My first cook on my Weber 22" Kettle. Lessons Learned

[Michael_in_TX]

Well, it wasn’t a complete disaster, but everything has a learning curve. So I set out to do my first dinner on my new Weber 22” kettle with SNS. I wanted to do something very forgiving, so I picked chicken leg quarters with that Alabama white BBQ sauce.

I did a test run earlier in the day. I eyeballed half a Weber chimney of briquettes and had those in the SNS. I used way too many. The temperature shot up to over 450 degrees and I couldn’t get it below 415 no matter what I tried. (I am using a Weber iGrill 2 to monitor the grill temp.)

The second run I actually counted out 40 briquettes and got those going. With the vents I got it held to a nice 380 degrees…..a little higher than the 325-350 I wanted. But I went with it and put the chicken on.

This is when I encountered my first problem. I expected the temperature to drop when I took the lid off, but I was surprised that the temperature only climbed back up to 330 then started falling. I did not expect that adding the chicken would affect the temperature that way.

When the temperature dropped to 250, I added some more coals, but I didn’t add enough and only got back up to just under 300. (The temperature outside, now after sunset, also dropped about 10 degrees from when I started at this point.)

Finally, I said to heck with it and added an entire half chimney of coals (taking care to shield the chicken from the ash). This got the temp back to 400 degrees so I could finish the chicken before the next century.

And this is where I started having my second problem. I had a heck of a time getting the various chicken pieces all to 175. My strategy was to put the temp probe in the thickest leg quarter that was furthest away from the heat. The idea was that if this one hit 175, then the others surely would be there by then.

When that piece hit 165 (I was planning on basting the chicken at that point, then letting them get up to 175), I used a Theromopop to check various places in the other leg quarters. I was really surprised at the variance. I had parts at 130, 140, 150.

Eventually, I got all the pieces to at least above 165. And they did turn out good, very moist, and the skin was crisp! (That is a win for me as the last time I did chicken on the grill the skin was soggy.) The Alabama white sauce was quite good; not sure I’d call it a BBQ sauce, but it was quite good.

So my takeaways are to practice a bit more managing temperatures with the charcoal. I also will try using more than one meat probe – have one in a leg further from the fire and one closer to the fire.

To show you how I was completely all over the map (and I took great care not to take the lid off unless I needed to), here is my temp graph for the evening. When I (finally) took the chicken off, I opened all the vents. Fascinating how it has dropped over 50 degrees is just 30 minutes. Much to learn I have.



--Michael

[marshall]

curios how you had your top and bottom vents adjusted?
Next time try loading your sns full with charcoal and use the vents to get it dialed into your desired temp. and it should stay there pretty consistently , I never need to add charcoal on short cooks. but sounds like your chicken turned out good so its a success , congrats on your first weber charcoal cook. Youll love it more each time you use it.
post some pics. of your cook next time to if ya can!

[Fire Art]

I’m at a lost as to what could possibly be your heat problem but here y what I do with my SNS fill half full with charcoal lite half a chimney of charcoal pour in SNS put lid on kettle close bottom vent 1/2 way close topvent 1/4. Ten fifteen minutes put on chicken temp is at 300 Ish and would run 5 hrs if need be. But the chicken only needs About 45 minutes to 180 internal

[lonnie mac]

Know what you're are doing brother? You are learning to cook! No two probes are the exact same. No 40 briquettes burn the exact same as the next 40 briquetts. The temp one day, will never be exactly the same as the next day. You seem to be on top of your variables! And with your adjustments, I'll bet it smelled like supper!

[Michael_in_TX]

Absolutely...that one thing is true....it sure smelled good!

[RonB]

When the chicken tastes good and the skin is crispy, that is a double win.

When I cook chicken, I leave both vents wide open and let the kettle run as hot as it will go. However, I use a dry rub on chix. If I were using a sauce that might burn, I'd dial the temp back a bit.

[grantgallagher]

Yeah me too. I cook chicken as hot as i can as long as its not a high sugar rub or sauce on there

[jfmorris]

I second this one. For chicken, I pretty much run wide open on both vents. When I drop a grate full of chicken in, it will drop from 400 to under 300 on the dome thermometer, and gradually creep back up as the chicken cooks. I don't bother with a grate probe when cooking hot and fast.

[Michael_in_TX]

Now that the kettle has cooled, I may know what I did. I misjudged where the various settings on the lower vent were; in others, I may have closed that bottom vent for a time. (Oops.) That would sure explain why the temperature dropped off so much. And I probably fiddled with the vents more than I should have.

