Was i smoking?


 
B

Becky M-M

TVWBB Pro
I am new to cooking on my Weber. Before i used those little cheap square grills. Then i found a good deal on an older Weber on CL. $20, so i jumped on it.

i still have A LOT to learn, but i am enjoying the learning experience.

i have read that you can definitely smoke on a Weber. Here's my query......

I usually cook some fast cooking things, burgers, dogs, sausage, some veggies. Then after I take all of that off of the grill i fan my coals, to get them hot again. Then i add some cold coals to the exterior of them, usually banked on the sides with maybe a couple on top.

I place my chicken, usually legs, indirect, cover it and leave it alone. I leave it for maybe two or three hours. i might check them once in between to flip them. my bottom vent is wide open because it is so rusted that i cannot budge it :-/ The top vent is open about halfway.

I am pulling them off sometime after 10 or 11 pm and this is what goes into my husbands lunchbox the next day.

sometimes on the weekend my older girls are up and the first time they ate it they thought it was still raw because it was really pink inside. Not pink raw, but i believe it is the smoked color it has. i know it definitely cooked, but it is really reddish, brownish color on it.

i do it this way mainly because i cannot bear "wasting" the coals after i finish cooking. it always comes out great.

so..... am i smoking the chicken?
 
Becky,first of all,welcome!
And,yes,you are doing a low and slow on the chicken,so you are definately smoking it! Good job!
 
pretty cool... i feel silly that i asked. but i honestly didnt know if it was actual smoking or not.

i thought i was just using up all my coals...
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i am sure that a butt or ribs will entail more work. im afraid to try them with that bottom vent not being able to close.
 
Hi Becky. I "smoke" on my kettle all the time and my bottom vents have been seized for awhile. If you don't want to spend the time or money on replacing the vents just get yourself some foil duct tape and you can tape off the vents. For low and slow I tape off 2 vents completely and leave about 1/2 an inch of the 3rd one open. Then just adjust the top vent to keep the temp you want.

This is what your looking for

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and if you can get some fire bricks this is a good set up for low and slow.

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I would call it indirect roasting. Whatever we choose to call it, it is sure good eatin!!
 
Welcome, Corey!

Add a small chunk of hardwood for some nice smoked flavor, or a couple handfuls of wood chips. Opinions vary, but most people like woods like oak, apple, maple, cherry, pear, or pecan for chicken. Some like hickory too.
 
While I am sure the tape over the vents works great.......A call to Weber's awesome customer service will get you three new daisy wheel dampers and the mounting bolts for around $7. I just bought some to fix a craiglist find. nice way to keep from wasting your coals though!
 
You're BBQing. Add some wood chunks or chips (Home Depot, Lowes etc...don't buy Mesquite) and you will be smoking.

Welcome and enjoy.
 
I agree with James, I'd say you were BBQ'ing. Either way, I don't think it really matters as long as the results were great
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I would recommend picking up a candy thermometer to stick in the lid vent to give you an idea of the cooking temps.

ChadS said:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> A call to Weber's awesome customer service will get you three new daisy wheel dampers and the mounting bolts for around $7. I just bought some to fix a craiglist find. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just keep in mind that Weber charges $7 for shipping so unless you can get free shipping (keep an eye out here for discount codes) or can sweet talk a weber rep into sending you some (which is definitely possible if you can find the right one) then you may end up paying just as much on shipping as you will for the parts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage you from ordering new ones, just giving you a heads up that you can get completely different prices and answers depending which rep you speak too. So you might have to call a couple times to get the answer you're looking for
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Thanks for the info Justin, and i have no qualms with calling around till i hear something i like
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i will admit that since Scott said "indirect smoking" i have been asking myself, why roasting and not smoking. Then it just hit earlier today duh! you have nothing in there that is well... smoking.

why not mesquite? i am living up north right now but originally from wayyyyyy down in south texas and they live by mesquite out there; so just wondering about that.

candy thermometer never heard of using that. i have been thinking to myself that i need to get a cheap, but reliable thermometer to regulate while im cooking.
 
Becky, I just reread my post and was hasty with the mesquite comment. Mesquite has a very heavy flavour that can turn some people off. Hickory and fruit woods can be a better alternative for people that may be newer to smoking. Given that you're from down Texas way you're probably a fan of beef BBQ and mesquite works just fine with beef (again, as long as you have no aversion to the flavour).
 
Many people find mesquite very pungent- too much so for chicken and pork.

I think it works well in low doses (mixed with oak) for beef.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by James Harvey:
You're BBQing. Add some wood chunks or chips (Home Depot, Lowes etc...don't buy Mesquite) and you will be smoking. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used to think EXACTLY the same thing.

Tried Dougherty's wings recently in the kettle with only Kbb though and WOW, there was definately a smoke flavor, not bad either.

I actually think you'll probably get more flavor from Kbb than other fuels for some reason or another, as long as you just light part of the stack and it's not all ashed over and burning too clean. Didn't taste like "chemicals" either. Just sayin...
 
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