New to Charcoal & Weber

[hector879]

Hello!  My name is Hector. I'm new to charcoal and to Weber. I recently bought my first kettle, a Master-Touch, from Facebook Marketplace for $80. New and never been used. I have yet to pick it up, (it's 3 hours away, so my sister in law picked it up for me as she lives 10 minutes from the seller). I have bought everything I will need to cook besides the meat.  I have 10 bags of Stubbs charcoal briquettes, 2 bags of regular Kingsford, and 3 bags of Kingsford Pro. All of these were on sale for about half price. I also have 2 chimneys, lighter cubes, charcoal rake, and various other Weber accessories that I was able to pick up on clearance at Walmart recently.

So, now that I've run down my inventory Lol, I'll tell you about myself. Married 19 years this summer. 2 kids, 17 & 14. Want to start trying to master the art of charcoal grilling. Have never done more than burgers, dogs, and brats on a gas grill. Want to venture to brisket, pork butt, ribs, etc. I have learned much online, but have not been able to actually put it to use yet. My first cook will likely be something easy that I already mentioned, just to light up the kettle. My wife is excited because when I grill this summer that means that she won't have to worry about planning supper. I'm eager to learn, and also a little nervous. I don't want to buy expensive meat only to screw it up and make it not edible. Open to advice and tips and tricks. I follow How to BBQ Right (Malcom Reed) on Youtube and am a member of a couple groups on Facebook that I try to learn from as much as I can. Happy to be a part of this group and look forward to learning from other members. Cheers!

[toolhead]

congrats and welcome.
i always recommend to grill chx wings for first timer.
use indirect method..baskets on outer side of the kettle.

line up wings indirect cook method so large joint side of drumsticks are on the charcoal basket side.

indirect at max vent opening for 40 mins

then direct sear for a few mins

easy way to get indirect cooking down and you will love the color that the wings catch after the 40 mins of indirect.

no need to open prior to 40 mins

[michaelmilitello]

Welcome from Plainfield Indiana!  Lotsa great resources here!


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[JEBIV]

Welcome from Doraville,Ga. It appears you did your homework and got most everything you need. Get use to your grill with your burgers and such. Bone in skin on chicken is another good easy cook. Once you start moving on to other proteins get yourself an instant read thermo, should help you from over cooking the more expensive cuts, one more thing have fun!!!

[RRRanger99]

Welcome from Virginia Beach, VA.

[hector879]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yeah I forgot to mention chicken wings! I'm anxious to cook those as well. They seem like an easy enough cook that I can't screw up. I do have an instant read thermometer. Just a cheapy from Walmart, but it does the trick for now. In time I'll hopefully pick up a thermoworks Chef Alarm, Vortex, Slow N Sear, Kettle Pizza, and other accessories like this. I want to get the full potential out of my Kettle and make it a regular tool I use to cook. I think for this summer I'll start out just getting to know my Master-Touch. I also thought about setting up an empty snake a couple times and experimenting with trying to get my temperatures right for smoking, 225°-300° or so. See where I have to get my vents for what temperature, etc. Who knows, maybe I'll try a brisket for the 4th of July if I feel adventurous enough!

And by the way, forgot to mention I'm from Napoleon, Ohio (Northwest Ohio)


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[toolhead]

id leave yourself a lot of headroom for a full packet brisket.

i also highly recommend making the move on the brisket.

18lb packer ..on the smoker at 9pm

ready to serve at 7:30 pm the next day (includes cooler rest time for 2hrs).

absolutely delicious brisket was eaten for the next several days

[brewtownbeatdown]

Welcome to the club!!!

Greetings from Greendale, WI.  Sounds like you're getting well prepped for grilling success.  I agree tag you'd be better off starting with familiar proteins until you get the feel of 'er.  I will say, that once you get good using direct/indirect zones & the snake method, you'll be well on the way to cooking anything of the kettle. 


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[Lowbrass]

Welcome from St. Louis, MO!  This is a great group of friends, more like family at times!  Don't be shy with any questions you have!

[pancho2017]

Welcome aboard!

[ste6168]

You found the right place, but more importantly, one of the best grills available!


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[hector879]

Well, my Master Touch will be delivered tomorrow. Excited to get it. But, today I found a WSM 18" for $100! I had to get it. She's been used so definitely needs a good cleaning so it feels new to me. I've gone from no Weber's to now owning two! This addiction sure grows fast! 🤷🏽‍♂️


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[Mr.CPHo]

Well, my Master Touch will be delivered tomorrow. Excited to get it. But, today I found a WSM 18" for $100! I had to get it. She's been used so definitely needs a good cleaning so it feels new to me. I've gone from no Weber's to now owning two! This addiction sure grows fast! 🤷🏽‍♂️

Weberitis strikes again!  Congrats on a great deal.


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[1spacemanspiff]

Welcome from Doraville,Ga. It appears you did your homework and got most everything you need. Get use to your grill with your burgers and such. Bone in skin on chicken is another good easy cook. Once you start moving on to other proteins get yourself an instant read thermo, should help you from over cooking the more expensive cuts, one more thing have fun!!!

Welcome from NorCal.  Learning indirect cooking and using and instant read thermo where game changers for me (I used to be the guy that over cooked EVERYTHING).  Thermoworks is having an open box sale on their smoke.  This thermo will teak you the temp at the cooking grate and the team of your protein.