Weber Kettle Club Forums
Cooking & Food Talk => Charcoal Grilling & BBQ => Topic started by: bryanw21157 on July 28, 2013, 07:34:07 AM
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Wish me luck, fellas...
The shoulder. Brined and rubbed.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/e3umazu5.jpg)
Starter coals
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/qemy6y2e.jpg)
Loaded. Mix of apple and hickory. IMHO, you cant have too much apple and hickory!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/sy9u7aje.jpg)
Warming up...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/y8ygerer.jpg)
This little piggy went to market...and got cut the **** up!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/rydejegy.jpg)
Sealed and probed. See you this afternoon, piggy!
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/ezehujam.jpg)
Only a hundred or so degrees to go :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/28/yga9e7ev.jpg)
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Your missing one thing! A Weber compact chimney starter. Those things are great for doing small
amounts of charcoal. Use mine for the WSM and my Smokey Joe.
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I just put fewer coals in my big one... :)
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Can't wait to eat, I mean see the results.
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That's a hell of a start! Looks like you got this cook nailed! Can't wait for the final pics.
"my kettle is more powerful it will do almost anything."
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This is my first time doing one. As long as its not raw or cooked to death, I will be happy.
I cant get over the versatility of the mini...especially for what it costs! ;D
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Your missing one thing! A Weber compact chimney starter. Those things are great for doing small
amounts of charcoal. Use mine for the WSM and my Smokey Joe.
I built my own compact starter out of a piece of 5" chrome exhaust pipe off of a semi truck we had laying around the shop. Wish I had known about the compact Weber starter!
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I used to start the coals in my full size chimney for Minion Method cooking. I
only use a small amount and the smaller chimney helps compact them together
for quicker and more even lighting. To your point the bigger one works as well,
just different.
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You can also turn the big one upside down to compact the coals together in an upside down pyramid
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F me...guess I moved the vent the wrong way. Temp went down while I was running kids to camp. Came back to falling temps in meat. Added coals and opened vents...glad I wasnt eating this for dinner. ;D
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You can also turn the big one upside down to compact the coals together in an upside down pyramid
I tried that the problem is the Weber cubes didn't care for it. If your using newspaper it
doesn't really matter.
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That's when I employ an empty beer can :)
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You had me at beer!!!
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I tried that the problem is the Weber cubes didn't care for it.
Instead of flipping the entire chimney over, just pop the pyramid rack out and flip it over.
That's what I did to my chimney. (After I read Gummi's post about the same thing)
Works really well for just firing up 10 or so briquets. I plan on getting the smaller chimney, but until then...
Bryan - Other than the vent position mishap, curious to know how else this goes for ya. Did you just pile all those chips on top of unlit coals?
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Shweet! :D
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I can't wait to get a smoker....
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Bman, yes. Mixed hickory and apple chips soaked in water...
The strange thing is that after I put more coals on no matter what I did I could not get the grill temperature to go past 225 degrees. so after battling it for a while, I decided to move the coals onto the performer for the save. I didn't have any fire bricks so I used regular bricks as a heat shield and it seems to work.
My performer kicks ass...I should just use it for everything...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/29/y6e8asy8.jpg)
Anyone want a slightly used and customized imusa pot?
I am done with the mini. I got the green light from the Mrs to get a big smoker if i want to...! ;D
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Bman, yes. Mixed hickory and apple chips soaked in water...
The strange thing is that after I put more coals on no matter what I did I could not get the grill temperature to go past 225 degrees. so after battling it for a while, I decided to move the coals onto the performer for the save. I didn't have any fire bricks so I used regular bricks as a heat shield and it seems to work.
My performer kicks ass...I should just use it for everything...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/07/29/y6e8asy8.jpg)
Anyone want a slightly used and customized imusa pot?
I am done with the mini. I got the green light from the Mrs to get a big smoker if i want to...! ;D
Oh man, if you are referring to the natty boh pot. Boy I'd love to have that.
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Got 'er done.
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=5430.0 (http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=5430.0)
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The strange thing is that after I put more coals on no matter what I did I could not get the grill temperature to go past 225 degrees. so after battling it for a while, I decided to move the coals onto the performer for the save.
Nothing wrong with 225°…
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Man Bryan. Bummed to read you've had it with the mini. I love mine and it runs flawless. Before you toss in the towel, maybe change up the methods a bit. Not calling you out per say, but skip the big ol pile of wet chips on top of dry charcoal. Not something I'm a fan of and I've never done it. We have fire to cook meat, not dry out the smoke wood & charcoal.
On the other hand.... If this gives you the green light for a WSM, I'm all for it. ;)
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I can't wait to get a smoker....
MD.....you already got a smoker.....it's medium forrest green & has a handy built in table.....
See Here ~~~>
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/re-print-ok-what's-in-kettle-3/
And Bryan.....maybe try just one more time...pretty please....with all fresh charcoal & small wood chunks, the size of coals or a bit bigger.....bet ya nickel it works great...... 8)
I'm thinkin' a load of wet chips might just be too much moisture in a small arena like that.....
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The strange thing is that after I put more coals on no matter what I did I could not get the grill temperature to go past 225 degrees.
225 is a good temperature for smoking, low and slow.
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So, if I am reading the thread correctly, I screwed up in the following areas:
Too many chips
Wet chips
Vent position
Not enough beer (is there ever enough beer? )
So, next time, I am going to try
Fewer dry chips or maybe use some chunks
Leave the bottom vent open all the way (right Bman??)
I feel like I went back to square one with the mini yesterday. I have invested a lot of time in it to just ditch right now...
Guess I will read up more on it since , up til now, I have only cooked ribs on it. I think I went overboard since the shoulder was such a big piece of meat and didnt wany to under cook it...
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"So, next time, I am going to try
Fewer dry chips or maybe use some chunks
Leave the bottom vent open all the way (right Bman??) "
.....& more beer....I don't care one way or another, but just noticed it was left off the list...... 8)
If chips is what you have or would like to use, try small pockets of them interspersed, or alternating with the charcoal......should work fine........just hate to see ya bail when I've heard so many good things about these setups from all over the place...... ;D
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I thought about the volume of chips, and estimated that since I was going to do a clockwise snake (notice the gap in the coals @ about 5:00) the wood would need to be sufficient enough to maintain smoke for the whole time....but maybe the beer influenced my thinking :)
My major screw up was messing with the bottom vent. I made the dog food bowl ash blocker thing so I know there was plenty of air available...I got worried that the temps were going to get too high so I shut them back...
I also think I put too many coals in. From what I have read and experienced before, I should have been able to get about 6 hours from 40 or so coals in a snake.
Yes, Buckie, I omitted the beer from my 'next time' list. I am going to do my next cook while working from home, so no beer ...until it's done :)
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"since I was going to do a clockwise snake"
We've indentified "the problem"........pork's 'sposed to go COUNTER-clockwise.....that'll fix everything !!!!
PS: Beef is clockwise..... 8)
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lmao. I was baiting you on that one... :)
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Stepped right in that noose........ ::)
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"since I was going to do a clockwise snake"
We've indentified "the problem"........pork's 'sposed to go COUNTER-clockwise.....that'll fix everything !!!!
PS: Beef is clockwise..... 8)
Is fish from both ends? :D
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Both ends is for Hot & Fast....hi-heat....ask me how I know this..... :-[ :-[ :-[
I'd say fish....Hmmmmm..One stripe down the middle & the fish to either side.....
,....now, let's see what does that leave?
.....veal, goat, octopus, yak?
I'll get on some kind of a burn scheduling chart of sorts..... :D
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So, next time, I am going to try
Fewer dry chips or maybe use some chunks
Leave the bottom vent open all the way (right Bman??)
The only time I run with the bottom vent wide open (while smoking) is during chicken (pieces or 1/4's) so I can eat an hour later. Otherwise for a pork butt, the bottom vent hovers around 1/4 open and rolls around 265 +/- for 10ish hours. Haven't done ribs on the mini as I'll fire up the WSM if I'm doing 3 racks (or Performer for a single)
For the fire aspect of things, I treat the mini just like the full sized smoker. I'm a fan of the coffee-can-center-hole Minion Method. I usually add a chunk or 2 of smoke wood on the bottom, add charcoal, and top with a couple more chunks. For the mini, I'll fire up 10 briquets and dump them into the coffee-can (then remove the can) I'll put the lid on the bowl (sans pot) to get the pit fire rolling along while I get the meat & ET-732 all probed up and ready to go. After ~15 minutes, I'll move the lid to the pot and set the pot on the bowl. Now it's time to kick back and relax --- which is what Q'ing is all about. :)
Here's what the big boy looks like just before game time.
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(https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/601833_10200580229364446_839452445_n.jpg)