My first time with the Weber Performer

[M635_Guy]

I got my Performer set up Friday morning and did a couple test/seasoning sessions on it.  The target was to do dinner with it that night, and overall I'd call my first run was a qualified success.  I've used my Weber Spirit gas grill for many years and am very comfortable with it.  This whole charcoal thing felt like going from an auto-everything camera to a pro-body where you control most of the elements...once you've learned how things work (guess what my one of my hobbies is ).  I entered the cook a little nervous and probably over-thought things during the process, but I wasn't literally or figuratively running around with my hair on fire  (I don't have much hair anyway ).

My wife told me to use some skinless/boneless thighs we had that needed eating, so I dry-brined them for several hours beforehand.  In the meantime, I did some research on a basic DIY rub since I didn't have anything handy.  I found a salt/pepper/garlic powder ratio mix - the salt ratio sounded high, especially since they were brined, so I reduced it.  I got some briquettes going (Weber - will sample others over time) and put them in the Slow & Sear.  I set up a temp probe on the cooking grate and let one hang down to stick in a thigh.  I'd quartered a bunch of small potatoes, tossed them in olive oil and just before I pressed the button to warm up the oven I realized I'd have an oven in the grill, so I just put them on the indirect side in a cast-iron skillet.  I seasoned the thighs.  I had the potatoes in the grill and the readings at the grate were around 375 most of the time.  It would drift down a bit and I tried to manage it using the bottom grate, mostly successfully.  After about 25 minutes I put the thighs on the direct side and cooked them for 7 minutes or so on each side.  Once the internal temp hit 180 or so I pulled them off.  After getting things settled inside for serving, I pulled the potatoes.

Things I learned:
- I need to be careful when pouring coals
- Hot coals can make your deck burn.  Thankfully it was just some spots.  I might want to put some flat pavers down in front of my grill and make a spot where I can put the chimney that isn't the grate of the grill.  Will probably make that one a couple layers.
- The remote thermometer is worth its weight in gold.  Takes so much guesswork and learning curve out of the process.
- I need to get comfortable with all the parts so I can pay more attention to the details
- I can successfully manage two different cooking styles on the same grill.
- The table for the performer is awesome.  I'd considered adding a wood top or even making a whole cart, but I think I'm just going to get a good-sized cutting board to move things out/in.
- The Slow & Sear worked great.  It isn't a rocket-science product, but it sure does make things easy.  I used the baskets for the seasoning runs, and they were a little clumsy.  Fine, but I'd be happy to have paid less and used the money on the Slow & Sear.

What I did right:
- The chicken was cooked well.
- The potatoes were cooked well.
- I was able to light lump and briquettes without trouble using the chimney

What I did wrong/need to improve:
- I waaaaaay over-seasoned the chicken.  Too salty.  It wasn't fatal, but I'm going to be more judicious in the future.  The "you can always add more" rule applies (which should have been obvious, but the number of new things I was doing somehow pushed it out of my mind).  I think the mixture was OK, I just watched too many videos where the seasoning seemed pretty generous.  I'm guessing most of those are designed with little salt...
- I didn't manage the hardware all that well.  The Slow&Sear Grate doesn't drop in easily due to the nuts for the dome-rack, so that was clumsy for me.  The removable part of the grate...removed when I was putting coals in.  I'm not sure what makes removing that part useful (other than sparing it the heat cycling if I'm cooking indirectly), so I'm considering crimping the "hinges" so they don't allow removal.  Any insights/thoughts on that appreciated.
- I didn't do the cold-grate thing.  No biggie at all, but it was my intention to.  I just forgot about it.  I wasn't really set up well with the grate-level probe, the frying pan with the potatoes, etc. 

I'm going to play around a bit before I start putting hardware away.  I've got a fair bit and I'm happy I got it all as I know I'll use it all, but I think some of it will be only occasionally-used (griddle/roasting rack, 2nd tier rack, the baskets the Weber came with).  I'm planning to do wings tomorrow for lunch and I hope to try a low-and-slow Boston Butt this upcoming week. 

