Why I like the Slow & Sear XL: my first three cooks

[bcostlow]

All -

First off, I had huge issues with springing for the XL size because who pays that much for a five pound hunk of metal? (I was wrong, but I'll get to that).

I decided on the XL because I hope to one day pick up the weber kamado-kettle and didn't want to go through the pain of buying the XL and having a small S&S that I wouldn't be using any more.

What I've found:
1. My weber kettle gets hotter faster than before - I can get to 500 in less than a half hour - bear in mind that I'm in Texas and the temp that day was around 98 with very little wind. That said, the design of the S&S enhances airflow through the charcoal (using Kingsford blue bag) and I really like that.
2. Reverse sear is so much easier when using a full XL slow & Sear because the coals are right under the grate.
3. Last week I used it to smoke a rack of St Louis ribs - result was not bad - I had trouble keeping temps below 275 but I believe I can get it dialed in better as I work with it. Bear in mind it was another hot Texas day. Ribs were passable but not my best. Still, I see a lot of poential, especially since the remaining water didn't mold up (I got distracted and didn't empty the water for three days - no ick to clean up: just dumped it out and gave it a rinse.
4. Lasst night I cooked a couple of crab stuffed portabellos with cheese. I put the shrooms in at about 200, let the grill temp zoom to 500 and then closed the vents. I let the shrooms sit in the closed grill for another 15 minutes before removing them: perfectly done and I saved a bit of charcoal.

Is it worth the price of a weber kettle at $145? Only if you already have a grill and are looking to step up your game. For me, it was a great step and I'm glad I bought it.

Bill

[bcostlow]

Folks, just a note: I see there's a section for toys and I should have posted there. Won't happen again.

Bill

[fuzzydaddy]

No problem and thanks for the heads up! I just moved it to Accessories > Kettle Accessories.

[fuzzydaddy]

I have the SnS XL and baked some cornbread on my 26" a couple of days ago and hit 400 in about 20 minutes. I agree on the searing. I recently seared a flank steak and it was easy.

For low 'n' slow here's what I do (hope there's something here that helps you):
I light 12 briquets in the corner (stacked as tall as I can get them) and when they are ashed over, add a chimney+ of unlit.
I put the lid on and set the top vent full open and bottom 1/2 open.
At 150-175 top vent 1/3 open and bottom 1/4 open.
I try to not adjust the bottom any more at this point and make all adjustments with the top. By keeping the bottom at 1/4 open it helps to avoid ash blocking.
I let the temp come up slowly to ~225 to avoid getting too many briquets going.
Also, I have 4 binder clips I add to the lid if it's leaking.

After I learned my kettle this procedure has worked well for me on my 22" and 26". You'll get it dialed in! I have sharpie marks on my ash catcher for closed - 1/4 open - 1/2 open - 3/4 open - and full open.

Your crab stuffed portobellos sound delicious.

[bcostlow]

Binder clips? Can you share a link? Not sure what those are. Thank you for sharing your technique on controlling temperatures in the weber kettle - Having the WSM appears to have prevented me from fully developing the use of my performer. I've actually been using the holes under the ash collector to gauge airflow - three holes equals fully open but the marker method will doubtless be more accurate since it allows smaller increments.

[fuzzydaddy]

bcostlow Here's the clip and a photo with them on my 22". Edit to add: I used this size since I already had them. If I were buying new, I would look at a larger size.