Increase Real Estate on a 22 Kettle

[Donald McRonald]

I love the 22 kettle but found during smoking there is limited space unless a rib rack is used or the snake method is utilized.
So I came up with the following method which includes the minion method (briquettes burn from the middle outwards), two grates and an enamel baking pan (link below).

I started with 10 lit briquettes, dropped them in the middle of around 3kgs of briquettes, arranged the enamel baking pan filled with hot water on the cooking grate and placed another flipped cooking grate over the pan. You may need the old style grates without the hinges; that's the ones I used.









I have cooked 2 large beef short rib slabs using this method and have received extremely positive feedback (unless they were being nice    )

I find this method uses much less fuel than a traditional Vertical Style smoker (eg WSM).
I use water in the enamel pan but I'm quite sure you can run it dry or use sand, just like I have seen many do while using the WSM.

If someone has posted a thread using this method I apologise in advance.
Any suggestions or feedback is always welcome.
Thanks for looking.

Enamel Pan. http://www.kitchenwarehouse.com.au/Falcon-Enamel-Rectangle-Dish-41x28x3-5cm-Black

[kettlebb]

Makes sense. Heat deflector and more even grate space.


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[jcnaz]

Your method looks good to me.
How long was your short rib cook, and did you refill the water?

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[addicted-to-smoke]

Not that I've seen every thread here but this is a first I think. Grate idea, makes sense to me. I can see this working for any high heat indirect cook, also.

[AnyThingGrilled]

Good idea, I’m also interested in the burn time and temp if you have a ballpark. 


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[Donald McRonald]

Thanks for the comments.

The enamel pan I used easily takes around 2 litres of water - this lasts around 2.5 to 3 hours of the cook (cooking at +/- 250).
At this stage you can refill the water or run it dry; I ran it dry and the temp shot around to 275-285.
You can bring this down by adjusting the lid vent which I sometimes do when I see temps approaching 300.
My bottom vents are open at a screwdrivers thickness.
I like cooking at hotter temperatures; I find the beef rib still maintains it juiciness and becomes extremely tender.

My method of cooking is the 3-2-1.
After three hours the ribs get wrapped, no liquid is added, for the last hour I unwrap the ribs (don't bother taking the bottom foil off) and around the 6 hour mark I check for butter like tenderness; if it's done I wrap and rest for half hour or so.

The amount of fuel used is striking.
I dump around 3kgs of briquettes (heat beads brand here in Oz) and at the end of the cook there is close to 1.5 kgs of briquettes left.
A similar cook in a vertical smoker I would use close to 4kgs of briquettes at lower temps (230-250).

I haven't run the enamel pan dry from start to finish; I read somewhere that the water helps with the smoke adhering to the meat during the initial parts of the cook so I'll continue with that.

I've done a few cooks with this method and as I have mentioned before it was a raging success.
The only down side is, you need two older style grates or may be if you use the hinged grates you can tie the top grate with steel zip ties.

[addicted-to-smoke]

This is the type of method that despite owning a dedicated smoker makes me just wanna say, "screw it, why don't I just try this instead?"

I keep coming back to that pan. That speckled finish is well known here as being on cheap "turkey roasters" and large round pots for decades. I think I saved one somewhere my parents had for eons but rarely used. Never thought to consider seeing if a cookie sheet was available like that. I've got aluminum but that's better for serving; I wouldn't want to have to clean that. Of course, Teflon's a non-starter for this.

[Donald McRonald]

I own a smoker (ProQ Frontier) which is similar to a WSM which has given fantastic results but I wasn't too happy with the fuel consumption.
I haven't used a WSM so I can't comment on it's fuel usage but I have more than halved my fuel consumption by using the kettle in this fashion when compared to my Vertical Smoker.
It would be interesting to read any feedback on fuel consumption using a WSM for a 6 hour cook....

The pan I chose was a result of trying to replicate the water pans used in a WSM and the ProQ.
I believe the pans are coated with enamel; plus the one I chose is rated oven safe for 270 degrees celsius.
Teflon was never considered and aluminum may be an option - would be interesting to try it (warping might be an issue).

Cleaning wise I pour some boiling water in the pan, let it sit for half hour or so then just clean as much as I can from the previous cook.

[addicted-to-smoke]

It's my understanding that the WSM water pans are finished the same way the other metal parts are, porcelain enameled, and so will be OK up to crazy temps not encountered in kettles or smokers.

270 C protection seems OK for many cook situations and all smoking sessions, obviously. You could also get a 304 SS cookie sheet for more heat resistance, yeah?

[Bubblehead]

Looks like a more usable and permanent version of these things.

https://smokettle.com/products/smokettle-225-d

[nolch01]

That looks like a cool idea.  What supports the pan, just the wall of the bowl or the 4 grate tabs?   Must be pretty stout thickness to hold liquid.


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[Donald McRonald]

Never seen that before, thanks for posting it @Bubblehead.

I'm assuming the 4 grate tabs support the pan as @nolch01 has mentioned.
The pros of that would be more volume for water and easy clean up after a cook.
One negative may be the upside of more volume causing the pan to slip off the tabs and leaving a wet mess on the briquettes.
Would be worth trying though.

[theduke]

I really dig this idea! I absolutely hate firing up the WSM for just a rack or two and wasting all that fuel. Do you notice you have to flip because of the added height putting the meat closer to the lid, or does that extra couple inches not make that much difference? Guessing the water pan / deflector helps as well. Thanks for this!

[Donald McRonald]

@theduke I've only ever cooked Beef Short Ribs and I've never had to flip the meat.
The slab of beef ribs I use are around the 2kgs mark.




The water pan definitely helps with the temp control and as I've mentioned the temp does seem to climb once the water runs out but I don't mind cooking at slightly higher temps; I suppose the temp averages out between 250-275 for the whole cook.

[theduke]

Ahhh I see..makes sense now. I’m with you on temps. Always shoot for 275 myself. Thanks again for the info!


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