I scanned this entire sub-forum and didn't see anything about what I'm looking for. Keep in mind, I'm still new to charcoal grilling/smoking and I'm learning as I go. This forum has been an awesome resource so far but every once in a while I find that I have a question that hasn't been addressed in the forums I've read thus far.
I have the Weber 22 kettle Performer (1/2 table, not the full limousine rig) and the SnS. The SnS works great when I'm just cooking a couple steaks/pork chops/burgers for the wife and myself. But if I want to cook MORE at a high/fast cook, I find I'm having trouble maintaining a decent heat for long enough to get the job done. Say I'm doing a cookout where lots of burgers or dogs/brats are going to need to be cooked and I don't have time to cook stuff 2 or 3 items at a time over the SnS. What got me thinking about this was last night - I bought a bunch of pork belly and short ribs at the Korean grocery and I wanted to cook them all at once for the week's dining. Pork belly strips take up a lot of space and the limited room over the SnS isn't adequate.
So I used a full chimney and it was enough to cover about 1/3 of the coal grate. The temp was hot enough for the short ribs, but it fell as I transitioned to the pork belly, and I had to do the pork belly in 3 batches over the coals (second and 3rd batches were 'warming' on the indirect side.) The fire really started to peter out and each batch took longer than the one before.
So, I was thinking about ways that this would work better next time around, or if I were to do a cookout for a big gathering where I'd be manning a mostly open grill for a long time. Do I need more coals? Do I need a larger chimney? I'm using the standard Weber chimney. How do I manage fuel? Do I use two chimneys and dump the coals in all at once? Do I dump one chimney in and spread them around then put unlit coals on top of them? Would that cause an excess of unwanted smoke, having lit coals and unlit coals going at the same time?
Is there some accessory that acts like a second coal grate, only higher than the stock grate? Maybe if I get the coal grate for the 26" Kettle and lay it over? Would that be TOO close? I saw the suggestion of putting bricks under the coal grate to lift it up, but I'd rather not do that if I don't have to.
I have the Weber 22 kettle Performer (1/2 table, not the full limousine rig) and the SnS. The SnS works great when I'm just cooking a couple steaks/pork chops/burgers for the wife and myself. But if I want to cook MORE at a high/fast cook, I find I'm having trouble maintaining a decent heat for long enough to get the job done. Say I'm doing a cookout where lots of burgers or dogs/brats are going to need to be cooked and I don't have time to cook stuff 2 or 3 items at a time over the SnS. What got me thinking about this was last night - I bought a bunch of pork belly and short ribs at the Korean grocery and I wanted to cook them all at once for the week's dining. Pork belly strips take up a lot of space and the limited room over the SnS isn't adequate.
So I used a full chimney and it was enough to cover about 1/3 of the coal grate. The temp was hot enough for the short ribs, but it fell as I transitioned to the pork belly, and I had to do the pork belly in 3 batches over the coals (second and 3rd batches were 'warming' on the indirect side.) The fire really started to peter out and each batch took longer than the one before.
So, I was thinking about ways that this would work better next time around, or if I were to do a cookout for a big gathering where I'd be manning a mostly open grill for a long time. Do I need more coals? Do I need a larger chimney? I'm using the standard Weber chimney. How do I manage fuel? Do I use two chimneys and dump the coals in all at once? Do I dump one chimney in and spread them around then put unlit coals on top of them? Would that cause an excess of unwanted smoke, having lit coals and unlit coals going at the same time?
Is there some accessory that acts like a second coal grate, only higher than the stock grate? Maybe if I get the coal grate for the 26" Kettle and lay it over? Would that be TOO close? I saw the suggestion of putting bricks under the coal grate to lift it up, but I'd rather not do that if I don't have to.
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