Charcoal baskets and heat experiments

[Jammato]

because of a recent thread I decided I would open a thread with experiments on how I have tried to use the baskets and get heat I wanted

first experiment, Beer Can Chicken
target temp 375 f to 400 f for 90 minutes indirect heat

set up, 2 baskets, each basket has 15 Kingsford Blue Bag briquettes in half of them, a temporary damn was set up to hold the coals in place, And the inside vents of each basket are blocked. other set up is the area the charcoal grill not covered by the baskets are covered with foil.


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Anyway I started 15 coals a chimney and when they were ashed over I took 13 of them and put them in one basket and took the damn out

I then put the other two coals in the other basket and places a handful of woos chips on them, I then removed the dam and smkoe started almost immediately, so I added the chicken

next I closed the lid and it went up to 400, I used the top vent to control it and keep it no higher than 400

about every 15 minutes I would take a very quick look inside to check the baskets

the coals in basket # 1 burnt all the way across and was still going strong by 90 minutes

The coal in basket # 2 were not all the way across at 90 minutes but were very well lit and moving right along

the temp was easy to hold, only noticing a slight drop near 90 minutes

when I added a few chips I was putting them in both baskets 

the vent was set up so it was between the baskets, not over either one

At 90 minutes the chicken hit 180 and was removed, it had a great color, was very tender and juicy and delicious.

review. with one basket going I do not think I could have kept the temp even during the entire cook, Setting up #2 basket allowed me to have the extra power of this basket to kick in later and was a great place for smoke chips.
I am thinking of doing a lower temp cook using a variation of this method next weekend,
I think this is the base experiment. that will work to be used to try other amts of coals etc and times

[1buckie]

Good observations right there.......


I love a good experiment & your write-up is a great example....thanks !!!!

[BBcue-Z]

Check out my experiment:
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/2-beer-can-chickens-on-the-jj/

Used one basket and 1 chimney worth of charcoal and maintained the temp around 375-400 through out the cooking time, which was around 1 hr and 45 min.

Looking forward to seeing your results.

[WNC]

Hey thanks for the write up Jammamto! I started that other tread, you and others have put in some good info there too. It seems like I'm gonna just have to go ahead a start experimenting with these baskets.

Thanks again!

[Jammato]

Check out my experiment:
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/bbq-food-pics/2-beer-can-chickens-on-the-jj/

Used one basket and 1 chimney worth of charcoal and maintained the temp around 375-400 through out the cooking time, which was around 1 hr and 45 min.

Looking forward to seeing your results.

great, how many coals, what brand and how did you set up the grill?

[Jammato]

Hey thanks for the write up Jammamto! I started that other tread, you and others have put in some good info there too. It seems like I'm gonna just have to go ahead a start experimenting with these baskets.

Thanks again!

I started this thread so I would not hijack yours, I just wanted to set up a base so each time I changed I could say what was diferent and we could compare results.

BTW, 2 grillers will get different results from the same setup, so we need to list how we set everything up to compare



PS, we need to find some killer BBQ style smileys for this forum

[WNC]

I wouldn't have worried about the hijack, information is the goal. I'll do something with them tomorrow, just not sure how or what yet.

[Jammato]

I am doing a tri tip tonight, so I will post up also

[WNC]

Didn't want to hijack your thread either, so I just posted my first experiment in that original thread. Holding at 275  for the moment...

[Jammato]

so for Superbowl Sunday I did a tri tip

you cook a tri tip either of 2 ways, approach it as a Santa Maria Style BBQ or grill it like a steak

I used my steak method, sear and go indirect till I get 130 degrees internal

I used no foil on this, my target temperature range was 325 to 375, with 350 being optimal

I started 32 Kingsford blue bag briquettes and poured them into the 2 baskets evenly, I added 2 small chunks of wood to either side, set the grill grate and waited 5 minutes

I introduced the tri tip for the sear and seared both sides then took it off so I could move the baskets from center and use indirect heat

once the tri tip was back in the center I closed the lid and regulated the top vent till I was at 350, about half an hour into it I threw 3 unlit coals on either side.

The hood was opened a few times to mop the tri tip or add corn on the cob and some vegetables for grilling

The tri tip finished and I loaded 3 more coals on either side and a few apple wood chunks so the grill would remain hot till I came out in 45 minutes to roast a few Banana Bombs

When I came out I was at 375 so I lifted the hood and set the bombs directly over the baskets and got the desert grilled in 7 minutes

I think that I should have started with 38 coals at first, it would have been better than adding a few midpoint.
I think 38 coals will do a small roast very well, regular steaks will be around 30 as they do not need to roast as long over indirect heat.

[Jammato]

experiment # 3

THis one is about learning from our mistakes

I was trying for a 350 degree cook for about 3 hours

I set up the grill like experiment # 1 and set up the baskets different

[Jammato]

SO remove the small dam and the coals should touch the lit coals and burn around, in theory

[Jammato]

coals introduced, burning started

[Jammato]

so what went wrong

we had 25 coals in the minion, 12 on the other side, we started 25 coals and divided them between the 2 baskets
the one basket lit real well and we had 350 degrees with 1/3 bottom vents and about 2/5 top
however, tinfoil will not keep the heat from the lit coals not to transfer and light the minion, so the coals all lit and the temp started to climb quick
I had to choke the vents till I got back to 350, this took a bit of watching as lots of coals were fully ashing up quick

what I learned, we use thicker metal when we do this in Smokers so we have lett temperature crossing to unlit coals and they follow the snake path instead of  jumping it. Experiment # 1 was a good reliable cook, # 3 had to be monitored all the time, do not get me wrong, the food came out great, it is just we had to keep messing with it. Not like the ease that the fist came off.

Oh I did get my long cook, but it took having to keep an eye on the tenp and mess with the temp

Conclusion is just start from one side of the basket and let it burn across, do not try to get fancy

[Jammato]

now to try for a 225 degree cook, those experiments coming up