Weber 22in cooker temp

[Rod]

So I recently bought a Weber Performer (not the deluxe or premium) and have been doing some dry runs trying to replicate ABCBBQ's video on grilling steaks. I've done about 7 runs and can't seem to dial it in. And when I do get close to 225, the coals start to die out. I tried last night to add extra briquettes for a total of 30 and the temp got too hot. By the time I got it down to 230, it held there for about 15min and then coals started to die. I have the SnS/DnG as well as the stainless grate.

So do any of you fine folks here have any advice on how to achieve 225 for an hour on a Weber 22in kettle? My elevation is 1100ft.

[jfmorris]

I think the ABCBBQ video somewhat over complicates the process by doing low and slow then adding more coals for high heat at the end of the cook. I've tried "smoking" steak low and slow for an hour to get it from 34F out of the fridge up to 120F or so, then searing, and then I've tried what I will describe below, and it was just as good as far as I could tell.

What I do is this:

1. Dump a full chimney of lit briquets into the SNS.

2. Put my steaks (usually NY strip or T-bone) on the INDIRECT side of the grate, well away from the SNS. I'll put a probe into the the thickest steak. If you don't have a probe, check with your Thermapen starting at the 20 minute point.

3. Close the lid with the vents wide open. Ignore the dome temperature as the grate away from the SNS will not be anywhere near this dome temp. Likewise the temp of the grate over the coals will be around 900-1000F due to the intense radiant heat - most of which is going up, and out the dome vent.

4. When the steak hits about 10F below your desired "done" temp - this may take 20-30 minutes or more - remove the kettle lid, and now sear the steaks over the coals, maybe 1-2 minutes per side, flipping every 30-60 seconds. If you want to do the cold grate technique, THIS is when you would do it.

5. Once you have the sear you like, plate and enjoy!

Just my 2 cents, having done this a few times.

And if you want to slow cook the steaks for an hour like in the ABCBBQ video - don't stress too much over exact temperatures of 225. Anywhere in the ballpark of 200 to 275 will be fine.

[JeffJ]

I tried the small fire and then add coals to sear technique one time and didn't really notice a difference.

Like jfmorris said, don't worry about nailing an exact temperature - the range he gave you will work well for this cooking technique.

As for the fire dying out...which brand of charcoal are you using? The next time I utilize this cooking technique I'm going to use Weber briquettes for the first part of the cook as they burn for a really long time and will then dump in a chimney of lit KBB for the sear.

[jfmorris]

JeffJ brings up a good point. What charcoal are you using? With the SNS and DNG in there, and Weber versus KBB charcoal, I've had to learn all new vent settings recently. I did a low and slow to smoke 5.5 pounds of bacon last week, and to get around 225 with the Weber charcoal, I started with 12 fully lit coals, then shoveled in enough charcoal to fill the SNS about halfway across, but to the top vertically, and it was plenty to smoke the bacon for 3-4 hours at 225. My vents were set to about 1/2 open on the top and bottom, whereas with the KBB I was always about 1/4 open on the bottom. The Weber burns longer and seemed to need more air intake than I did with the KBB. Then again, I also just added the Drip 'N Griddle to the mix too.

[Rod]

Thanks fellas. I used KBB charcoal.

[DWCowles]

Do you have any leakage around the lid? If so get some binder clips to clamp the lid tighter to the bottom bowl. If it still leaks then I would recommend getting a gasket from the link below.

https://www.bbqgaskets.com

[jfmorris]

If he has leaks then I imagine his problem would not be the fire going out, but rather being too hot, wouldn't it?

[DWCowles]

Well he did mention "getting to Hot".

[jfmorris]

How are you checking for the 225 degrees? Are you going by the dome thermometer, or a temperature probe at grate level?

I've found that when I am 225 at the grate with my Smoke air probe clipped just above the grate, that the Weber dome thermometer usually reads 50 to 75 degrees hotter. Not always - it seems to stabilize on long low and slows with water in the SNS and lots of meat. But running the SNS without water - which you don't really want to add in this case - and a small meat load like steaks, I imagine for 225 at the grate, the dome thermometer will read around 300.

If you go by the dome and are trying to get 225, its probably 175 or less at the grate and you likely ARE snuffing the coals out by closing things down too much.

With nothing in there, take a look at the "holes" you line the bottom vent handle up with in relation to how much the blades cover the vent openings. This page is a good place to start:

https://abcbarbecue.com/weber-kettle-vent-settings/

On my kettle, the first hole to the left is fully closed. The center of the next one is 1/4 open. Halfway between 2 and 3 is 1/2 open. On the center of the 3rd hole is about 3/4 open, and by the 4th hole I am fully open, pretty much like he shows on that page, even though my kettle is from 2007 and has round rather than oblong holes in the ash catcher.

If you are going lower than 1/4 open on the intake, the fire will probably go out.

[Rod]

I'm using my Maverick ET-732 on in the center of the indirect portion of the grate. I never cook with out a probe on any of my cookers..

I have played with the vent settings as recommended by Meathead and ABCBBQ. I'm just not getting the same results. I'm also not looking to get a perfect 225. It also seems to take long time for the temps to change when adjusting the vents compared to my PBC.

