I bought an SNS Kettle last fall to replace my rusted out Weber. It's a good grill on par with the Webers kettles. For just grilling, it cooks the same as any other well designed kettle grill meaning it is more about what you grill and how good your grilling skills are. The smoke hole is nice if you are using a controller. I was able to hook my old pitmastiq 120 up to the smoke hole no problem (Side note if you don't want or need wifi, blue tooth, or analytics from you air controller, I still recommend using a pitmasteriq because it's cheap and the blower and controller are one unit). The dome thermometer was with in a couple degrees of my digital thermometer while smoking once the charcoal got to temp and stablized. Maintaining temps without a controller takes some practice but it is doable. I think the ash can is much better on the SNS Kettle but the ash scraper or what ever it is called was a pain in the a$$ to assemble. I like that handles are bolt on. My old webber handles rusted and broke off at the spot welds. No problems with the side table or the built in probe ports. The Slow N Sear basket works well for charcoal smoking, I can do an 8 hour cook no problem without adding charcoal. And of course the best part is it comes with stainless steel cooking grates. Over all I am satisfied with the grill, it will last for years and some of the parts and design are better then most Webers. If you are looking for a kettle for just grilling I would recommend either one SNS or Weber(with a stainless steel grate). If you plan on smoking on a kettle I would recommend the SNS over a Weber. I would have added some pictures but the SNS is the garage for the winter. I prefer to grill on my PKs when it gets below freezing here, its thick aluminum is much more efficient in retaining heat.
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Yup nate373 , I also learned the hard way that there are a few things difficult to assemble. Then I read the instructions & there it was, some assembly recommended fer two peeps. They were right, there were a couple of times 1 peep was difficult.Comment
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So, cooking some T-Bones tonight on the SnS Kettle ….. here’s how I set it up and it’s rock solid at 300F indirect
I light a Weber mini chimney of KBB. I filled the insert 1/2 full of KBB. When the chimney was mostly ashed over, had good flames, and no smoke, I dumped the KBB uniformly across the top of the unlit in the insert. Then I ran top and bottom vent wide open for 5 minutes, then dialed back to half open on bottom and 1/3 open on top. After 3 minutes I checked and sure enough we were at 300F. Put the steaks on and let them run indirect.
Haven’t finished yet, but thought I’d share my settings and approach to get steady 300F. This is in 40F ambient temps in Washington state.
You probably can’t see it in the pic, but I have a magic marker line at 1/3 on the top vent.
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Very informative thread, thanks Eric and all the commenters!
My lineup is the Pit Boss Copperhead 5 vertical p-smoker with 1500 sq in./damn near a sq metre of space on the five racks; Weber Spirit 3-burner gas grill with GrillGrates; and a Joule sous vide doohickey. Is there anything I can't do with this set of tools that the SnS Kettle can do? I would almost certainly want the Drip & Griddle pan and would have to get a cover, so all in this would be about US$500, and that needs some justification. I sure don't feel like I'm missing out at the moment.
One thing that would be enabled is a direct comparison of flavor profiles between cookers, e.g. cut a big butt in half and do one in the p-smoker and the other on the kettle, or do sous vide steaks and sear one on the kettle and the other on the gasser, etc. But that's definitely in the Nice To Have category...Comment
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And FWIW, SNS Kettles are finally back in stock.Comment
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I’ve assembled my new 22†and am now reading and watching anything related. One question comes to mind. The originals had a gasket supplied but the one I received did not. Should I just go ahead and order a gasket or is the fit without sufficient? I’d rather install now with clean surfaces than wait and decide after a few cooks.Comment
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When I have done a low and slow cook and shut the vents afterwards, my coals did go out. -
Jessterr I did not contact SNS. I put the foam gasket on the lid. I hated it at first because the lid slide off the grill easily, but after a few weeks, it settled in and solved the smoke leaking around the lid.
Overall I am happy with the SNS and would purchase it again. I've done several low &slows overnight and it has held the temps flawlessly for 9 hours. Simply remarkable.
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This post convinced me to go with the SnS Kettle and I am very happy with it. I really like how well it conserves charcoal, especially compared to my PBC. I did some steaks and vegetables, then had enough charcoal for some burgers and dogs later in the week.Comment
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EDIT TO MY PREVIOUS COMMENT…….Since the time of my above post, complaining mildly about the short sweeper blades, lo and behold! SNS has made the sweeper blades longer on the newer black kettles. I just used my new black kettle the other night for the first time. The longer blades really jumped out at me, being used to seeing the shorter ones on my grey kettle. SNS kettles were always painted grey in the beginning. The blades on their black kettle are now 7 1/2” long, compared to ..continued -
6” long on the older grey kettles. It does make a difference in the amount of ash now being removed. That’s pretty cool SNS!
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The fireboard controller with the fan makes long cook time so easy. Monitoring the cook with my phone lets me socialize with guests instead of sitting by the grill to baby sit it.
I would not hesitate to recommend this setup for making bbq a pleasure to do and impress people with your cooking ability.Comment
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Update …. So, I’ve reached the point with the SnS Kettle where I trust the dome thermometer so much that I am not using the Fireboard for grill temps anymore. I still use a Thermapen for meat temps (cause I don’t feel like killing people with undercooked meat).
It’s the only grill I’ve ever had where that was true. Dave, you done good.Comment
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After 18 months of using the SnS kettle and insert as my primary cooker, here’s what I’ve found to be the best way of starting the fire. I have two different setups, one for 250F and one for 350F. They work about 95% of the time. This is based on Kingsford Blue Bag (and works basically the same for Kingsford Pro). If you are using B&B or Cowboy Brand briquettes, please adjust accordingly, since they burn differently. I use all four types of briquettes, but wrote this for the normal and most common briquettes. Also, you have to adjust your vents different based on ambient air temps and whether the Kettle is in the sun or shade.
For low and slow (ribs, brisket, pork shoulder, etc)- Fill the SNS insert full of charcoal, fill the water trough with water
- Pull out 12 briquettes from one corner
- Open all the kettle vents wide open
- Put a fire starter in the empty corner and light it
- Wearing gloves, carefully pile your 12 briquettes on top of the fire starter
- You don’t want the fire to go out, so build the pile loose allowing air flow
- When the fire starter is done AND the briquettes are well started and ashed over, put the kettle lid on with the vents wide open
- When the temp is about 200, close the top and bottom vents to about 1/3 to 1/2
- The temp should rise a bit more to 250 and settle in there
- This process takes about 30 minutes
- With KBB a full insert at 250F will last 6-7 hours
For medium-hot cooking (burgers, steaks, chicken, pork chops, etc)- Fill the SNS insert full of charcoal, no water
- Pull out 16 briquettes evenly from the top of the insert
- Open all the kettle vents wide open
- Use a chimney to start the briquettes
- When they are nicely ashed over, dump evenly on the top of the SNS insert
- Leave lid open for about 10 minutes
- Put lid on with vents wide open
- When grate temp is about 300, close vents to 1/3
- Temp should settle in about 325-350
- This process takes about 30 minutes
A few notes about cooking medium-hot:- Cook on indirect side until meat temp is 10 degrees below target
- Take lid off, cook meat on direct side to get a good sear, turning every minute
- For chicken, just cook to target temp and remove, skin will be crispy, meat will be done
In both cases, I add wood just as I put the food on to cook if I want smoke flavor. I use 3-4 chunks of wood spread across the top of the charcoal. That will give me smoke all throughout a low and slow cook.
Last edited by ecowper; June 4, 2023, 11:42 AM.Comment
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I have enjoyed and learned reading about the SnS grill. I have a PK 300 and learning how to work it . The PK has enough space for my wife and I plus a little extra for left over but wanted more space for company. I just ordered a SnS deluxe on back order until August. I look forward to also learning how to use the SnS.Comment
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Eric, I’ve just now gotten around to reading this excellent documentary about SNS set-up and performance, including your 18 month update. Bravo! Well done!
As you may recall, I bought an SNS last year and it has quickly become my favorite smoking and cooking device. I’ve had excellent results also with the low-&-slow and med-hot setups, although I’ve pretty much adhered to SNS instructions. Most recently, I smoked a pork belly on mine for 7 hours and it held temp great. I will definitely be modifying my method to conform to yours beginning with my next cook.Comment
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Another stellar cook on my SNS.
Prime ribeye, SV to 129F IT, smoked on SNS to 125F IT with hickory wood chunks, then seared in CI skillet over hot Kingsford Pro coals on SNS. This has become my favorite method of cooking a steak. On this particular cook, I SV this from frozen without a previous dry brine. Finished with kosher salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper after a 10 minute rest. All you taste is beef and smoke!
Corn on the SNS also.Comment
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WayneT I love Bern’s … been there twice, great steak, great wine, dessert is fun too. I have gotten far more simple with steak over the years. Mostly salt and pepper, maybe garlic powder. I don’t even use my own beef rub on steaks anymore, only on slow cooked stuff like chuck roast.
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#37.4
ecowper commented
Today, 04:58 PM
I wonder if I can get the longer sweeps for my older grey kettle?
Erik, I don’t see why not, there didn’t seem to be any difference in how they attached to the bowl. I’d email SNS to be sure. Here’s a couple of pics ecowper
Ash sweepers on the older grey kettle..6” long
Ash sweepers on the newer SNS black kettles..7 1/2” long
Last edited by Panhead John; July 31, 2023, 04:38 PM.Comment
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Oh hell no, I wouldn’t either. And honestly, it’s not a huge deal because I always have to use my old paint brush anyway to remove any ash that remains. Let me know what they say. 👍Last edited by Panhead John; July 31, 2023, 04:38 PM.
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