Charcoal fail

Sorry for the long post in advance:


The maiden voyage on my Weber kettle was a complete failure!

I just recently received my new Weber and chimney.

I had never used a chimney starter before so google how to use a chimney and found an article on the Weber website:

http://www.weber.com/weber-nation/blog/how-to-use-a-chimney-starter

I followed that to a T

Got it to 500* and started to adjust the vents to get it to 400* (I read somewhere else that was a good temp to cook burgers at)

Got it to about 375* thought that was good enough.

Threw on my burgers 12-1/2lbs patties

The temp rapidly dropped and the grill stayed at about 200* for 45 minutes or so. And just warmed the patties

Luckily I was at my parents house and I decided to just throw them on their gas grill to finish

I did close the vents quite a bit to help cool it off from 500*

Did I snuff out the coals? Or what do you guys think the problem could be?

I used Kingsford briquettes FWIW it's the only thing Walmart had and didn't feel like running around looking for lump charcoal

Sounds like you snuffed it out. When doing burgers and steaks, you want the higher temp to sear the meat.

Nothing wrong with briquettes instead of lump. You actually get a more consistent burn with them. I would say you damped it down to much. For burgers and steak I would leave the vents wide open. If going for lower temps close the vents 1/4 to start and adjust slowly from there. 6 pounds of burgers are also gonna suck up a lot of heat especially if frozen.

Kingsford is an absolutely perfectly fine charcoal.
When I grill, I get it hot and put the food on, move it away from the center if it's getting near done, then take it off when it's cooked.
I make no attempt to regulate the heat with vents whatsoever.

I really have no idea exactly what you did...but if I had to guess, I would bet that your bottom vent was closed. This is over looked all the time (I still do it from time to time). We all get so focused on adjusting the top vent on a Weber that we forget about the bottom vent. You can have your top vent wide open...but, if you don't have air flowing through the bottom, then you cut off the oxygen flow to the fire. I might be wrong, but if I had to guess.

Just put those hot briquettes under the grate of the Weber. Immediately after throw the meat onto the top of the hot grate. Sizzling should be heard immediately upon application. Little flames and smoke will then be seen and heard. Don't be alarmed by wonderful juicy sounds and smells. After a few minutes flip them suckers over. Cook another 3 or 4 minutes right over those hot coals. Remove and serve.

...total cook time...10 to 12 minutes.

Sounds like what was said above...snuffed out the charcoal. Did you let it burn enough so that it started to turn to grey ash on the top of the briquettes? Once the charcoal gets going it should burn just fine. Like Phil said...Kingsford has been around forever...for a reason.

6 pounds of meat will bring the temp. down, for a bit until the grill catches back up...leave the vents wide open. Just keep an eye on the burgers. You could also just leave the lid off and grill them that way. If you start to get some flames from the grease dripping use a squirt bottle of water. I've never used a squirt bottle...I just put the lid down. Putting the lid on will help keep the grease flames quenched.

Since you've never used charcoal before...no worries. Next time just give it some more air. That's a good excuse to try about 4 more burgers tomorrow.

DoctorShavegood said:

Just put those hot briquettes under the grate of the Weber. Immediately after throw the meat onto the top of the hot grate. Sizzling should be heard immediately upon application. Little flames and smoke will then be seen and heard. Don't be alarmed by wonderful juicy sounds and smells. After a few minutes flip them suckers over. Cook another 3 or 4 minutes right over those hot coals. Remove and serve.

...total cook time...10 to 12 minutes.

Click to expand...

Follow this exactly. Don't money around with the vents, run them wide open. Burgers are forgiving, and people are hungry.

Commander Quan said:

Follow this exactly. Don't money around with the vents, run them wide open. Burgers are forgiving, and HUNGRY PEOPLE AREN'T FORGIVING AT ALL.

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Slight change to emphasis...

^ Especially my wife

I agree with some of the comments about dampening to much. When I first started I was closing vents and poof no heat. The chimney is perfect for lighting and I use a larger barrel style grill, I doubt the kettle is any different.

I usually leave the vents wide open the whole time cooking burgers. I cook the bubba burgers on a regular basis and they come out great.

I've tried lump and Kingsford, I like the flavor from lump but I get the kingsford on sale so cheap at the end of the season I stock up. Lowe's runs two 20lb bags for $9.99 sales at least once a year. I usually have at least 4 to 6 bags in my shed.

My wife says charcoal tastes the best and I don't turn stuff into hockey pucks anymore.

