Weber Charcoal Barbecue
- Thread starter Luc
- Start date
The only problem I have with the WSM is I can build a pit barrel smoker for less than $100, and still have $200 left over for several really good thermometers- the most important component of smoking
I have a Weber Genesis gasser that is almost 10 years old and still nearly perfect, plus a Weber kettle and Smokey Joe. I love Weber, you really can't go wrong with any of their offerings, IMHO.
I built a mini WSM for ~$100, it doesn't have as much capacity as a barrel smoker but this is portable!
Mini WSM Smoker by cxg231, on Flickr
That looks good, Chris. Perfect for camping.
I built a mini WSM for ~$100, it doesn't have as much capacity as a barrel smoker but this is portable!
Mini WSM Smoker by cxg231, on Flickr
Nice!
I did something similar with my Kettle for a big party last year.. But I did it super-cheap -- under ten bucks for a piece of sheet metal, two handles and a few L brackets to hold the grates. Worked great for several layers of ribs. Plan on using it again this year a few times....
Not as portable though....
There are so many ways to mod or accessorize a Weber. I use the Smokenator insert for my smoking needs. That Vortex looks neat as well. I also have the iron grates but seldom use them. That being said, I can't wait for my gasser *** to give up the ghost so I can buy a Weber gas grill.
I love the Weber Kettle. It truly does not get better than a Weber kettle.
Besides all the wonderful qualities of the grill, itself, you also have Weber customer service and warranty. It's a 10-year warranty on those babies. At about nine years and eleven months after buying a Weber kettle, I called them because mine was rusting out a little and the brackets that held up the bottom grate had all but gone away. The response was something along the lines of "oh, we'll take care of that. How is the . . . ." By " . . . .", I mean that the lady went through each and every part of that grill, asking about the condition. When I told her it was getting rough, she said they would replace it. Essentially, I got a brand new Weber Kettle for free (including shipping) nearly ten years into a ten-year warranty.
If you ever see me buying another brand while they have this policy in place, you'll know that I am under alien mind control.
Besides all the wonderful qualities of the grill, itself, you also have Weber customer service and warranty. It's a 10-year warranty on those babies. At about nine years and eleven months after buying a Weber kettle, I called them because mine was rusting out a little and the brackets that held up the bottom grate had all but gone away. The response was something along the lines of "oh, we'll take care of that. How is the . . . ." By " . . . .", I mean that the lady went through each and every part of that grill, asking about the condition. When I told her it was getting rough, she said they would replace it. Essentially, I got a brand new Weber Kettle for free (including shipping) nearly ten years into a ten-year warranty.
If you ever see me buying another brand while they have this policy in place, you'll know that I am under alien mind control.
Cool video, thanks for sharing it. I went to a Weber Kettle when my nice big propane grill's burners all died and the vaporizer bars, vaporized. It would have cost me over $100 just to replace the parts so I fired up the Charcoal and haven't turned back.
Great mods!
I love my Weber charcoal kettle. Been using nothing but for about 20 years. I cook the Thanksgiving turkey on it every year. Takes about 3 hours and gets a lot of good smoke flavor. I have a separate Weber that I put a device that controls the air flow to regulate the temperature so that I can do real smoking at 225 degrees. Saint Louis style ribs are amazing as is smoke salmon. I will add some pictures later.
+1, will own nothing else!
It been raining too much for me to get my Weber back out since I put it up cause of the storms we had in DFW.
That is why I like my carport. I can grill 365 days a year. I grilled on Sunday, and we got hammered that day
I had never used a Weber before, I have had a variety of cheap BBQs in the past, always charcoal though. Back in Sept 2013 we were in France at the house and the local Bricomarche had baby Webers on sale at EUR99, so I thought it rude not to get one.
This is the proud owner having successfully put the thing together and later that day cooking some lamb chops...
One thing I have discovered though is the charcoal in France is pretty rubbish. The first bag I bought was 50% powder.
- Thread starter
- #38
Time to bump this thread back up!
Okay, so far the experience is going very well. I installed a temperature gauge on the Weber as I did not have one. I seems to be cooking between 200F and 300F mainly as I do many slow roasts (ribs, pulled pork, roasted chicken, brisket, etc).
I was looking at the vortex and it seems like a good idea. I will try and see if I can't get or make something similar as those seem to be easy to get in the US but I haven't found a place within Canada that has a good price.
My main method to cook is to use the snake where I light up a small quantity of coal (1/5 of my chimney) and then put a pan half filled with water. I drop the coals on the right and add unlit coals around the aluminum pan filled with water. I'm usually good for 4-5 hours. I have to play with the vents under to get to the right temperature. I like 225F for the internal temperature. I turn the lid to have the top vent in opposite direction of the fire so I give it a little turn every 30-60 mins in order to follow the fire.
So far, I tried applewood, pecan, mesquite and cherrywood. Pecan is a favourite as I can easily use it with either chicken, pork or beef.
Okay, so far the experience is going very well. I installed a temperature gauge on the Weber as I did not have one. I seems to be cooking between 200F and 300F mainly as I do many slow roasts (ribs, pulled pork, roasted chicken, brisket, etc).
I was looking at the vortex and it seems like a good idea. I will try and see if I can't get or make something similar as those seem to be easy to get in the US but I haven't found a place within Canada that has a good price.
My main method to cook is to use the snake where I light up a small quantity of coal (1/5 of my chimney) and then put a pan half filled with water. I drop the coals on the right and add unlit coals around the aluminum pan filled with water. I'm usually good for 4-5 hours. I have to play with the vents under to get to the right temperature. I like 225F for the internal temperature. I turn the lid to have the top vent in opposite direction of the fire so I give it a little turn every 30-60 mins in order to follow the fire.
So far, I tried applewood, pecan, mesquite and cherrywood. Pecan is a favourite as I can easily use it with either chicken, pork or beef.
- Thread starter
- #39
Here's the snake method that I used on the Weber.
First picture shows the coal (not briquettes) that are placed around the weber with a small quantity of coals that are lit on the right. In the middle I have an aluminum pan filled with water only. I placed my wood chunks on top around the BBQ.
Second picture shows how it looks like before I closed the lid. To the piece of meat is placed over the pan. I normally have enough water for the whole session. I place my vents opposite to the burning coal. I turn the lid every 30-60 mins a bit to follow the snake.
I've been using this method for a few sessions now without any issues. It works really well. I'm wondering if I should not turn the pan the other way (horizontal instead of vertical or make it go from left to right instead of a side to the middle of the Weber). Maybe lighting half the BBQ instead of going in a circle is a better method? To be continued.
First picture shows the coal (not briquettes) that are placed around the weber with a small quantity of coals that are lit on the right. In the middle I have an aluminum pan filled with water only. I placed my wood chunks on top around the BBQ.
Second picture shows how it looks like before I closed the lid. To the piece of meat is placed over the pan. I normally have enough water for the whole session. I place my vents opposite to the burning coal. I turn the lid every 30-60 mins a bit to follow the snake.
I've been using this method for a few sessions now without any issues. It works really well. I'm wondering if I should not turn the pan the other way (horizontal instead of vertical or make it go from left to right instead of a side to the middle of the Weber). Maybe lighting half the BBQ instead of going in a circle is a better method? To be continued.
Attachments
I used mine in the Garage and just everywhere else.
