The last couple of times I cooked with the Smokey Joe I couldn't generate meaningful heat. I built a 2 zone fire with the coals banked up to one side. The bottom vents were wide open as were the top vents. I positioned the top vent opposite the coals. I was cooking some hot dogs indirect and they just weren't cooking. So, I moved them directly over the coals and replaced the lid. Normally, more than 15 seconds over hot coals turns dogs all black and leathery. Not for my cook. It took several minutes directly over the coals. My thought was that it was a combination of the coals being spent (I started with fresh coals in a chimney) and poor heat retention in the mini-kettle. When I was done I left the lid off. An hour later when I went back outside the coals were glowing bright red and were very hot. This is what caused me to think I might have an airflow problem. The only variable I can really change is the positioning of the top vent. I set it up this way because I tossed a few mesquite chips on the fire as I wanted to give the dogs a kiss of smoke.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
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