Is this the right apprpach? Moving away from a kamado

[SpaceCoyote]

I've been using a Big Steel Keg for a year and while it's fine, it's kind of a big pain. The 18" grill diameter makes it hard to get a true two-zone setup with a good amount of usable space, although it does fine at holding temps (I always seem to overshoot). When I want to finish off a low/slow cook though, I have to get everything out of the grill, pull out the diffuser, then put everything back, get the fire hot and then put the meat back. I've only got one grill, and this is getting pretty old as you might imagine!

So the plan I've come up with is to sell it and buy a 26" kettle with a sns XL. This would give me plenty of real estate for two-zone cooks (the majority of what I do) with the ability to do low and slow cooks. While I was in the BBQ shop it seemed like a 22" kettle with a sns was a bit on the small side, especially for low and slow where you want to be away from the coals.

What do you guys think - big mistake or the right move? And before it's suggested, no, I can't have both

[ComfortablyNumb]

Welcome to the Pit SpaceCoyote from NE Washington state. Along with tips, techniques, and recipes about BBQ we have a lot of fun. If you like music, go to this thread to hear what others are listening to and share what you like. For jokes, go to this thread. Go to this thread to post where you work and what your hobbies are and get to know other members here. We are happy to have you along and looking forward to your participation. Sounds like a good plan to me. It seems most Weber owners are happy with your proposed setup.

[jgreen]

Welcome from Winnipeg. I have the 26 and love it, but if you have the room and the money I would keep both.

[vandy]

I agree keep both so you can do a pork butt on the Kamado will doing other things on the Kettle. I use my 22 inch kettle with SNS more than I do my Big Joe just because it is so much easier but when I want to do a spatchcocked turkey the Joe will always win out just because of how it cooks a turkey.

[JeffJ]

I have a 26 + SnS. Love it and the capacity is awesome.

Like a lot of people in the Pit I have a strong case of MCS.

If I had to get rid of all of my cookers and could only keep 1, it would be the 26 + SnS.

[SpaceCoyote]

Maybe luckily my wife doesn't want to see a tonne of cookers around, so MCS isn't an option for me. She already let me put a workshop in the backyard and has a lot of reservation about me selling the keg, so I can't push my luck too hard

That being said I might get a go anywhere gas grill for when she shows up with a bunch of vegetables to grill!

[Troutman]

SpaceCoyote did you not receive your requisite MCS shot when you joined? You need to get with management and make sure you get inoculated We also have ways of dealing with wives, there's a crash course you may want to sign up for .

[Fire Art]

Started this site with 1 outdoor cooker no I got 5😋

[DWCowles]

Welcome SpaceCoyote

[Nate]

Welcome from Indiana.

Don’t know what your funds or budget are but have you considered the Weber Summit Charcoal Grill instead? It is weber’s answer to a Kamado and I believe you can get a Slow N Sear that is designed for it. May be more of what you are looking for all around.

https://amazingribs.com/grill-smoker-combination-grill-smoker/weber-summit-charcoal-grill-review

[SpaceCoyote]

If I could afford that, I wouldn't have to sell the keg to buy the kettle

It's certainly the top of my list! The 26 should be a good trainer for its eventual purchase, if I ever have the funds. That being said, as my cooking evolves I can see why one needs a smoker and a grill - sort of like why we need a stove and oven in a regular kitchen. Pretty hard to get by with just one or the other!

[Butchman]

I had a bubba keg aka big steel keg and loved it. That being said the 26” is more versatile, has more grill space, and it’s easier to control temps.

[SpaceCoyote]

Did you keep/use both? How did you find they compare as smokers? That's the biggest question in my own mind... Whether I'll regret losing the keg or not the next time I want to do a low and slow cook. At least with the kettle I can still use different zones to cook - kinda hard to throw some corn on the end of a rib cook with the keg

[FireMan]

Welcome aboard. I was & am in the wondering Dept about your dilemma. I have discovered just what is being mentioned here, where the leaning is toward the Weber 26. Baby Back Maniac mentioned something on this.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit.

How many people will you possibly be cookin' for? If it's just your immediate family, the 22" should be enough, but if you occasionally cook for more, then the 26" would be better. If your only concern with the 22" is getting the food away from the heat, that's not a problem with the SnS.

[SpaceCoyote]

The key thing is grill size with the sns... It just seemed a bit on the small side with the 22. I generally cook for two of us but try to cook enough for leftovers, and cook for 4+ 2x a month. I try to do all the mains and at least some of the sides, I feel like the extra space will come in handy - I read "you can cook smaller on the 26, but you can't cook bigger on the 22" which is probably true!

[RonB]

It looks like the 26" is right for you.

[SmokeyGator]

There is no "best" cooker, there are only tradeoffs and compromises. If you know you want the kettle plus sns, go for it! You will gain in some advantages and lose some advantages. But only you get to judge if the trade off is worth it or not

[SpaceCoyote]

What are the chief advantages I'd lose, do you think?

