I had an old Weber chimney that was falling apart, so I removed the handle and placed a couple of screws where the handle rivets were. I also removed the wire coal grate from the chimney as it was falling apart too.
Placed the gourmet grate in the kettle and then placed the chimney in the center
Added the Rotis ring to give more room for air to circulate. The ring also allowed me to place the thermometer directly above the cooking grate to monitor the temp around the food. I think the temp would be hotter near the top of the lid and placing the thermometer in the lid may give a different reading.
Placed lit coals in the chimney up to second set of vent holes, which was almost close to the cooking grate level. I also place a couple of hickory chunks near the bottom of the chimney near the elongated holes.
The temp reached 360 degrees within few min
Onto the food
Started with well seasoned boneless and skinless chicken thighs
Placed a piece of smoked sausage inside each thigh. I scored the smoked sausage lengthwise with a knife several times in order to allow the juices to flavor the chicken.
I then wrapped them with bacon and used tooth picks to prevent them from falling apart
Placed them on the grill
Added corn and carrots an hour later
And the cooking almost done an hour and 45 min later
Dinner is served
The chicken was very moist and tasty!!
The method worked really well and I never had to add any additional coals. I maintained the temp by adjust the lower vents only. I figured the chimney would be pulling air from the lower vent, and since the heat is focused upwards, I left the upper vent wide open so more heat can escape. The final temp was around 330 degrees when I pulled the chicken off, but remained at 360 during the majority of cooking time.
This method also gave an idea for Tandoori style cooking (high heat). I had put few pieces of chicken leftover from trimming the thighs on a skewer. I then put it on top of the chimney first
Then dropped inside
It cooked really fast and was very juicy. It reminded of a real Tandoor oven.
I think I’m going to try the chimney inside my WSM and drop the long metal skewer around it just like a Tandoor oven. I have a feeling it would turn out great!!!
But that’s another experiment for another time