Weber kettle limits?


 
L

Lance L

TVWBB Fan
My Weber kettle is about to get a workout. I have done chicken with the Weber coal baskets an it came out great. Now I added a Smokenator 1000 to play with. So between the Coal baskets, Smokenator and the good ol coal grate I'm gonna cook as much small cuts of meat and chicken as I can!! The WSM will be on standby for bigger cuts of meat.

Anyone else like to push the limits of their Kettles??
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Edit to add: I'm not gonna use the Smokenator and Coal baskets at the same time I just store everything together.
 
Looks just like my storage solution, and while I agree, kettle set up for small cooks is quicker,
WSM holds temps like nobody's business.
 
I just to do it when I only had the kettle....I would do everything on it.
It was fun managing the temps etc....
 
I have worked a 22" OTS every which way you can, and I have found the only accesories I need were,

aluminum foil
Two concrete bricks
Expanded wire (optional, but great if you use lump)
Galvanized pail (optional, but great if you have a OTS for catching ashes)

I can smoke, grill and back on this thing, and can cook two chickens, two buts, two chucks, 3 racks of ribs, lots of wings and thighs, and just about anything you need to feed a family of 5. I have to admit my jumbo joe smoker is giving the WSM a run for its money in versatility.
 
I don't think the kettle will replace my WSM but I like all the ways the kettle can cook I've always thought of it as a direct heat only grill.
 
Lance L said:
I don't think the kettle will replace my WSM but I like all the ways the kettle can cook I've always thought of it as a direct heat only grill.
Click to expand...

You just have to open your mind to the other possiblities especially setups for indirect grilling or smoking. Banking coals and having two heat zones is one big feature of the kettle design.
 
Lance L said:
I don't think the kettle will replace my WSM but I like all the ways the kettle can cook I've always thought of it as a direct heat only grill.
Click to expand...
I never thought a kettle would take the place of my WSM, but the 26er has not only taken over all duties it has put my wsm in retirement.
 
I lit up the new Smokenator lastnight and noticed a couple things.

Top of the water every hour not sure I will keep using the water or not.
After 2hrs I started dropping a coal in each hole every hr.
I put foil on the coal grate outside the Smokenator not sure if that helped or not.

I must say doing those things it held some steady temps. I wouldn't wanna do a 13hr cook on it but for shorter cooks it sure does have its place.
 
Lance, I purchased a Smokenator too and used it for a time like you are doing. I found the need to add water about every 45 minutes. They work well enough but are a bit of a pain to fuel. Since then I've found two fire brick and daming coals to work just as well. I do not use water now except for ribs or in the broiler pan with turkey. The purpose of the foil over the unused portion of the charcoal grate simply prevents cold air coming up and forces the air through the coals. The result is better temperature control and less fuel used. Most of my kettle cooks are 2-6 hours. I find the kettle to be a very convenient cooking tool and as Noe has said with the 26" kettle I've used my WSM twice this year.
I have an 18 OTG as well and I use the same method for indirect cooking with it also.
 
Gary, Thanks for the tips and I will be picking up some fire bricks soon to try out too many of y'all talk good about them for it to not work. I also spent most of my life doing metal fab so I'm gonna build one of those round plates that sit on the coal grate with the bent up part that acts as a damm for the coals.
I really like trying new things and finding what works and what doesn't.
 
Lance L said:
Gary, Thanks for the tips and I will be picking up some fire bricks soon to try out too many of y'all talk good about them for it to not work. I also spent most of my life doing metal fab so I'm gonna build one of those round plates that sit on the coal grate with the bent up part that acts as a damm for the coals.
I really like trying new things and finding what works and what doesn't.
Click to expand...

Me too, half the fun of the meal is the cook and devising ways to think outside the box.:)
 
I use fire brick and a drip pan. Fire bricks allow you to adjust the size of your indirect area. You can add water to the drip pan if you want to use water. I can get 8-10 hours on one load of lump and very rarely adjust my vents after setting them initially.

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I use the "snake method"quite a bit....no bricks or water.Use it mostly on long smokes like butts and briskets.I now do mst all my grilling and smoking on the Performer......the WSM was setting around so long finally got rid of it,never thought that would happen.Most of what I do is for me and the wife these days,so that's about it for me except for my Weber Q1oo for fast cooks.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle
 
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glen jones said:
I use the "snake method"quite a bit....no bricks or water.Use it mostly on long smokes like butts and briskets.I now do mst all my grilling and smoking on the Performer......the WSM was setting around so long finally got rid of it,never thought that would happen.Most of what I do is for me and the wife these days,so that's about it for me except for my Weber Q1oo for fast cooks.

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle
Click to expand...

I hate to say this but I've been thinking about selling the WSM also I even cleaned it all up lol.
 
I found myself using the Performer for smoking and the WSM for things like jerk chicken, where you want the meat above the coals but "way up there".

My brother in law's last Brinkman rusted out so I passed the WSM on to him, and apart from occasional urges to get a BGE for smoking & pizza making in the middle of winter I'm doing pretty well with just the Performer these days.

Cleaning up the WSM from "good enough for me" to "good enough for someone else" was a lot of work, went through one of those big-a$$ "family size" bottles of Easy-Off.
 
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John Bridgman said:
I found myself using the Performer for smoking and the WSM for things like jerk chicken, where you want the meat above the coals but "way up there".

My brother in law's last Brinkman rusted out so I passed the WSM on to him, and apart from occasional urges to get a BGE for smoking & pizza making in the middle of winter I'm doing pretty well with just the Performer these days.

Cleaning up the WSM from "good enough for me" to "good enough for someone else" was a lot of work, went through one of those big-a$$ "family size" bottles of Easy-Off.
Click to expand...

Man I only had 4 or 5 smokes on my WSM and started thinking about selling it so I decided to clean it and I never used so much cleaner and elbow grease in my life!! Who ever buys it can buy it as is or leave it LOL.
 
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