Keeping things hot-Technique question

[Tim in PA]

Saturday I had to cook 40 drumsticks. I wasn't able to find another kettle for a good price in time so I ended up doing 20 at a time. The first batch I used a full chimney of Stubbs and banked the charcoals on the side and mostly cooked the chicken indirect until the end to crisp up the skin. I think I was maintaining around 375 for the entire cook. The second batch, I added about 6-8 unlit coals to to the lit thinking that they would start up and it would be enough. Well, it wasn't. It immediately dropped temperature and wouldn't go above 225-250. I decided to light up the chimney with couple handfuls and add that to the grill. That didn't work to add temp either. I opened the vents to full and the temperature kept dropping. The chicken finally got done but it took way too long.

How would you have all handled that if you were only using one kettle? I'm still looking for another one so this won't happen like that.

I've got a lot to learn!

[pbe gummi bear]

Hi Tim, Few things you can do here.

-Add some unlit to lit coals at the beginning of the cook, to maintain your level of heat for longer. If you do it right, you can use your vent to dial in the temp. There are a few ways to do this such as just placing the unlit on top of it ala minion method or you can snake the coal within the kettle.

-Lump ignites faster than briquettes so they are better for adding to the coal to get the temp up faster. People say it also burns hotter, but I only find that true if you take the time to pack it tightly. Otherwise, I find the heat similar when loosely packed

[bryanw21157]

the minion method will last forever...I got about 8 hours @ 250 on my mini-wsm using that method.

My advice:  get her hot, use a lot of coals and work the vents to bring it down.  keep the cover on and let the grill do the heavy lifting.


do you have a thermo in the lid?

[pbe gummi bear]

Great advice, Bryan! The duration of time your charcoal lasts is inversely proportional to how open your vent is.

the minion method will last forever...I got about 8 hours @ 250 on my mini-wsm using that method.

My advice:  get her hot, use a lot of coals and work the vents to bring it down.  keep the cover on and let the grill do the heavy lifting.


do you have a thermo in the lid?

[Tim in PA]

I was basting ever 5 minutes so I'm guessing that also burnt through the coals quicker.

[1buckie]

I've kept a clod roast going 15 hours & pork shoulders almost that much......low heat isn't a problem.......

Higher, like your chicken is a different animal..........
The coals peak in heat not too, too long after you dump & with no action, there's nowhere to go but down in temp.................

If you want the temp to stay up at the starting temp for a longer period, anticipating the drop is key........

In your shoes, I would have lit 1/2 chimney not too long after the initial dump & maybe added that in @ 2/3's to 3/4 thru the 1st set of cooking.............
Using unlit is OK, but how fast they lite & come to temp is less sure than  pre-lit.....

Other way is like stated above: Sort of modified "Minion Method", but with a thicker packing of coals in a chain / fuse fashion..................