Cook on!
-Stephen

luvmysuper said:

Kingsford is an absolutely perfectly fine charcoal.
When I grill, I get it hot and put the food on, move it away from the center if it's getting near done, then take it off when it's cooked.
I make no attempt to regulate the heat with vents whatsoever.

Click to expand...

+1. The only time I use vents to regulate the heat is when I am using a smoker. I frequently flip the burgers and put them at a cooler spot to keep thm warm.

ackvil said:

+1. The only time I use vents to regulate the heat is when I am using a smoker. I frequently flip the burgers and put them at a cooler spot to keep thm warm.

Click to expand...

THIS.

Set up your grill with a cool zone (an area with no coals), so you can move food around if it's burning/flaring up. I usually only put the coals under half of the grate. Run both vents full open for burgers, steaks, pork, etc.
For chicken cook indirect. Ditto for fish.

Congratulations on your new adventure!

I have a Weber kettle. You may have not let the coals burn long enough. (Been there) Lump or bricketts are easy to work with. The most consistent fire I have found is good old Kingsford. Also, with closing the vents you snuff out the fire. It smothers itself. Being a cheap guy. After the food is off the grill I close all vents. Even if I can only save a 5th of them I am happy. I reuse them. It takes a little practice to learn your grill. A good rule of thumb is to have the coals covered with ash before you dump them in the grill. You want them all burning at a minimum. Then you can arrange them how you prefer. I bank all coals on one side. This allows me a hot zone, medium and indirect area.
I would suggest you invest in a short handled hoe to arrange your fire.

There are some great videos on you tube in how to arrange your coals.

The big dog needs some air. Keep the vents open and the coals hot. Enjoy.

Remember you are broiling, that's a radiant heat process. Ambient temperature captured in the kettle is not exactly definitive that's more about roasting or baking.

[MENTION=106222]SlyMoose[/MENTION] I just did a T-bone steak for Fathers Day on my Weber Kettle. I paid extra attention to how I set it up, so I could give you the step-by-step:

I filled top section of the starter chimney with Kingsford briquettes.
Took two pieces of newspaper, sprayed them lightly with Pam. (can use any cooking oil)
Crumpled them lightly and stuffed 'em in the bottom section of the chimney.
Place the chimney on the charcoal grate of the grill and lit it off.
Wait until the briquettes are all grey and covered in ash -- about 20 minutes.
Dump in a pile on one side of the kettle (I use bricks to contain them to one side) -- that gives me a hot and cool zone.
Put cooking rack in place.
Leaving the vents wide open -- top and bottom -- cover the grill, being careful to position the top vent directly over the coals.
Let heat up covered for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes the grill should be rocket hot. Place food on the hot side and cook covered (now with top vents opposite from the coals), moving meat to the cooler side to reduce flareups, or to cook indirect once enough sear is on the meat. Try to reduce how often you open the lid. I usually set a timer for 2 minute intervals.

The T-Bone -- about 1-1/4 inches thick: placed on grate, covered grill and set timer for 2 minutes, rotated steak 45 degrees, another 2 minutes, checked char (wasn't enough), 2 minutes, flipped, 2 minutes, rotated 45 degrees, 2 minutes, checked doneness, moved to indirect for 1 minute, removed, and rested for 5 minutes. Ate it all up!
Came out almost perfectly medium rare.

Obviously burgers and steak are different, but hopefully this gives you a good idea of the "process".

I have found that with my smokey joe, the lid sometimes needs to be cracked to keep the heat up (with both top and bottom vents full open). I usually use ~2/3 full chimney in it as any more is a waste! Not sure what size weber OP has, but I imagine it varies from one size to the next.

I cannot add much than what it was said above.

I wouldn't play with the vents if I'm cooking direct. Make sure you make a direct and indirect zone. The way Weber shows it on their website is okay but there's a better way to do it. A full Chimney of coal is a lot of coal. I normally use 12 briquettes for 2 steaks. I use 3 pages (or 2 depending on the size) of newspaper to start my fire. I use a chimney, put the briquettes, light the fire and wait a good 20 minutes (with my 12 briquettes). I then dump them on one side of the BBQ. That's my direct zone. They are not against the wall but they are down there with a single or 2 briquettes layer.

Put the grill back on, lid on and wait a bit for the temperature to be stable but it doesn't take long. If you split your direct zone like weber shows, you will end up with a weaker direct zone. As soon as I did my fire on one side and the indirect cooking on the other side, it was much better.

Meat on 3-5 mins per side, move to the indirect zone if required. You could even cook without the lid as you are cooking directly over the coals. If you were doing a long smoke or cook a whole chicken, then I could cook it indirect (as mentioned above) and for 45-60 mins (and use more coal).