Just some other small questions regarding clearing up afterwards....
Personally, I like to clean my Weber, right after I have finished cooking and the coals have cooled down, however, pretty much all the info I have seen online says that many people just leave the coals in, until the next cook, and then go ahead and clean the grills, right before their next cook (just as you are pre-heating the grill)?!
What's the done thing here then? I'm not sure I would want to leave my Weber all greasy and oily after cooking until the next time I go to cook?!
It's best to leave the grates greasy and dirty until the next time you cook. Helps prevent them from rusting. In some respects, the Weber Kettle actually works best with a little bit of "seasoning." Like for instance the top vents on mine have a nice seal from the greasy soot. Also some schmutz helps the lid seal a little better to the bowl. With regards to the black crust that forms on the lid, I'm not sure what it is, but it is safe to eat though not very tasty. I usually give my lid a tap or two when I'm setting up the grill and see if it's at the point of falling off. If so, I'll do a pass on it with my grate brush. Doesn't take much to loosen it up. Finally, if you're really concerned about keeping the bowl clean, I'd wrap the charcoal grate section away from the charcoal (I use the Slow n Sear for most of my cooking, which leaves a large empty section of charcoal grate) in aluminum foil and place the largest drip pan that'll fit on top of it.
Finally, I don't think you really need to use water in the drip pan unless you're doing real low n slow BBQ like a pork butt or the like. For things like chicken or burgers, it's not necessary and may be making clean up a little more difficult if it's spilling or boiling out.
Wow - really appreciate all this info. Thank You
Yea, I was actually thinking whether it would indeed be worth wrapping the bottom grate, which holds the charcoal, in silver foil, in order to make cleaning up a little easier afterwards, but I guess it depends on what layout I decide to use. My first cook, was as wrote in my original post - half the bottom grate with the charcoal baskets and the drip tray on the other half, so I had a 50/50 direct/indirect zone to cook on, whilst at the same time, catching the drips!
I have another cook, coming up this weekend too but have decided to use a different set up (inspired by one of the posts above about "the vortex". Essentially, I will put both my charcoal baskets together in the centre of the bottom grate, and no drip pan. Then, on the top grate (after it has preheated), I will use the centre portion of my cooking grate, to sear the meat on above the baskets, and then move the meat to the outer circle of the cooking grate, and leave to cook on indirect heat, with the lid closed. This method, there won't be space to use the drip pan, but I guess, I won't know how much mess there will actually be in the bottom of the kettle bowl, until I have tried this method.
I want to experiment with different methods until I find one which I feel works best for me.
I am a little OCD though so I will probably clean my cooking grate, right after each cook!!!
Just some thing else as well - I was looking at buying some sort of table to attach to the side of my Weber Master Touch - I have seen a couple on Amazon and I know Weber also do one as well (which has a support leg as well). Any recommendations?!
Topic: Master Touch Grill - New User (Read 8402 times)