Started smoking in Aug 2025. First smoker is a Weber Searwood. I purchased a ThermoWorks Smoke to get a more accurate temperature and the pro-series needle probe. I also have a Weber grilling basket, Weber grill brush, and the Grillart steambrush. I've tried all sorts of pellets and wood flavors and my family mainly likes the Traeger signature blend. I have a meat injector and shears for poultry.
I also recently purchased a new 2010 used Weber Kettle Performer. Just got a cover for it. I bought the ThermoWorks RFX with 1 wireless probe, the SnS and DnG to spruce up the grill. I have not cooked on it yet. I cut a hole and installed the ThermoWorks billows. I did buy 4 bags of the B&B charcoal briquettes.
All my cooking has been on the Searwood. I absolutely love cooking Pork Shoulder, chicken wings, chicken breasts and steak. I won first place in my church chili cookoff (I bragged to everyone about it) and I really enjoyed the chili (and I don't really like chili). I really enjoyed Moink balls. I like cooking ribs, chicken breasts, and chicken legs with white sauce.
I look forward to cooking pork burnt ends, smoked turkey for Thanksgiving, and maybe even a brisket.
I'm still trying to determine rubs my wife will really enjoy. I love the rubs from the website, but my wife just wants some rubs that will bring out the meat flavor so she can taste the meat. I'm seeking simple rubs for chicken breasts and steaks.
I love soda and especially Dr. Pepper. I don't drink alcohol.
I live near Boise, ID. I've been married for 25 years and I have 5 kids. I'm a second career dentist.
So I got tired of hearing two-zone this and two-zone that. I got this from a sweet only lady from a nice neighborhood. Now I get to see what this is all about. I’m excited to struggle a little bit. I’m really spoiled with my Searwood. I need some more mileage but on this kettle.
Just got one myself. Not in as good of shape as that one but overall not bad either. Planning on posting my own pics soon. They are great cookers for sure.
Great find. I love my Kettle. You need a Vortex and a SnS and possibly a rotisserie. Now what else can we help you spend money on? The Kettle can do almost anything. Enjoy your new toy!
Here is YouTube video on a number of accessories for your Kettle.
Large Big Green Egg, Weber Performer Deluxe, Weber Smokey Joe Silver, Fireboard Drive, 3 DigiQs, lots of Thermapens, and too much other stuff to mention.
I added a Performer to use alongside my LBGE. It’s a fun unit. It isn’t hard to master, and once you know how to use it, you know how to use anything.
One thing that amazes me still about Kettles: with the mod kits out there, you can make them into almost anything. You can turn a Kettle into a 22” Smokey Mountain, or a Santa Maria, add a rotisserie, add a Vortex to make a “wing machine”, add a ceramic firebox/deflector/ash basket, add pizza oven accessories, add the Slow & Sear, a rotisserie… not to mention about half a dozen different temp controllers as well. You’ll enjoy it!
Congrats! That's what I use. I think that shelf top material makes it an older model - there is a date code on the lid vent cover that tells when it was made.
If ya really like using it, you might consider converting from the bottled gas to a 20 lb tank. A single tank will probably last at least a year - maybe much longer.
The Performer was my first kettle - probably 15-20 years ago. It served me well for many years. I retired it when we built a bbq island at our last house, as it had a high end charcoal grill.
Our new house doesn’t have anything yet, and I’d love to have that kettle back!
The Weber kettle is to cooking what the Jeep was to the Army. A real Swiss Army Knife!!! You'll love it---I know because I've been cooking on one since 1970.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
Pit Barrel Cooker
Weber Master-Touch
Blackstone Omnivore 4 Burner Griddle
Thermoworks: Signals, Billows, Thermopens, Thermopops, Nodes, bunch of silicone stuff, and more!
OnlyFire Rotisserie w/ Basket attachment for the Weber
Vortex for the Weber
Both of Meathead's books!
Way too many BBQ related accessories, tools, and doo-dads!
Always had a kettle. Except for a few years where I had a large dedicated charcoal cooker. Like everyone else has said, the options for cooking with a kettle are many. Bought a rotisserie for it last summer, and man, that's been an awesome addition.
When finances permit, I'll be adding an SnS, a Vortex, and probably many more things.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Congrats! If I was marooned on a desert island and could only have 1 cooker, I would want it to be a kettle. They can do anything you learn to do on it, no power needed, they can even burn wood, and they can do it all well.
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Genesis E335 Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
Started smoking in Aug 2025. First smoker is a Weber Searwood. I purchased a ThermoWorks Smoke to get a more accurate temperature and the pro-series needle probe. I also have a Weber grilling basket, Weber grill brush, and the Grillart steambrush. I've tried all sorts of pellets and wood flavors and my family mainly likes the Traeger signature blend. I have a meat injector and shears for poultry.
I also recently purchased a new 2010 used Weber Kettle Performer. Just got a cover for it. I bought the ThermoWorks RFX with 1 wireless probe, the SnS and DnG to spruce up the grill. I have not cooked on it yet. I cut a hole and installed the ThermoWorks billows. I did buy 4 bags of the B&B charcoal briquettes.
All my cooking has been on the Searwood. I absolutely love cooking Pork Shoulder, chicken wings, chicken breasts and steak. I won first place in my church chili cookoff (I bragged to everyone about it) and I really enjoyed the chili (and I don't really like chili). I really enjoyed Moink balls. I like cooking ribs, chicken breasts, and chicken legs with white sauce.
I look forward to cooking pork burnt ends, smoked turkey for Thanksgiving, and maybe even a brisket.
I'm still trying to determine rubs my wife will really enjoy. I love the rubs from the website, but my wife just wants some rubs that will bring out the meat flavor so she can taste the meat. I'm seeking simple rubs for chicken breasts and steaks.
I love soda and especially Dr. Pepper. I don't drink alcohol.
I live near Boise, ID. I've been married for 25 years and I have 5 kids. I'm a second career dentist.
Spray it with full strength (Caustic) oven cleaner and then let it sit for a day. Rinse and scrub. If you are not cleaned up by then, I would just go buy a new grate. You can get them pretty cheap from most hardware stores.
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