purchased the SlowNSear(SNS) Plus for my Weber Performer Deluxe which was the first unit to have the plated bottom with holes which prevents dropped lump charcoal burnt pieces blocking the air space below. Since this first purchase I now have a SNS SS Easy Spin Grate, SNS SS DripNGriddle Pan, SNS SS Elevated Grate and SNS SS Mini Drip Pan and I still remain one-happy SNS Customer!

I am now considering purchasing a 26" Weber Kettle and it will be fitted with a SNS.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Love mine. It makes the long low and slow cooks very easy/simple....just load up the SnS with charcoal and drop some lit coals on one side....it'll burn "minion method" style for hours and hours.
If you've ever had burn through on the sidewall of your kettle, you'll cook with a SnS.
$100 isn't too bad for something that should last a lifetime.
I have one in my Performer and 1 in my 26" kettle. Only time they come out is when I'm doing wings with the vortex.

 

[Dean Smiley]

I bought a SNS when they first came out and a bottom was not available so I made one. It lives in the Performer; I almost never remove it. I just keep adding fuel and I actually start the coals with a starting cube even though I own a chimney. Almost everything I cook requires an indirect area so I cut down an 18" pizza pan to block intake air from reaching the indirect side. It works great. I can put 10 thighs on the indirect side and without juggling them they will all finish at about the same time; very uniform temps. My opinion is that the water trough should only be used if you are smoking. The humidity can turn the ash in the kettle bottom to not quite rock hard, but make it very difficult to clean. I added a temp. controlled fan to fix this for smoking.
If I were doing it again, I wouldn't change a thing. But then, it's all about what makes you a happy cook.

 

[GrantT]

I went the "bro n sear" route and combined both my charcoal baskets into a single that covers maybe 1/3 of the grill space, and then found an 18" pizza pan, butchered and bent it to form a drip tray/air block on about 2/3 of the grill.

I love this setup. I use it more for searing (so I have a good "sear" zone and a cool zone) and since the Summit Kamado is a great smoker I convert back to the charcoal on the bottom charcoal grate and diffuser for that mode. With a 24" grill space, having 1/3 of it for searing is more than enough for 90% of our cooks.

 

[Chad-Burnt to a T]

So I decided to make a new one, but this time I wanted to make it more like the Slow N Sear, paying more attention to the angle of the curve along the bowl. But I wanted it bigger, lots bigger. I decided to go for a basket half the size of the bowl, because Ive been finding myself direct grilling more frequently. Not doing this stuff for a living, I figured I’d better start with a cardboard mockup of the back of the basket.



I don’t have any scrap metal around, so I had to buy sheet steel at full freight. The the curve of the back wall require a 4ft by 2 foot sheet of steel. Not cheap for 45 bucks. After some tin snipping, I got this



Next, I made a template of the floor of the basket, with some extra in the front to fold over as a front fence. I used a 24inx24in sheet of 13ga expanded steel (1/2 inch grate). Again, not cheap at 35 bucks... I used the tin snips to cut it out (my hands still hurt), and the edge of a table and a hammer as a poor man’s brake.



I fitted both together and used stainless steel hardware to tie all as one solid basket. Went with stainless screws/bolts because I didn’t want any zinc coated stuff anywhere on this. Ideally, I would have preferred to weld it, but one would need a welder for that, lol

 

[Chad-Burnt to a T]

Because this a rather large basket, I decided to make a removable fence for the times I am cooking indirect. The left-over piece from the 2x2 expanded steel sheet was just enough material to make a simple L shaped spacer. With this in use, the usable basket becomes 1/3rd the size of the bowl, instead of half.