?s for all you Weber Kettle Smokers

[ChefJRD]

What the Dawg said... Find where your pit likes to run and adjust to cook at that temp. My WSM loves 275* and will be anywhere +/- 25* of there every time.

I will definitely keep that in mind. Is there anything you guys smoke on the kettle that you feel you do best on the kettle vs a dedicated smoker?

 

[bikerm40]

Here's my setup wet or dry with sand

 

[Bludawg]

I will definitely keep that in mind. Is there anything you guys smoke on the kettle that you feel you do best on the kettle vs a dedicated smoker?

If your charcoal fired it don't matter you'll not notice a difference from one pit to the next The difference is when you cook with all wood on a offset. I have both, if I'm lazy or other wise occupied and don't want to tend the fire I use the ROF on my Performer. I perffer the flavor from my offset but the old Weber does a great job.

 

[landarc]

For me, it is about space, you need good air circulation, and a kettle has come limitations, although, clearly, if you have a 26" kettle, you can do a much larger cut than a 22" kettle.

 

[Rusty Kettle]

I run mine totally different. It goes against the grain but I run it wide open bottom vent and I use the top vent for temp control.

Close the top vent half closed. Bottom vent/ash sweeper wide open.

I like to stack the charcoal in rows of 10 briquettes each. 4 rows up each side of the kettle.

I light about 14 briquettes in a chimney. Then I dump 7 lit briquettes on each side. This will allow a long burn time and very low fuel consumption and maintain easily about 250-275 temps at the grate level.

I don't refuel even on longer cooks. I have run about 15 hours and still had fuel.

I also throw wood chips not chunks but chips through the piles of charcoal so they burn as the charcoal piles burn down.

I like wood chunks for everything but the kettles. Chips for the kettles and nothing else.

Just my preference.

Now when you start it up you will get bad smoke. I have gotten yellow smoke not white but yellowish smoke. Lift the lid off the kettle and air it out move the lid through he air to let the trapped smoke out. Then put your lid on and in a few mins you will get a nice thin blue to clear smoke. Now you are ready to put your food on. Wait 10 minutes to make sure you have stable consistent thin blue smoke.

Make sure you use a water pan with water as this helps to stabilize the temps in the kettle better. I like a disposable pie pan as you just toss it when you are done.

Have fun.

Anything I described above is for the one touch silver 18.5" weber kettle grill.
Adjust accordingly. More fuel for larger kettles.

 

[BB-Kuhn]

I used to use a snake fuse topped with chunks. Top wide open. Bottom vent 1/2 open while temp was climbing, throttled back to barely open when temp got about 50 deg out from target temp (usually 250). Then it usually stayed reasonably close to 250 with little effort moving bottom vent. Would burn for 5-6hrs easily like that on a 75+ deg day.

 

[Roguejim]

I used to use a snake fuse topped with chunks. Top wide open. Bottom vent 1/2 open while temp was climbing, throttled back to barely open when temp got about 50 deg out from target temp (usually 250). Then it usually stayed reasonably close to 250 with little effort moving bottom vent. Would burn for 5-6hrs easily like that on a 75+ deg day.

Were you running a 2-2-1, or less charc0al?

 

[ChefJRD]

Thanks again for all the helpful posts! I got the kettle and will post pics tomorrow and might even do a small test smoke (or big, who knows) and try some of these suggestions out.

 

[VoodoChild]

Great advise given here .. Just Move slowly and never under estimate your kettle it can cook amazing food .. just slow down a bit a listen to the Pros ! :thumb:

 

[captjoe06]

I must be the odd one out because I can't keep the temp below 300F with the top vent wide open. This is with a 2-2-1 fuse. I will have the lower vents barely cracked, and the temp still creeps up unless I close the top vent about 1/3-1/2 way. One Brethren opined that kettles let in too much air, and two of the bottom vents should be taped over with furnace tape. I have not yet tried this, though.

Same here.

 

[krex1010]

I had a kettle as my only BBQ cooker for over a decade, once you get a method down they are a great cooker. There are more than one way to set them up. Here's the way I do it. I use bricks or rocks to keep the coals where I want them, usually about 1/4 to 1/3 of the area. Depending on how long the cook and how large the meat is. I fill that area up with kbb and mix a few wood chunks in, then about 15-20 lit coals spread out on top. I do use a water pan under the meat which I mostly cover with foil and leave open where I can direct the steam away from the meat. Vents open until my therm shows about 200, then the meat goes on and I close the bottom vents 2/3 of the way, when temp is up around 225-250 the bottom vents get closed almost completely and the top vent closed about half. Will hold 250-275 for 4 or 5 hours, sometimes a bit more depending on outside temp and how well I managed my vents. Get a hinged grate and leave it open so you can toss more coal or wood in, or knock ash off the coals without taking the lid completely off. I use an oven thermometer next to the meat to monitor temps, face it so you can see it by just cracking the lid slightly.