Overall I was pretty happy for a first-time-out with charcoal in...30 years?  And then it was pretty basic and not at all controlled.  So I'm going to give myself a C+ on the meal and a B on the grilling itself.  .  I really dig the Performer!

[Tomo1970]

Great write up. I’m no expert - just my 2 cents: my preference is to cook tights indirect. I don’t have a s n’ s, so I pile my coals on 1 side and put my chicken on the other. They typically take a little over an hour but have turned out great every time. I just do salt and pepper right before they go on the grill & flip 2-3 times.


Sent from my iPhone using Weber Kettle Club

[Don-in-Vero]

Great details and good analysis. I just bought a Performer Premium to replace the one I finally burned up after 10 years of cooking on it. Prior to that, I have gone through three of the regular kettles over 30 years. You are going to get a a whole lot of usage from this new grill. Following are just a few observations, in no particular order:
-Charcoal can be incredibly expensive. I burn about 700-800 pounds a year. Unless I really want a wickedly hot sear for a special application, I use Kingford briquets. Home Depot and Lowes normally puts double bags on sale three or four times a year. (HD currently has 2-20 pound bags for $12.98.) Buy lots and store it.
-Main purpose for brining is to help retain moisture, not to add saltiness. Boneless chicken, such as boneless skinless breasts, should not be brined for more than 30 minutes, in the frig. Whole chicken can brine for one hour. Learn how to spatchcock the whole chickens for best results.  For boneless thighs, I do not brine at all, since they have enough natural fat to ensure they don't dry out.
-Another great method for keeping meat moist is to combine oil with an acid. On fish, I like to use olive oil and white balsamic vinegar and Mediterranean spices (no salt)-coated well-30 minutes in the frig just before putting on the grill. If doing fish, make sure to rub the grill grate down six or eight times with canola/corn oil. Use a paper towel and tongs.  Buy a pair of commercial fish spatulas, very thin and flexible to use on all kinds of things. This approach is also good on the BL/SL breasts that you don't want to brine, as well as any thin cut of meat that might tend to dry out.
-You are spot on re the remote temp. probe. Absolutely your very best new friend. I find the probes tend to go toes up if you get them wet. Don't try to wash, just wipe down with a damp cloth after pulling them out.
-Since I am so used to the old grate system, with the hinged edges, I did not like the new grate system with the inserts. It kept coming apart me and pieces falling into the fire. Threw it away and went back to the original grate, several of which I had in the garage.
-Do yourself a huge favor and buy a copy of Cook's Country Cook Book, from the America's Test Kitchen folks, available on Amazon.  These folks experiment with all their recipes to ensure best results. The real kicker is that for the grilling recipes, of which there are dozens, they only use Weber kettle grills and include general tips, recipe variations, the amount of charcoal needed, cooking times, and air vent settings for every one.

Gook luck with the new grill and I love your detail, so post more.

[Don-in-Vero]

Just an add on to my previous, the oil and acid can also be any kind of food oil and any acidic juice such as lemon or orange. This combination allows the acid to break the bond of the protein molecules and the oil to be drawn into the meat, making it juicier.

[M635_Guy]

Don - thanks very much!

Since the thighs were bonless/skinless, I kinda worried about their ability to hold moisture.  Will try indirect in the future.

Today I did wings, and was pretty happy with the result:

(that's actually a few minutes before pulled them off)

Used same salt/pepper/garlic mixture, just far less of it, as well as a BBQ rub.  The wife and youngest spawn were thumbs up for these.  I've still got a few things to adjust, and I should have put a drip pan down there, but oh well...

[KevinInStL]

Looks great! Nice to hear it went pretty well.

P.S. I'm AKA KevinInStL over at BBQ-Brethren. I guess I'm far from being the only one with accounts here, tvwbb, and bbq-bretheren. I wonder if I can fix this username discrepancy thing though.

Let us know how the Boston Butt goes. I've been wanting to try one but it's just my wife and I and she's not a huge fan of pork.