Got bored of the pellet smoker so i made something objectively worse with a tremendous amount more effort. Pork shoulder smoked for as long as i could tolerate babysitting it (6-7 hours @ an inconsistent 200ish°F???). Post oak and lump charcoal. It didn't fall apart but i just threw it into the dutch oven with Hatch red chile, etc. Made for good tacos. I'm sure I'll try the snake method or something sillier next time. Hey, r/smoking, I'm new here!
by StevieKealii
28 Comments
Welcome to the REAL pit master club.
Buy a slow n sear and enjoy much easier long cooks on the Webber.
How does it taste worse?
Chuds Bbq has several decent Weber kettle smoking videos on youtube. Might be helpful to check them out. He is an offset guy typically.
You will not regret the purchase and you will have more smoke flavor.
Easy to smoke with slow and sear or the snake methods. I bought a spider venom that I use with the slow and sear. It works amazing.
Great choice! I bought my Weber Kettle a few years ago when I was in college and have been smoking on it ever since. Without a doubt some of the best money I’ve spent.
I think once you get a few more cooks on it under your belt, you’ll find the extra effort is worth it compared to a pellet smoker. It just takes some time to figure out your vents.
I use a thermometer that connects to my phone via Bluetooth with customizable notifications for temperature. It takes some of the constant babysitting out of it and makes it a little easier to do other things while cooking.
Hardly use my longhorn reverse flow anymore. Weber 22″ to lay down hickory (on beef) pecan (on fish) and mesquite for some fajitas and thin pork chops. Brisket gets 2-3hrs of Weber goodness with hickory chunks in the charcoal baskets, minion style lit on one end. Then goes in the oven for a good ole TX crutch. Repeatable, delicious. You’ll get the hang of it and cook everything on it in a year. Be patient and keep eating…
I got rid of my traeger for a Yoder pellet. It was more problematic than the traeger. I bought a $92 Expert charcoal grill and had fun and good results so I upgraded to a 22″ kettle. Did a snake method and never looked back. Dumped the Yoder and bought a 26″ for larger projects.
Snake method is your friend
that final pic tho
That’s all I use.they are great 👍
Learn the minion method and you’ll make tasty food again with minimal effort. Just create a snake of charcoal and put the meat in the middle. Snake of charcoal burns slowly so you don’t need to babysit it (unless it runs out).
Edit: The real reason the kettle is cool is the million different attachments you can get for it, it’s like the Swiss Army knife of grills. Pizza oven, rotisserie, Weber Gormet stuff etc.. they are awesome fun. I still want to make a Tandor attachment by cutting the bottom of a clay plant pot and putting it on the Weber and cook tasty tandoori chicken and naan bread.
Your post seems very random and reactionary. But straight up the Weber kettle is a kick ass piece of equipment. I don’t cook on one now, but I did for years. I’ll go to the mat on this: You can do any style of grilling, smoking, or BBQ on a Weber kettle and get great results. There is no other single piece of equipment that is both as good and as versatile.
Honestly a traeger and a kettle is an amazing duo to have. Often times I’ll smoke something on the traeger and then sear it on the kettle. Or if I’m doing a large load of wings I’ll do the traeger and kettle with a vortex in tandem for more cooking space.
Once you work out the snake method you’ll be away. I personally found that the often recommended 8-10 coals to start the snake cause the temp to get to high from the off and reducing that temp is far more difficult. I add 4 or 5 max. It just means waiting for about 30mins for it to get to temp.
Snake method works great for weber kettle
If your plan is to smoke things at least semi-regularly on your Weber I’d suggest looking into a slow-n-sear. I love mine. It really helps getting a steady temp and has a reservoir to add humidity.
This is the way, good for you
Snake works well for me. I don’t babysit it for 6 hours, I just sit there when the smoke first starts cause I like the smell and then I go about my business, checking back every hour just to make sure temp is still good
I love the kettle’s versatility
Edit: I got the larger diameter kettle too, can fit 3-4 ribs
Snake method my man!
https://preview.redd.it/bxjt1aclfgaf1.jpeg?width=6144&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66141b9a764846eb98ea4b97c6df2462869994ec
I use a slow n sear with a spider grills venom and it is about as set it and forget it as you can get with charcoal.
Welcome to the Kettle Club, you’ll get it honed in eventually. Did you use a third party thermometer to measure the ambient temperature? The thermometer built in to my Weber reads 400+ when it’s actually around 275 so my first couple of cooks were awful
https://preview.redd.it/jeqf1j8qhgaf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e9b3fc787d8dad711ec314410282ae2fb9b7008
It’s as easy as it can be once you’re done getting used to it.
200 way too low. Pork shoulder should literally rip apart. Try 275 next time.
I’ve smoked on all manner of rigs and my best results always come off the kettle. The snake method works great and requires no purchase. Wanna go nuts, get a FireBoard and fan and you can go completely hands off on temp management. A slow n’ sear makes things easy too. Best of luck!
“I made something objectively worse with a tremendous amount more effort” is such a smoking vibe. I might base my personality on it from now on.
I just started smoking on my 22 Weber. Snake the coals, water pan (not seeing one in the picture) and using the vents to regulate temps as needed. Open vents if you need more temp. If you need to drop temp, close them. Check about once an hour and you’ll be good.