First Smoke on the Weber Kettle

Harbor Freight $8.99 scrape off paint, harbor freight heat gun

bikerm40 said:

Harbor Freight $8.99 scrape off paint

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I think ya put this on the wrong thread.

BBQFiend said:

The kettle is new. I had to play with the vents A LOT. I'd say I had to go and make an adjustment every 30min or so. Tracked quite a bit of moss into the house. :razz:

I would mainly watch the temp using a maverik E72. Once the temp dropped to near 240 I'd go out and increase the bottom vent and open the top vents, once the temp started going in the other direction I'd almost close the top vent and let it creep up. I noticed if I let the top vent open too long and the temp started creeping fast no matter what I did would really slow it down outside of almost closing both vents. Then when the temp climbed up near 260 I would start closing the bottom vent and top vent to until the temp stopped climbing. Then as it dropped I'd open the top vent some then adjust the bottom one. It was a pain but not so bad I was getting frustrated. Only bad part was that I was cooking a lot later at night than I expected and the outside temp dropped probably 15-20degrees from when I started. It had to be close to 45 or colder outside when I was done with the cook.

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OK probably your biggest issue is that the kettle is new. When they are new, the lids don't seal tight enough and your temperature will be harder to control. After a few cooks you'll get some gunk built up and it'll seal better and you'll find it easier to control the temperature. Also like a few others have said, put your exhaust opposite your coals and keep it wide open the whole time. Control your temperature with the bottom intake only. It'll be just barely opened when you are at your cooking temperature. Don't get too wrapped up in cooking at a particular temperature. You will find that your kettle likes a certain temperature with your setup so just let it run there. That could be 250, could be 275, could be 300. And don't go by the temperature Guage on the lid. If you don't have one, go get a thermometer you can put at grate level. Personally when I'm cooking a butt, I don't mind the temp at 300 or even a tad higher. Trust me it'll still turn out awesome, it'll just cook faster.

Just keep cooking on it. I started smoking on a kettle and after a few cooks you'll find it does a great job and is pretty easy. It'll teach you a little about fire management as well. Good luck! :thumb:

When I was using a Kettle to smoke I started out using fire bricks, then I started using the snake/fuse method, makes it a lot easier to control temps on the kettle.

I use the snake/fuse method also for longer cooks, like pork butts. I use fire brick for shorter stuff like ribs, chicken, or reverse searing. Here's a couple pics of both setups:

Nicely done. As long as they want more, you did it right.


And whatever you do, don't get caught up in all the "you shouldas", "you oughtas" or "I wouldas". We all like to share our thoughts, but you gotta shoot your own game. Take what you can and leave the rest.

Been using kettles my whole life, very versatile. The last couple years I've used the Smokenator & love it.

BBQFiend said:

I just got back and my wife said her and the kids loved it. They can't wait for me to make another one.:clap2:

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You are doing it right, carry on enjoying it:-D

Agree with the last comments above. There are thousands of right ways to BBQ. The only right way is what works for you and your family.

Looked great to me, and it sounds like the family loved it. So, now, can you do it again?

That butt looks great. I too had temp probs with my ots. What worked for me was using foil tape to block off 2 of the three air intakes. Now temp management is much easier with only one slit.

Tim

bikerm40 said:

Harbor Freight $8.99 scrape off paint, harbor freight heat gun

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effinUker said:

I think ya put this on the wrong thread.

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DOH - Now I get it. Thanks for the update. Sorry - I was in BBQ mode and forgot the question I asked. :caked: