Help w/ 1st charcoal kettle grill please?

[jjdbike]

Hey folks,

I just re-homed my BGE. That left me w/ only my KBQ. It's awesome, but not a grill. I just purchased a used Weber 22" kettle. Doing some clean up today. I ordered a new Premium hinged grate and Charcoal Baskets. I want to use it for a July 4th cookout. Planning on cooking a bunch of wings (several dif flavors) and some raw sausages (again, several diff flavors).

I have a crew coming over and don't want to mess this up. I'm an absolute beginner w/ the Kettle grill. I'd greatly appreciate any help, suggestions and advice to help pull of 1st Kettle cook and shorten my learning curve.

I only have big chunk lump and wood chunks left over from my BGE. Do I need to buy some Briquettes?

I'm thinking I'll fill the two charcoal baskets w/ charcoal. Thinking fill half way w/ charcoal and a chunk of apple wood (one in each basket) and placing them together in the middle to create a hot smokey zone in the middle and cooler zone on the perimeter. Make sense?

The sausages: I have pork cheddar and garlic, chicken mango habanero (both raw), and may pick up some kielbasa (already cooked). At this point I'm planning on pre-brasing the sausages in beer, then onto the kettle for a little smoke and char. I'll slice diagnonally into two bite pieces w/ a couple barbecue sauces, ketchup and mustard on the side.

The wings: These are decent size (large not jumbo) separated wing pieces. I intended to do them like I do in the oven. 1/2 get tossed in baking soda, onion & garlic powder, and barbecue rub. The other half get tossed in the same, but instead of barbecue rub, I'll give them a good dusting of cayenne. I'll cook them indirect (around the perimeter) until the fat is well rendered. I'm thinking between 30 & 45 mins. Flipping a couple times. Then toss 1/2 in Buffalo Wing Sauce and 1/2 in barbecue sauce diluted w/ apple cider vinegar so it's not too goopy. Then back onto the grill to caramelize and give a touch of char. Probably much closer into the center hot zone. I'll serve w/ sauces on side (blue cheese, barbecue and hot sauce).

As sausages and wings get cooked, they get pulled from grill and put into 200 degree oven to keep warm.

After meats are dune, I'm considering hot grilling (in middle to give some char while remaining crisp inside) some veggies, i.e. peppers, onions and mushrooms. I'll toss them in olive oil and some herbs first and cut into large (two - 3 bite) chunks.

How does this plan sound? Any tips, advice, additions or changes?

Thanks in advance!
JD

[HawkerXP]

Not sure how much sausage or chicken you're going to be able to cook on a 2" kettle.

[Starsky]

Humming bird wings?

[jjdbike]

Not sure how much sausage or chicken you're going to be able to cook on a 2" kettle.

Ooops, I meant 22".
I fixed it.
Thanks,
JD

[Panhead John]

Got any pics of your new grill? What happened with the igniter situation, did the previous owner fix it for you?

[DTro]

Hopefully, you get a chance for a burn-in so you can learn the fire. I would fill the baskets with charcoal and use one chunk of wood. You can drop more wood/charcoal on for your other proteins as needed. Congratulations on your new Kettle!

[jjdbike]

Long story about the new to me grill.

I wound up w/ another. A used premium. I ordered the Weber charcoal baskets and a new Weber Premium grill grate w/ the hinges. I'd like to eventually add a Tru Tell BBQ thermometer on opposite side of top vent, just barley above grill level. Considering adding a hinge to lid.

I'm going to do a clean up today. Wanted to grill some corn on the cob, might be a good opportunity for a "burn in" to explore how it burns.

Thanks again folks,
JD

[TripleB]

Buy a Vortex. It is a chicken roasting machine. Big bang for the bucks.

[Jfrosty27]

Agreed on getting a vortex. A must for chicken, especially wings. Works great for two zone cooking of sausages too.

[jfmorris]

I would have advised you to not waste a penny on those Weber charcoal baskets. They are practically useless, and sit on the shelf under my Performer, rusting away. For doing chicken wings and such, a $30 Vortex (medium size, on Amazon) would have been a much better way to invest the $25.99 those Weber baskets cost.

Why do I say they're useless? Well, first, they do not hold enough charcoal for a long low and slow cook, without refueling every hour. For low and slow - the basic SNS is much better. And they don't really hold enough charcoal for a super hot sear or high temp indirect wing cooking like the BBQ Vortex.

Anyway, you have what you have, so here is my advice:

1. Use a Weber large chimney to light your coals. If you do not have a chimney, go back to the hardware store and buy that plus some starter cubes or tumbleweeds.
2. For doing the wings and sausage, pour that entire blazing chimney into the center of the grate, in and on top of those baskets if you want to use them (they won't hold a full chimney - another reason I feel they are useless), and put the wings around the perimeter of the grill, much like with a Vortex.
3. Once things are looking good in the indirect area, you can move stuff over the center to sear it if things need crisping up.

4. Alternatively, you can arrange the two baskets to either side of the grill, splitting the coals between them, and have a central indirect zone, and a smaller searing zone on each side of the grill. The advantage here would be the ability to add some more coals if the fire starts running out, using your tongs to place some in through the flaps on the cooking grate.


Hint: If you have not used them, I would return the baskets to the store you bought them from, and go order the Vortex. If it won't arrive before your cookout, just use tongs or a charcoal rake to arrange the coals either in the center of the cooking grate, or banked to one or both sides of the grate.

Also, go read this article on two zone grilling, specifically the charcoal grill portion of the article:

https://amazingribs.com/more-techniq...ture-indirect/

For cooking the wings and sausage, do not pay attention to the grill dome temp - run with all vents wide open, keeping things in the indirect zone(s) for most of the cook, only searing directly over the coals if you need to crisp or brown things at the very end of the cook.

[efincoop]

I agree with everything here and add that you may want to consider adding a Slow-n-Sear at some point. Like the Vortex, it is a game changer.

[Panhead John]

All of the above…..☝️☝️☝️

[DTro]

The Weber baskets are not useless. When used as intended they cook delicious food. Besides that you have the ability to move the fire to a desired zone mid-cook. You will need another option if doing a long, slow cook on your kettle. In that case just snake the charcoal or use brick or foil pan to create two zones. But if you want to spend more money....

[jfmorris]

Dadof3Illinois I can get 12 hours out of a basket of B&B with the SNS, and only about 8 with the snake before it has burned around, but then again, the last snake I did was a 2x2 with KBB, and I only got 8 out of it in the SNS too.

[Dadof3Illinois]

jfmorris That’s awesome, I need the secret because I’m only getting a good 8 hours on average out of my SnS XL with B&B and that’s using my Fireboard fan controller holding 225-230.

[jfmorris]

Dadof3Illinois I wonder if you get less time because its the 26" kettle? Is this B&B briquettes or lump?

[Washblue]

I didn’t use my baskets for many years….
Now I do….
I like them, as they’re versatile…
They are easily swapped out with a fresh basket of hot coals…
I can use 1, 2 or 3 baskets, depending on the cook…
I don’t use them every time, but I won’t be without them…

[HawkerXP]

+1

[JoeSousa]

I have done wings like that before with the two charcoal baskets in the middle of the grill. Just load them up with some lump charcoal and your grill should be around 400-500+ degrees. The wings should cook just fine in 30-45 minutes if you ring them around the charcoal baskets and the skin should be decently crisp. 40-45 wings should be about all you can do. As I am pulling the wings off I usually put them right over the coals in the middle for just a couple seconds for one last blast of heat to crisp them up a bit more. But they will burn very quickly if you leave them directly over the coals too long.

I don't bother with the baking soda. In the past when I have tried it I didn't see much of a difference when cooking the wings this way. At least it didn't make enough of a positive difference to bother with it again.

And like others have said, get a Vortex if you plan on cooking wings regularly on the kettle. Works great for drumsticks and thighs too.

[Mosca]

Hey, you did BGE. This will be a cakewalk after learning that.

But, it’s different. When I added a Performer to my repertoire (also a BGE), it took some getting used to. The biggest difference is in the efficiency. Your fire is going to use more fuel to produce the same amount of useable heat.

Shake everything out of your head and consider the tool as a vessel to keep the fire from burning everything down, because that’s all it is. You could roast marshmallows using your deck for fuel if you wanted to, after all.

Got it? Good. Then if you think about it, all cookers are variations on that theme, and the kettle is the simplest of them all. Just create your zones wherever you want them, and cook animal flesh. I’m left-handed, and I like to have hot on the right and cool on the left. But middle and outer works, too. Lump, briqs, doesn’t matter. Use what you got. I like briqs for my kettle, but the food isn’t going to care. Put an electric element in there, it will still cook. For me, the baskets’ main function is actually to get those coals closer to the grate without using two chimneys full of fuel. That, plus easier management when using a roti. I have the S&S; my most common configuration is S&S with water channel removed, 2/3 filled with fuel. I grill steaks, burgers, and dogs over that, using only half the kettle. If I didn’t have the S&S, I’d use the baskets that way. They will DEFINITELY do your wings the way you want them to.

Reduction to the basics. It’s how I figure things out.