[Dadof3Illinois]

What are your vent settings? I start with 12 or so briquettes light them, get a decent ash over then add another 1/2-3/4 chimney of unlit charcoals. Leave the lid off for a few mins until you get a good burn going. Put the lid on, I’ll leave my vents full open until I get to 210 or so then close down to 50%. Then adjust them open or closed to dial it in.
it almost sounds like your just not starting with enough charcoal.

[Rod]

I used just about every vent position there is. I was just trying to follow ABCBBQ's method. At least for the indirect part of it. Definitely going to use more coals going forward.

[jfmorris]

Rod I've pretty much followed the directions from ABCBBQ - I use 10-15 briquets in a chimney, get them going good, dump them into the corner of the SNS and shove them into a heap, then pour charcoal in to fill the rest of the SNS with a inch or two of the top, and scatter some wood chunks across the top. Then add the quart of hot tap water. Once I do that I have found I need to let it go wide open on both vents until I am over 200 and THEN I dial it down to 1/2 open on both, and from there only adjust the bottom vent. I found that if I choked things down at 175 like they mention in the directions at ABCBBQ that I would hardly ever get up to 225 at the grate.

Sadly, like some others have found, I recently have started having some inconsistent performance with KBB, and maybe that is part of your problem. I'm going to try Weber charcoal for a while, since its $12 at Lowe's, or try the Kingsford Professional from Costco.

[Pirate Scott]

I do similar to what jfmorris said on my 26” only without SNS. Full Chimney KBB, dump in 2 Charcoal baskets cook indirect with bottom vent 25% top vents 100% till internal you want. Then open it up and Sear over the Coals plenty of heat left.

[JeffJ]

Controlling the temps with the vents. Great idea. That way you are not trying to time when to start the chimney while the steak is gently cooking indirect. When it's time to sear open 'er up and flood the coals with oxygen.

[jlazar]

Go down the page to the link to the PDF. It shows the number of coals and vent settings for various temperatures.

https://kettlepitmasterbbq.com/Charcoal-Amounts-and-Vent-Settings-for-a-Weber-Kettle-Grill.html

[PJBowmaster]

jfmorris I'm kinda with you on this one. But I use about 3/4 chimney of coals in my Weber 22 w/SnS. Same cook technique. Works great every time....

[Huskee]

I typically run the intake vent around the 2 1/4 to 2.5 hole mark (1/4-1/2 open) and the top vent about 1/4" or less for the most part, to hold around the 225ish point. Of course that varies depending on circumstance but that's my average. I've been reading a lot lately about the suspicion of KBB's performance suffering lately but my stash was bought last year around the July 4th sale if memory serves, so I can't really say one way or another if the KBB is definitely to blame. But in this particular case my suspicion isn't the KBB.

I do agree if your fire was too hot due to perhaps a leaky lid, or too many coals to start, and you're dialing back your vents too much to compensate, that could starve your fire, and to me that sounds like what's happening. Or you could be waiting to long after the coals are lit to begin cooking, and they're just losing their firepower prematurely for this reason. Do NOT wait until the coals are ashed over, this is an antiquated method not needed for the SnS and ABC's recipes.

For reverse searing steak I tend to use about 1/4 chimney, maybe 20 well-lit briquettes (that 12-15 minute sweet spot where the blue smoke finally dies down and you start seeing heat waves up the top of the chimney), dump them in, whether you add your steak right away or wait until your kettle comes up to temp is purely preference, but that should give you enough fire power (longevity) to get a 1" steak from fridge temp to 80 degrees IT, at which point you'd light more coals in the chimney for the sear phase. Then, on average, your steak would most likely be up around 115-120 IT when those new coals are well lit (little smoke, heat waves/flames) and you're ready to dump them and sear. These steak temp markers are if you're shooting for a 135 medium rare target. Adjust accordingly.

If this is essentially what you're doing and the fire dies down inexplicably while your vents are open as described above, then tying a new charcoal seems to me to be the next logical step. Perhaps there has been a bad run of KBB lately.

For the record, with a kettle and the SnS, standard recipe KBB *should* get you about 8hrs+ at 225 with a full basket during a low & slow, with a stir and ash sweep only really needed near the 4 or 5hr mark and about every hour or two thereafter; a hot & fast poultry cook (325+) you should get about 90min burn time from a well-lit 3/4 chimney load, or put about 1/2- 3/4 chimney unlit down first then the 3/4 lit on top to get a 2-3hr+ burn time such as for a turkey. Vents need opened more of course for the higher poultry temps.

Keep in mind the longer you let the coals burn in the chimney the more firepower & longevity you're wasting into the atmosphere. It's important to not let the coals burn much past the point where the blue smoke dies down and you see heat waves or flames. As soon as you get there, dump the coals or you're wasting their burn time which can lead to a frustrating experience with dying heat later in the cook.

[Rod]

Huskee Thanks for the detailed response. I have often thought that it seemed a little overkill to let the coals get pretty much ashed over at the top of the chimney. By then the bottom third or so is pretty much spent.

[Dadof3Illinois]

Huskee The way I read his post was his fuel is just running out to fast and maybe should either start with more or add more unlit and be patient for it to light and temps to level out.
I’m with you and don’t believe it has anything to do with fuel type here.