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My first experience with the Slow 'n Sear wasn't that great

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    My first experience with the Slow 'n Sear wasn't that great

    I did my first cookout with the SnS Saturday night at the bar. I started the charcoal with a full chimney starter. My homemade paraffin firestarters worked great, although they were tough to catch on fire. Dumped the first coals in and soon the indirect side was 350 and held that temperature for about 45 minutes. Outstanding! I'm doing chicken thighs so that's precisely what I want. This burn counts as the new grill grease burn-off as well as the test of temperature with a full load. The coals start burning down and it's time to add more. I add more unlit coals on top of the lit coals, using the Weber Premium's hinged grill. That hinge is totally worth the extra $50 for the Premium, it is an outstanding feature.

    However, my new Maverick thermometer said that the indirect side was down to 200! It wasn't going anywhere! I was baffled. I look in and the coals don't seem to be catching. I don't know what the problem is, all the vents are 100% open. Wait ten minutes, 180F on the indirect side. Hungry people are waiting. Chicken is 110-130 internal measured with my new Thermopop, no way it's ready. Ten more minutes, there is nothing happening. The temperature is not moving. Even the otherwise worthless grill-top thermometer, located right above the coals, is indicating 200 degrees. What's going on!?!?!

    All night long I had a terrible time keeping the fire hot. Based on the advice I got the last time I cooked chicken too cold, I needed to load in the coals to get the heat up. The SnS holds one full chimney, so I thought I was set. Maybe the SnS is only set up for one-time cooking, adding more coals isn't supposed to be done. But people do all day cooks all the time with it, what are they doing that I'm not?

    Furiously investigating after the 60 minute mark passes and the temp is stuck at 180. People are leaving the party, too hungry to wait. I start poking at the coal bed in the SnS and start removing all the coals, shaking the dust out, and putting the coals back in. Maybe this was causing the problem. However I've never read anything about having to clear out the clogged bottom of the thing. According to this page, "It takes over 8 hours but ash buildup will eventually start blocking the intake vents." This was my first cook in a brand new Weber.

    I also read somewhere that the water section should be left alone and you don't need to mess with it much. Well, it had to be refilled about once every half hour, the water came to a rolling boil and then disappeared. I don't get how water is not supposed to boil when it's next to a bunch of red-hot coals. At one point it boiled dry and then a grease fire started in there. I hope it doesn't affect the flavor of the food hereafter.

    The "sear" part of the SnS worked great. I flipped the hinged grill closed and crisped the chicken, although flareups from the chicken grease were a big problem. Some of the thighs were just bathed in flames. Moreover I was using a big metal bowl to store the chicken, and I put about 20 pieces in there and started serving. The six pieces at the bottom got soaked in an inch of liquid chicken fat, completely lost their crispness and went soggy like breakfast cereal. None of the books said anything about that. Hardly the SnS' fault but an unpleasant discovery nonetheless.

    #2
    Wow! Sorry to hear about your experience! First, when I am doing chicken or turkey, or pork loin, I'm going 350 for sure. But I never use the water trough for hotter cooks. The water will definitely keep your temps down. You are burning up a lot of energy warming up and boiling that water. With an SnS running dry, I can easily hold 350-375 for several hours.

    With the SnS, I only add unlit coals when I am doing low and slow. When you do hotter cooks, always add LIT coals.
    One thing you can do to keep a constant temp is dump in half a chimney of unlit coals into the SnS, then on top of that put in half a chimney of fully lit coals.

    Don't give up! You will get it.

    Comment


    • Lost in China
      Lost in China commented
      Editing a comment
      What! You're not supposed to fill it? Well damn. I thought adding water was the whole point of the SnS. It turns into steam, keeps the food moist, and helps the smoke to adhere. That was my understanding anyway.

    • Thunder77
      Thunder77 commented
      Editing a comment
      Always fill for low and slow. Hot and fast, You don't fill it.

    #3
    this is why we do test runs

    Comment


      #4
      1. Definitely no need to use water running hot for chicken. Constant addition of water, especially if it hasn't been preheated, will help bring temps down.

      I use to run a water pan in the firebox of my offset. I didn't have to worry about checking it visually, the increase in pit temp would let me know when it ran out.

      2. When adding unlit coals energy must be used to bring the kettle back up to temp. It's best to let the kettle keep running at 350 F and add fully lit coals for hot short cooks like chicken.

      3. Don't place meats high in fat directly above the water reservoir. The grease will drip in there and eventually catch fire once it gets hot enough.

      Comment


        #5
        Originally posted by Lost in China View Post
        My homemade paraffin firestarters[/URL] worked great, although they were tough to catch on fire.
        We live in a chronically windy location and I've always had trouble getting anything to light easily using matches or a butane lighter. I finally started using my pastry torch instead and problem solved! If you have one, give it a try ...

        Comment


          #6
          Are you using quality charcoal? Lump or Bricketts? One whole chimney of lit coals should easily do two sets of chicken cooks. Have you read the lighting instructions for Hot and Fast? http://www.abcbarbecue.com/slow-n-se...g-instructions
          Also in the manual it specifies not to use water for hot cooks. I could only imagine the reaction you were having trying to add water, I'm surprised you still have skin on your hands.

          Comment


          • KARB2014
            KARB2014 commented
            Editing a comment
            Also some of the other brands of cheap charcoal that I have used produce a huge amount of ash compared to Kingsford. You should sweep the ash every 1.5hrs just to be safe.

          • Lost in China
            Lost in China commented
            Editing a comment
            The SnS documentation specifically says not to use lump charcoal, only briquettes.

            After the first time when the coals didn't catch I added lit coals.

          • David Parrish
            David Parrish commented
            Editing a comment
            We recommend briquettes, but I've yet to run into a fuel you can use in a kettle that doesn't work in the SnS.

          #7
          Lost in China, I usually Shake the Ashes Down every 1 1/2 - 2 Hrs! If I don't I find the Temp will Drop! Also you may have to stir the Coals in the S 'n S to make sure they don't bridge!
          Eat Well and Prosper! From a Backyard Cremator in Fargo ND, Dan

          Comment


            #8
            Is it possible that the local charcoal produces more ash, and that's what caused your problem?

            Comment


              #9
              Lost in China Let us know how your second SnS/Kettle cook goes, now that you're armed with all of these smart tips.

              I bet it's going to be great!

              You were brave to invite folks to dinner on the virgin voyage of your SnS/Kettle combo. I'm still on the DL with my WSCG until I get the hang of it a bit better. My hat's off to you for tossing caution to the wind by inviting folks and giving it a try!

              Kahtryn

              Comment


              • Lost in China
                Lost in China commented
                Editing a comment
                It was either that or use my old crappy Chinese grill. And I was chomping at the bit to finally use my SnS. I just thought the SnS was a can't-fail thing. People rave about it, it's effortless to hold temperature, they win BBQ competitions against people with $25,000 trailer rigs.
                Last edited by Lost in China; July 22, 2016, 07:59 AM.

              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                Lost in China It is all the above, you'll get it down with another cook or so. Keep in mind too, as the website for the SnS says, the instr. are for Kingsford blue bag, YMMV with other types from your area.

              #10
              As a last resort, check out the instructions on ABCbarbecue.com, the home of the Slow 'N Sear. Both lighting instructions and the techniques/recipes for the main BBQ meats are on there.

              Comment


              • PBCDad
                PBCDad commented
                Editing a comment
                Last resort?

              • Lost in China
                Lost in China commented
                Editing a comment
                I read the documentation that came with the unit when it shipped. I didn't realize there was much more online. I never do anything the easy way...

              • Huskee
                Huskee commented
                Editing a comment
                PBCDad You know the old funny saying, as a last resort, read the directions... Lol.

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