About to look at a kettle on CL... advice?

[AnakiMana]

This weekend I took a razor blade scraper to it and got rid of all the buildup inside.  The bottom vents got some WD-40 and are turning pretty well now.  They weren't too hard to re-shape into place.  I could have shined them up more, but was dying to COOK on it!

Here are some pics:

Before:





After (I used vegetable oil to shine & blacken it):






And some action shots.  First cook in what appears to be a LONG time:


Potatoes coated in EVOO and kosher salt, just after putting on the grill.  There's a new charcoal grate and set of charcoal holders.  The cooking grate originally came with my Performer Platinum, but I'm using the Gourmet BBQ System grate setup on that now.


Applewood smoking away.  I just closed the lid, so some smoke escapes the side.


After a while of cooking.  I don't know how hot it was, but I had 60 Stubb's briquettes in there.  I pulled them out after 1 hour 15 minutes, since the rest of the food was done then.  They were A-MAZING.  I got the idea right here in these forums.


And the rest of the meal was the maiden voyage of my Weber Wok!  I can't express how excited I am after using it!  My recipe included chicken breast, thick bacon, fresh Spanish peanuts we roasted ourselves in the wok before adding the rest, sweet onion, colorful peppers (not spicy), zucchini, fresh pineapple... and EVOO, soy sauce, brown sugar, kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Still to do:
I would like to get a period-correct ash pan, re-do the hardware on the top handle, since it's wobbly, and repair or replace the wood handle.  Other than those things, I kind of like the rusty scars on this old '79.  It has character.

[cbpeck]

That meal looks great! Good idea with the spuds... I'll have to try that sometime.

If I may suggest, do a bit of reading about "thin blue smoke" vs billowy white smoke, either here or at bbqbrethren. The former produces much better flavor and is what we're after for cooking with wood chips or chunks. Forgive me if you already know this, but that big cloud of thick white smoke in the photo made me think it was worth mentioning.

Congrats on the kettle restore. You've sure brought it a long way. You could also polish the legs with just about any metal polish if you'd like, but its looking great already.

[Jeff]

Nice cleanup on that grill and a great looking cook you had!

[AnakiMana]

Thanks guys. I didn't know about the smoke. I bought pellets in Applewood and Mesquite and just threw a couple handfuls onto the charcoal baskets. I just assumed it was simple and never read on that subject. But I'm always open to suggestions and ready to learn!

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

[cbpeck]

The pellets will work fine, but they are probably not the best or most affordable option, especially in our region (tons of fruitwood pruning everywhere).

I keep chips (coin sized) and chunks (golf ball to baseball sized) on hand of several different woods. The key is that you want the wood to fully combust, producing a thin, faintly visible blue smoke. The way I do it, and others please chime in, is get the grill & charcoal just about up to temp & then put a palmful of chips on top of my coals, usually in a little clump. If I am using chunks I may put them in a little earlier so they have time to warm up. Once the initial billow of smoke from the cold chips settles I will put the food on. The thick smoke often comes back for a brief minute or two, then settles to thin, faintly visible and oh so sweet smelling blue smoke.

Others can provide a better education on the science, but as I understand it thin blue indicates the wood is fully combusting, while thick billowy means that uncombusted wood particles are suspended in the smoke and can potentially create a bitter, acrid flavor... Definitely not "Good Eats," as Alton Brown would say. Also the thin blue stuff is reported to have antimicrobial properties while the thick white stuff can potentially be more carcinogenic.

Again, this is my understanding. Someone please correct me if my understanding is off. BBQBrethren helped me with a ton of stuff before I found this place, and while this is a great place for all things Weber, the brethren may be the authoritative source on knowledge on recipes, tips, techniques, etc.

[1buckie]

 Yeah, CB's pretty accurate with all that........just aim for a hot enough fire to keep whatever wood source burning cleanly.............

Pellets are OK, but kinda designed to burn at a metered rate against a propane or electric heat element, so just tossing them in a fire they kind of blow out all at once.............I've used them before & they do work, just might be a better candidate for wrapping in a foil packet to slow the burn just a bit..........

There are a very few exceptions to the white smoke thing.....if the wood is used wet, or more accurately damp, a lot of the 'white' is actually steam & if correctly controlled, can produce a real smooth tasting smoke flavor in the food.....it's tricky, but it does work..............

 This is dampened shread, mostly steam in the smoke............



So much steam, I've actually burnt the inside of my forearm on many occasions adding it in...........no pics of that !!!!

One anomaly I found was some wine soaked little chunklets, oak, soaked in wine, not oak barrels cut up..........terrible white smoke, great flavor with zero ill effects.......








Even that settled into thin blue after awhile....


Still baffled as to why that didn't taste awful?

[1buckie]

  Now, back to THE topic.......the taters & especially that wokful of goodness looks just grand !!!

 The cooker cleanup is really sharp too.....those ones are nice.....I have several just about like that & they make dynamite  smokers, specifically.............

[AnakiMana]

I love the daisy wheels. I thought it was great that I could open one of them on the opposite side from the lid vent for cross-kettle airflow. And the little tabs that stop the vents from spinning after they reach the closed position - I didn't know those existed until I started straightening out the metal.

After spending the time cleaning this one up, I'm feeling more attached to it than the brand new PP I bought last year.

Now I'm just trying to figure out the best portable grill for next time I go camping. Jumbo Joe? Smokey Joe? Silver, gold? Bottom vent vs side vents?

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

[cbpeck]

Great photos, Buckie!

Anakaimana,

The best camping cooker is probably either a SJS or a SJP, but good luck finding a SJP! Actually, there was one on Spokane CL not too long ago. They do (rarely) pop up. The SJS is great for high heat direct grilling, but its kind of a one trick pony, IMO. The SJP requires a bit of learning with the side mounted lower vents, but once you have the hang of it you're good to go for direct high heat & indirect lower temps. The newer Jumbo Joe may be a great cooker in its own right, but some folks object to it for various reasons. And then there are the Weber Go Anywhere grills in both gas and charcoal. I'm not as familiar with them.

[AnakiMana]

I like the Jumbo Joe, I think. 1) The bottom vent is what I'm used to on the full sized kettles, 2) the legs look easy to detach with wing nuts, and 3) the handle that turns into a lid holder should be a nice feature.

What are some of the negatives? Maybe its size?

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

[DirectDrive]

I like the Jumbo Joe, I think. 1) The bottom vent is what I'm used to on the full sized kettles, 2) the legs look easy to detach with wing nuts, and 3) the handle that turns into a lid holder should be a nice feature.

What are some of the negatives? Maybe its size?

Sent via smoke signals from my Weber kettle

I found a JJ recently on CL for $10....looks like one or two cooks on it.
The only negative that I could see would be the bottom vent plugging up.
But that can be easily cured with an ash blocker like they use on the SJ conversions.
That JJ is going to be a nice size for my camping needs...I think I may try using it for a fire pit as well.
This would be primitive camping.

Speaking of SJ conversions (Mini WSM), that is what some folks take camping.
It would be fun to do a low and slow cook of some kind and drive your campground neighbors crazy with the nice aromas wafting around the place !

[Craig]

There is nothing and I MEAN NOTHING I love more here than seeing an old kettle being brought back to life and then seeing a meal being cooked on it. This I think HAS to be my favorite thing to see happen. Nice cleanup of the '79! Now we just need to find you a twist on ash pan! Best part is you can get away with either straight edge or rolled edge pan being an "A" code.  Please get some additional beauty shots of it when you have time and post them in WKC Show and Shine 2014!