HELP! How do you take the water out of the SnS reservoir without removing it?!?

[KevinInStL]

So I’m trying to smoke a chuck roast and a rack of StL ribs on my kettle with lump in the SnS. Fire has been in the kettle with the lid closed for probably more than a half hour and the grill temp is only 170-175 still. It’s windy and probably 40*F outside. I made a chicken earlier this week in similar weather and the grill was up to 300 within 15 minutes. The only difference is today I put water in the SnS reservoir.

How do I get the water out of the reservoir without disrupting the charcoal? If I remove the reservoir all the charcoal will fall into that space and I won’t be able to put the empty reservoir back in. I like it there as a temp buffer.

I thought of a turkey blaster or injection syringe, but I don’t own either of those.

Help!

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[KevinInStL]

Nevermind I got it with a bunch of paper towels. Had to pull them out with the tongs to avoid scalding myself. Waste of paper but I don't have any towles nasty enough to throw away right now. What a clusterf..... Good thing my wife is out of town,  so I'm only cooking for myself. And I have other meat I can have for dinner.

Now I see why most people say they never put water in their SnS reservoirs.


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[TheKevman]

Glad it worked! I would’ve gone with the turkey baster myself.


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[bbqlvr]

I’m curious if you put boiling water in the reservoir at beginning of cook if that would have made a difference.
Any thoughts?

[kettlebb]

Or opened the vents more for more airflow?


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[KevinInStL]

All vents were fully open the whole time. And yeah I used boiling water.


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[KevinInStL]

I ended up putting 2 firebricks ( standing on their long edge) near the hinged edge of the SnS. To replace the thermal mass of the water I took out, and also to protect the meats from the radiant heat that always seem to make my edges come out a little overdone. Also had to refuel early due to the continued high winds and steadily dropping outdoor temp.

Nonetheless, still ended up with my best rack of ribs so far!

The Chuck roast is still in there in the stall

I'm considering wrapping it anyway and bringing it in to finish in the oven. I don't care if anyone calls it cheating. Im getting sick of going out in this cold and wind.

How much longer till Spring?

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[bbqlvr]

I know a little bit of the trials and tribulations of cooking long cooks in cold weather being from Ontario, Canada and all.  Lots and lots of fuel.  I’ve pretty much resorted to using my 1/4” thick steel stick burner in those situations.  It helps.  Wind is a bitch.  I’ve resorted to blocking in cookers with rigid insulation at times which helped somewhat.  Best outfit was in an old insulated wood shed.  Just kept the door open. 
Anyhow, no shame in finishing in oven.  Especially if it’s picked up some flavour from the charcoal.
Good luck.

[Firemunkee]

I haven't had any problems coming low and slow with my SnS 1.0. It sounds like you also had a lot of meat on there. That coupled with the wind probably means more hot coals would be needed to get to the target temp. Also it isn't cheating finishing in the oven after you've gotten all the smoke flavor you need, it is charcoal fuel savings!

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[bamakettles]

Wind makes a huge difference IME. I place my kettle on the side of the deck that is the calmest which helps the coals breathe better.


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[Lomey]

It's not cheating finishing in the oven.  At that point you are just adding heat to the meat regardless of where it comes from.  I'm glad things worked out for you.

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[jhagestad]

Brutal situation to be in, but you kept your head and managed it well! I've gotten temps up to 350 with water in the pan, so it's possible - probably needed more time to get the temps up with the vents wide open. I've seen people use hair dryers to blow air onto their coals to really get em going - if you find you like the water buffer, that might work for you?

[hawgheaven]

Personally, water + BBQ = AAGGGHHH!! I never use water... the water pans in my vertical smokers have become heat baffles. In your case, the paper towels were your friend...

[jhagestad]

Personally, water + BBQ = AAGGGHHH!!

AKA the Law of [A]quadratic Reciprocity

[Dc_smoke309]

Personally, water + BBQ = AAGGGHHH!! I never use water... the water pans in my vertical smokers have become heat baffles. In your case, the paper towels were your friend...

When I first started grilling and smoking I used water . Soon realized it did nothing for me personally . Except make more steps . I never use water and everything turns out fine


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