Juggy D Beerman
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2006
- Location
- Warrensb...
I have at least 40 years of experience grilling/smoking on Weber Kettles. The only thing I cook directly on the coals are beef steaks and vegetables. Everything else, I cook indirectly with the coals being to the side of the meat being cooked. Most of these cooks involve the hot coals being on each side of the kettle with the middle being coal free. This is where the burgers, country style ribs, sausages, chicken parts/pieces, pork steak/chops and sliced bacon are placed. Of course I don't cook all of these meats at once. I do cook chicken wings in the manner you describe with a small fire in the middle and the wings placed around the perimeter of the grill.
I use a Weber charcoal chimney to fire up the coals and usually fill the chimney about 3/4s full of briquettes before lighting. I use hardwood chunks only for smoke. I have found that in a small cooking environment such as a kettle, good quality smoke is important. Hardwood chunks usually contain more heartwood than chips and IMHO heartwood provides a smoother smoke than inner and outer bark. I have been to a place where chips are ground from "trees" This well known chip manufacturer was using brush for chip material, not firewood. That changed my usage of chips to chunks.
The cooking grate that you have with the hinged is sure handy for adding pre-lit and hot briquettes without having to remove the grate. Do not add unlit briquettes to increase the heat or replace coals that are on their way out. This will draw heat from the kettle as the heat being emitted from the already burning coals will not solely be heating the meat. Some of the coals heat will also be spent on igniting the unlit coals. Unlit lump charcoal being added will work, but add small pieces, not the big pieces that Egg preferred. There will be some heat displaced from cooking the meat, but not as much and the lump will ignite much faster than the briquettes.
One last tip. You can double your cooking space area for indirect cooking for burgers, chicken pieces, sausage and bacon by using another 22" cooking grate. The regular grate without the hinges is the one you want. Place the hinged grate on the Kettle. Turn the second grate upside down. Place the handles 90 degrees to the handles to the first grill. Make sure there is some air flow going between the meats on each level and between each grate. Good luck!
Lager,
Juggy
I use a Weber charcoal chimney to fire up the coals and usually fill the chimney about 3/4s full of briquettes before lighting. I use hardwood chunks only for smoke. I have found that in a small cooking environment such as a kettle, good quality smoke is important. Hardwood chunks usually contain more heartwood than chips and IMHO heartwood provides a smoother smoke than inner and outer bark. I have been to a place where chips are ground from "trees" This well known chip manufacturer was using brush for chip material, not firewood. That changed my usage of chips to chunks.
The cooking grate that you have with the hinged is sure handy for adding pre-lit and hot briquettes without having to remove the grate. Do not add unlit briquettes to increase the heat or replace coals that are on their way out. This will draw heat from the kettle as the heat being emitted from the already burning coals will not solely be heating the meat. Some of the coals heat will also be spent on igniting the unlit coals. Unlit lump charcoal being added will work, but add small pieces, not the big pieces that Egg preferred. There will be some heat displaced from cooking the meat, but not as much and the lump will ignite much faster than the briquettes.
One last tip. You can double your cooking space area for indirect cooking for burgers, chicken pieces, sausage and bacon by using another 22" cooking grate. The regular grate without the hinges is the one you want. Place the hinged grate on the Kettle. Turn the second grate upside down. Place the handles 90 degrees to the handles to the first grill. Make sure there is some air flow going between the meats on each level and between each grate. Good luck!
Lager,
Juggy