Bought a Weber kettle grill....easier than i remember!

[berettafan]

Still have my 4 burner gas grill but have had an itch to try charcoal again.

Coupla things I've noted;

-that 'charcoal taste' i remember was actually lighter fluid. using regular kingsford (no match light) w/o the fluid there is very little (if any) taste imparted. unless wood is added. have two bags of different wood charcoal to try as well. going to use those for steaks as i have read the natural wood stuff gets hotter than briquettes.

-chimney starters make all the difference in the world. love it!

-the Weber 'Gold' model is worth paying for thanks to easy cleaning.

-better than gas for steaks....coals can be made to get MUCH hotter. last strips i did actually had that thin 'crust' (NOT burned) all over from the intense heat. have never managed that with the gas grill.

-no comparison to gas for pork. did bone in ribs last night w/ a few big chunks of hickory in the coals...nice! sauce was a little over-cooked due to inexperience but def. going to do a baby back dinner soon. the smokey flavor was very, very good.

-Roughly 15 min. to get coals ready in chimney starter. maybe 5 min. once dumped in the grill to really heat up the top grill. i use crumpled foil to clean the grill as it's warming. it gets SO hot the crud just rubs off so easy. i don't clean to a shine, just get crud off.

In all i am very pleased with this thing. would have liked a thermostat in the lid for the money (as is provided with the performer...lord is that thing expensive!). other than adding wood for smokey flavor i am surprised that what i like most isn't the flavor added by the charcoal (which is nil) but rather the amount of heat i can get.

[gassy]

My Weber is over 30 yrs old and looks it. Works just fine. One thing I found this spring at Menard's was a porcelain coated grate. It cleans up much better than the steel ones, and was all of $8.

[jpk]

Pick up a universal thermometer at home depot or lowes in the barbeque parts section. Use a sharp punch to chip the porcelin then you can carbide bit to drill a hole in the lid.

[berettafan]

jpk am i going to cause chipping/rusting by doing that?

[jpk]

It's been over 8 years on my old grill and no issues so far. I did replace the thermometer itself a couple of years ago, but they're cheap ($4)

I just wanted to add - that grill itself is over 30 years old. I inherited it from my parents.

[vash]

one of those cleaning fins at the bottom of mine finally rusted out. i thought i could finally get a new one (i want one with a cleaning bin, and a table top) but i found a new fin kit. $9. damn.

i think the round shape is fantastic for roasting. i wouldnt drill a lid. i bet it would rust. i thought the new ones have thermometers?

[craigster59]

This is a great cookbook with a lot of recipes and tips for kettle cooking.

[kanadary]

was thinking of getting one as i can not cook ribs without burning them on the gas weber. what's the secret to ribs using the charcoal ones? are there any?

[berettafan]

well among other things you want to wait to put the sauce on. maybe last 10-20 min.

[onlycafe]

Originally Posted by kanadary

was thinking of getting one as i can not cook ribs without burning them on the gas weber. what's the secret ?

low and slow.

[berettafan]

that is the tempo

[trekkor]

Use mesquite ( not briquettes )

I add soaked hard wood during the cook.

Mmmm, BBQ season is here!!


KT

[vash]

Originally Posted by trekkor

Use mesquite ( not briquettes )

I add soaked hard wood during the cook.

Mmmm, BBQ season is here!!


KT

i gotta disagree. mesquite is great! but doenst burn long enough for the 4+ hours of cook time. i used briquettes, and add soaked mesquite chunks. taking the lid on and off to add more coals, adds to cooking time.

if one is cooking with pure mequite, why the need for hardwood during the cooknig process? there is such thing as too much smokiness, imho.

if i could "invent" something for a weber kettle, it would be a shim of sorts to raise the lid up high enough to sit over something huge, like a turkey. maybe i'll take a slice out of a steel barrel one day. all i need is the same diameter.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by vash

i gotta disagree. mesquite is great! but doenst burn long enough for the 4+ hours of cook time. i used briquettes, and add soaked mesquite chunks. taking the lid on and off to add more coals, adds to cooking time.

if one is cooking with pure mesquite, why the need for hardwood during the cooking process? there is such thing as too much smokiness, imho.

if i could "invent" something for a weber kettle, it would be a shim of sorts to raise the lid up high enough to sit over something huge, like a turkey. maybe i'll take a slice out of a steel barrel one day. all i need is the same diameter.

Weber has a Rotisserie Kit for about $100..it raises the lid about 8 or 9 inches gives a Roto spit and motor..A worthy accessory for an already great Grill.

I find for Grilling hot and quick nothing beats the Kettle. Easy to light and easy to klean.

My Kettle was bought in 1982 for $39 at Builders Emporium and is still going strong...the gauge metal was a bit heavier back then, which means a bit better heat retention.

I use Mesquite Hardwood Charcoal in 40 LB bags for $12.00 a bag. If they have Oak Hardwood Charcoal I buy that...btw these are not briquettes..

For the REAL BBQ I have other means of smoking and cooking.

Learning the art of Grilling and BBQ takes a bit of time to perfect the craft. There is an endless variety of methods, seasonings and flavors to experiment with, there is no right way just the way that tastes best for you and your partakers. I have found that after going through all the rigmarole of doing this and that..that simplicity and a lighter touch of smoke works just about the best. But youo wouldn't know that if ya didn't go through the process of tyring it all.

I think what I am going to do next is use Oak Logs backed with some Pecan logs...

[tabs]

BTW...If you are serious about BBQ...the Weber Kettle has some serious limitations. It is a direct heat unit...and youu can't keep the meat far enugh away from the fire..

For REAL downhome BBQ you need another dedicated unit for the job. When buying one of those units remember the heavier the gauge of metal the better the heat retention, the better you can control the heat and the more consistant and better the product.

So just skip the $200 Home Depot BBQ Drums...you might as well just keep the Weber...

The Big Green Egg is a good entry point..its limitation is capacity...klean up, also the type of fuel it will handle (no wood logs) and adding fuel for more than an 12 hour run.. Lately I have been using it for 2 raks of Baby Backs..it works great.

The next step up is the home version of a PRO Drum style BBQ unit....heavy gauge metal 1/4 inch drum 1/2 inch firebox and attention to detail in construction ..HEAT RETENTION BABY...That is whats its all about.

[berettafan]

thoughts/comments on keeping charcoal/wood supply outdoors in a plastic bin?

[berettafan]

if i could source the 1/4" steel drum i suspect it'd be pretty simple and inexpensive to weld up a bbq machine.

[tabs]

They use metal Oil Pipe...virgin of course...There are alot of welds in the thing to do it right..and you have to have an idea of what is needed and how it is going to work. So before you under take that project it would be a good idea to get a good look at a Pro built unit and copy it.

Unless U do the welding youself and the grinding of the seams...U just might find that the extra work and trouble lining everything up is just not worth the bux saved.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Still have my 4 burner gas grill but have had an itch to try charcoal again.

Coupla things I've noted;

-that 'charcoal taste' i remember was actually lighter fluid. using regular kingsford (no match light) w/o the fluid there is very little (if any) taste imparted. unless wood is added. have two bags of different wood charcoal to try as well. going to use those for steaks as i have read the natural wood stuff gets hotter than briquettes.

-chimney starters make all the difference in the world. love it!

-the Weber 'Gold' model is worth paying for thanks to easy cleaning.

-better than gas for steaks....coals can be made to get MUCH hotter. last strips i did actually had that thin 'crust' (NOT burned) all over from the intense heat. have never managed that with the gas grill.

-no comparison to gas for pork. did bone in ribs last night w/ a few big chunks of hickory in the coals...nice! sauce was a little over-cooked due to inexperience but def. going to do a baby back dinner soon. the smokey flavor was very, very good.

-Roughly 15 min. to get coals ready in chimney starter. maybe 5 min. once dumped in the grill to really heat up the top grill. i use crumpled foil to clean the grill as it's warming. it gets SO hot the crud just rubs off so easy. i don't clean to a shine, just get crud off.

In all i am very pleased with this thing. would have liked a thermostat in the lid for the money (as is provided with the performer...lord is that thing expensive!). other than adding wood for smokey flavor i am surprised that what i like most isn't the flavor added by the charcoal (which is nil) but rather the amount of heat i can get.

Also have a Gold edition, only downer for me was the 'cheap' frame it rests on. Otherwise a very good bbq for my needs.

[trekkor]

Originally Posted by vash

i gotta disagree. mesquite is great! but doenst burn long enough for the 4+ hours of cook time. i used briquettes, and add soaked mesquite chunks. taking the lid on and off to add more coals, adds to cooking time.

if one is cooking with pure mequite, why the need for hardwood during the cooknig process? there is such thing as too much smokiness, imho.

If you need to cook that long just add more mesquite.
A good mesquite fire will cook an entire meal.

When we cook for groups of 100-300, we fire up our 1300# trailer mounted unit with 40-80 pounds of mesquite. One fire!
The nice thing about mesquite is it burns pretty long and hot and you can cook on it as soon as it is burning.

I add the wood for flavor. It flames up when the lid is open and goes out, generating nice smoke when closed.
I have good supply of oak slats that came out of ss tanks as wine flavoring.
They are very red.

You might want a sampler



KT