[SmokeyGator]

Kamado grills like to run at stable temperatures. Once the ceramic has soaked up all the heat a little rain or a drop in ambient temperatures isn’t a problem. A full firebox is easily enough fuel for a very long low and slow. Maybe ofhers too. What is an "advanrage" is somewhat subjective. It may or may not be a big deal in your view.

[JeffJ]

SpaceCoyote Regarding your concern about the 26 + SnS and having regrets when it comes time for low/slow. I think the kettle produces better low/slow results for smoking meat than does a kamado, especially for something like ribs, which have a ton of surface area.

Allow me to explain...

When cooking low/slow, that flavor goodness in the bark isn't coming exclusively from the smoke itself. If it did my Bradley electric smoker would produce ribs that are every bit as good and flavorful as my WSM/PBC/Weber kettles. But it doesn't. The reason is that it's also the gases that are produced by a fire that contribute to the flavor. An electric coil produces no gases. Propane produces less than charcoal which produces less than wood. This is why meat cooked in a stick burner is so desirable.

This is where the kamado's extreme efficiency works against it. The kamado requires less fire to maintain a low/slow temp than does a kettle. less fire = less gases.

This is a great video of a head-to-head pork butt between a 26 + SnS and a Weber Summit Charcoal Grill (Kamado).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXB_lQYWols

[SpaceCoyote]

Ah, very good insights! I remember reading about this in meathead, the steel cooker insulates so well that you have almost no airflow (which is true - I've lost my fire several times and getting a stable 225 often means blowing into my air inlet to get the fire back). So not only is it low fire, but you run the risk of stale/bitter smoke. Makes me wonder how the keg compares to a 18" wsm in taste

[Troutman]

Keep the keg, buy the 26/sns. End of story, man up !!!

[SpaceCoyote]

Haha, yeah if we didn't have some pretty massive bills coming up I'd go that route! I'm trying to "trade up" without spending any more...

[jfmorris]

If I could only keep one of my current grills/smokers, it would be my Weber Performer Deluxe 22.5” with SNS. I love the work table and other convenience features. If Weber would make a 26” Performer I would jump on that in a heartbeat, and probably not use anything else, except maybe my gas for a quick sear. I do not think you will miss the 18” Kamado at all if you get the 26” kettle and SNS. When I do ribs or other indirect meat on the kettle, I often finish them over whatever coal is still burning in the SNS. Or just brush sauce on and put the lid on for 30 minutes to let it set. Sometimes a second grill is convenient for searing if you have a lot of meat indirect cooking on the kettle, but I’ve not done that in a while.

[SpaceCoyote]

I'll be building a table for whatever I get, so I should tick off that performer box! I won't have the starter but I doubt I'd use it at all.

Thanks for your insight, I'm in the same boat - 90% of my cooks use both zones, even if just to finish off. I can see getting a gas secondary grill (a go anywhere) to handle random vegetables that get thrown my way!

[LA Pork Butt]

I have an 18” ceramic and an 18” Weber Jumbo Joe. I don’t find setting up for a 12-14 low and slow cook on the ceramic to be that much of a problem, but will admit that it is more cumbersome for a reverse sear unless you take Breadhead approach of fare away from the fire and tHen close to the fire. I use the Jumbo Joe when cooking a couple of pieces of meat for me and my wife. My son has a 26” and a slow and sear and it works well, but be aware that on low and slow you will need to add charcoal at about the 10 hour mark. I don’t know how many people you cook for, but if I were in your situation I would be inclied to add a Weber 22” and a slow and sear and keep the keg. Also, giVen you like confidence you might want to get the 22”Weber with as many bells and whistles as you can afford.

[SpaceCoyote]

My only concern with the 22 is that the slow n sear takes up a lot of space (honestly I will probably use it 90% of the time). I had a hard time imagining having two chickens on there with it, let alone two spatchcocked chickens! I may need to revisit the store though, in case I'm remembering it wrong. Good food for thought!

[JeffJ]

SpaceCoyote If you get the 26 the standard SnS works perfectly well in it. IMO no need to pay extra for the XL especially given you lose grate space relative to the original. I was hoping ABC would have the same depth on the XL and stretch the corners and raise the height a bit. Had they done that I would have acquired that version for my 26.

[LA Pork Butt]

SpaceCoyote you cook more chicken than I do. Try the Weber site to see how much food you can fit on the 26 and reduce the amount by 1/3 to 1/2. I know BGE gives food estimates for an 18” Large. You might try estimating the with of a spatchcock Chicken by measuring the circumference of the chicken and subtracting 3inches for the backbone. Then measure the space on the 26” minus the slow and sear.

[SpaceCoyote]

is there somewhere on the weber site that shows this? that'd be really great to see! Can't seem to find it, though.