If the nominal temperature to cook chicken is 325-375, I was nearly right there. I bet if I hadn't inadvertently closed that bottom vent, I would have gotten a nice descent from 380 to 350 during the cook. I'll just have to try again....maybe chicken thighs tomorrow. (I am going to have soooo many leftovers.....!)

I have this entire week off....part of me wants to try a Boston butt, maybe Thursday-ish. That is a long cook, though. I may play with a trial run tomorrow. The normal procedure for 225 with the SNS is to light 12 briquettes then dump in a full chimney of charcoal (followed by a quart of boiling water in the reservoir). Vents are open until grill temp gets to 150-175, then top vent is closed to 1/2 and bottom vent to 1/4 to allow the temperature to rise and stay between 225-250. I may just do the 12 briquets + water and see if I can get the temp to 225-250.

--Michael

[grantgallagher]

I say go for it. Follow the SnS directions until you get to know it a bit then tinker as needed. Pork butt is pretty forgiving due to high fat content so dont worry too much about holding 225 exactly...just dont let it go low, obviously.

[EdF]

Don't forget those leftover chicken thigh tacos!

[jfmorris]

Just 12 briquettes and water, with no more fuel, is going to barely reach 225-250. I put those 12 lit briquettes into the corner of the SNS, fill it with charcoal, line the top with 4 wood chunks, and it still takes a bit of time and more charcoal ignition before things stabilize at 225-250 at the grate.

[Cajunrph]

I load my SNS full and stick whatever lighting thig'a'ma'bob I'm using that day in one corner of the SNS. Then I light the starter and let it ignite the corner of coals. Once it's good and lit I shut the lid and set my dampers. I've yet to set up a thermometer on the grate and rely on the dome thermometer. I know it's not accurate but the end results is what matters. Your cook is case and point. Despite wildly swinging temps it turned out great. I'd say that was a successful cook. Way to go. Don't sweat it too much. Chasing temps is never fun. Load up the basket, light a few and learn the art of adjusting the vents and letting the smoker do it's job.

[jfmorris]

On chicken cooks (hot and fast) I also just go by the dome thermometer. On low and slow, you will see 50-75F difference between the dome thermometer and the grate level temp. After many hours it can start to converge, and sometimes I will see the dome and grate temp the same.

[Michael_in_TX]

Here's my second attempt at controlling temps. Compare this graph with my previous one! I think I'm getting better. (This is the SNS low and slow configuration...12 briquettes, water reservoir filled, some extra unlit charcoal in there next to the lit ones.)

Nice gradual climb to about 230...then it started dropping. I opened up the bottom vent a bit...started climbing again...I close it just a hair and while it is still climbing, the slope of the curve is leveling off around the lower 260s.

My goal obviously, is to keep it between 225-275 with minimal fiddling.

(No food was harmed in this practice session lol.)



--Michael

[Mr. Bones]

Looks like yer homin in on yer vent settins, an yer 2nd chart looks WAY smoother, lol!
Nice Job, Brother!

[grantgallagher]

For real! Just wait until you nail your first 2” steak on there.

[Craigar]

Perfect for ribs, butts and brisket.

[Michael_in_TX]

Due to the weather forecast, I'm going to forgo another practice run and do some pork tenderloins (that are currently marinating in the fridge) at 225-275 tomorrow.

This is also a good time for a public service announcement. The pork tenderloin packages at HEB contain two tenderloins. So I have four marinating. Well....something's gotta get me through a rain forecast.

(Also the tenderloins will allow me to use two meat probes. I am very curious to see how they vary between the loin closest to the coals and the one away from it. Want to pull all of them around 150 degrees.)

--Michael

[Red Man]

Years ago when I was first checking temps at various places in my kettle, I found that closest to the coals was hottest at the start of the cook and farthest from the coals was hottest after 6 hours or so. No logical explanation and I don’t know if it was just a one time thing, I only measured it once.

[jfmorris]

Convection and airflow within the kettle could lead to that high reading farthest from the SNS.

[Troutman]

One thing I might add to this discussion is going to tweak your MCS is thinking about adding a controller and a fan to your kettle. Tons of posts on the Fireboard/Pit Viper fan combo. There are other options as well. What you get from that is control over your cooking temps, you get rock solid control and eliminate that variable to where you can concentrate on product. It's one reason why pellet grills have gotten so popular.

Here's a recent example of a cook using a controller/fan. Notice the steady temperature gradients at the top. The only time that changes is when I lifted the lid on the kettle....