A problem with the food staying heated after cooking?

[jordan7732]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a 47cm Weber Kettle BBQ and set it up. I went by the instructions in the manual and did the following:

I heated the charcoal (It was charcoal which you light from all four corners whilst it's in the bag) and whilst the charcoal was lighting up, the bottom vents which cause the charcoal to fall onto the ash catcher were open. After the fire died down and the charcoal was turning into a grey ash I placed the other grill above the coals. I then added three cod fish fillets, and then proceeded to put the lid on and opened the vents on the lid.

I left the fish on heat for about fifteen minutes. The fish was overcooked as the bottom of the fish was totally covered in blackened charcoal.

When I ate the fish it wasn't piping hot like I expected. It was just quite warm. And also the food didn't seem to have that distinctive 'BBQ' taste which I have even found in disposable charcoal grills. So my question is what did I do wrong? Were the vents not supposed to be open at all times during the heating and cooking process?

Was it the coals? Thank you.

[1buckie]

Most probably the charcoal.....the kind you lite n the bag has lighting fluid built into it in a solid form, plus the partially burnt parts of the bag......
OK to start a very long cookup with, but I really wouldn't recommend for any type of use......

For a long cook, you can wait 'till all the lighting part is over & the coals are completely settled in.....for a short, delicate cook like fish, not so good.....

It seems as if you worked the vents right............
Another possible cause might be a lack of airflow thru the kettle......try top always open & for a short, quick grilling, bottom vents open too....that way, the coals are not choked for air, a possible cause for the blackened bits ( can happen even using non-bag lite charcoals)

Try about maybe 30~35 coals, piled to one side so you have a cooler area to move the food to if needed.....or even set the food NEAR, but not directly over the coals, see below..........................make sense how I'm describing it?

[MartyG]

Welcome to the Club Jordon, glad you stopped by. Others will chime in I'm sure, but I have a couple questions first:

How big was the bag of charcoal you used? I'm not familiar with what you mentioned, but it may have been intended for a much smaller grill. Most of us use a chimney to light the coals, and

When you placed the fish on the grate, was it directly above the coals? With nothing between the fish and the fire, it makes sense that the bottom may have been exposed to too much heat. I use some kind of protection when doing fish; aluminum foil, cedar plank or a stainless tray to avoid what you experienced. I'm sure if you browse the site or look at a million or so YouTube videos of people grilling fish, you will see what works. Indirect works well for delicate stuff like fish.

Let us know what you try next, and don't worry about your first cook - it will get better and better - I promise.

Marty

[addicted-to-smoke]

Hi Jordan,

Yes, this unassuming kettle is capable of many different sophisticated methods. For that reason, there's no "recipe" for a guarantee. That said, it's NOT finicky, either. So relax!

And I agree you have the basic concept of the airflow down ... the bottom vents are primarily intake and the top, exhaust. Stick with that idea for now, or for a long time. Less temp? Close down the intake for a awhile. Open back up if temps get too low. Wait 10-15 mins for the temp to settle, but settle it will.

As buckie shows, indirect cooking gives you power and control. You may find you do a series of cooks with too-little heat, but that's overcome with using "too much" (or so it may seem ...) charcoal. Turn down the heat via the bottom intake.  And since you're closing everything off at the end, right? you've saved charcoal for next time. A Weber chimney is needed, as is better charcoal. We have threads here about chimneys ...

Much of that "BBQ" (charcoal) flavor comes indirectly. Consider: air comes in from the bottom, heat flows from coals on one side, goes OVER the food and out the top vent positioned opposite the coals. Picture it?

You can certainly do a hot, direct cook like you did, but fish I'd turn at about 4-6 mins under such conditions and remove at about 8-9 mins (like an oven broil?) , so I'm guessing you overcooked by double because it was direct + left on too long.

Might not have been piping hot if dried out ... one of ironies of meat that's lost juiciness from overcooking.