Newby to site, medium-rare to smoking, moldy-oldie in life

[nunyaz]

Greetings!

As the subject line says, I'm new to this site (as a 30-day trial member - I've been lurking for years ). I tried the Pit Barrel Cooker and was miserably disappointed - reached out to PBC via phone and spoke with the founder's wife(!) who said in response to my request for a refund, "It's the Pit Barrel COOKER - if you wanted a smoker you should have bought a smoker." (My complaint to them was that everything I tried on the PBC lacked the rich smokiness that I had come to love from my cheap offset.)

My next purchase was the venerable Weber Kettle. Found some great hacks (minion, snake, 2-zone) and bought a bazillion dollars worth of accessories to maximize usage/versatility and STILL struggle to perfect my pit skills.

My number one quest at this time for my Weber Kettle 22.5 is this: What is the best way to maximize the indirect zone area?

I've used the fire brick method, have a "3-in-1" riser from a guy in Canada with two cooking grates, and have a 16" Lodge cast iron pizza pan as a diffuser - each of these methods helps but none is ideal. For instance the cast iron diffuser makes it a nightmare to add briquets or smoking chunks as/when needed - especially with the riser in place!

My desire is to have enough indirect space to smoke two (at least) racks of ribs, which is not possible on the 22.5 kettle in any configuration I've been able to discover.

Any help, links or suggestions greatly appreciated as I search the archives for solutions

Peace,
Nunyaz
(Joseph - Pine Ridge, FL)

[Elton's BBQ]

Welcome into the open & The Pit!
Cheers from Norway

[Panhead John]

Howdy from Houston Joseph and welcome to The Pit! My solution to your 2 racks of ribs problem would be to first get an SnS insert for your kettle. Easy to use and a LOT of us here have one and love it. I’d also recommended getting a couple of rib racks, which allow you to place your ribs on the kettle in a vertical position, rather than flat on the grill. Saves you a lot of space and allows for just as good a cook.

RIB RACKS




SNS INSERT

[nunyaz]

Panhead John, thanks for your input! I already have a rib rack (not sure when/where we got it ) but mine is not nearly as efficient as those!
I'm getting a LOT of folks touting the SNS and it's on the short list
Thanks again, brother!

[CaptainMike]

Howdy from The Great State of Jefferson!

This is what a great many of us here use in our kettles and should be the answer to your question: https://snsgrills.com/products/slow-n-sear-deluxe

[nunyaz]

Capt. Mike ... again with the SNS LOL

[Red Man]

Welcome to the pit. Get the SnS. Here’s two racks of ribs, one St Louis cut and one baby back, on the 22.5 kettle.

[nunyaz]

Red Man - another SNS fan, eh? Is that the SNS drip pan under the ribs?

[Red Man]

nunyaz Yes it is.

[holehogg]

Greetings from South Africa.

[nunyaz]

Greetings! We had a brief layover in Johannesburg many years ago on the way back from a missions trip to Zambia.

[CHNeal]

Welcome from the great state of Nebraska!

Is too soon to tell you that you are incorrect? 😉 I’ve cooked EVERYTHING on 22 inch weber kettles. 2-9 lbs butts fit nicely. Trimmed 19 lbs Brisket fits like a charm and I regularly cook 3-4 racks of ribs in each of 3 kettles at a time as it take a 9 -12 racks to feed my employees!
Here’s a pic of the last cook. Only did 8 racks as I had two guys on vacation. These were on at call it 225 for 5 hours without the SNS just charcoal banked against the side and using the Weber rib rack.

[nunyaz]

CHNeal - now THAT'S what I'm talkin' bout! Bank the coals, load the rib racks
Thank you!

[gpdc]

i'd be your very best employee.....!!!

[RonB]

The SnS will contain the charcoal and give you more cooking space, and if you put hot water in the reservoir, it will direct the heat up and over while adding moisture to the Kettle. If you do this, you will need to flip the racks top to bottom, and switch places so that each rack spends about the same amount of time closest to the heat.

[nunyaz]

RonB - & all others with the SNS mantra ... I use 2 fire bricks (standing on edge) to minimize firebox area and maximize indirect zone then minion or snake my briquets. I also believe the Weber charcoal baskets provide the same setup, more-or-less (AND leave $110 in the bank )
This (in my humble opinion) accomplishes the same effect as the SNS; it's the rib rack piece of the puzzle that might be the answer (for me).

As a Newby, I'm open to other opinions / suggestions
Peace, Joseph

[Panhead John]

Do you have to have an SnS for slow cooking? No, but it sure makes for an easy all in 1 solution for long smokes, as well as a searing machine for doing reverse sear steaks or whatever. I’ve got the charcoal baskets too, they're not nearly as good as an SnS for long smokes. They have holes on one side which makes the coals burn faster and allows more heat to escape from the sides, rather than straight up. The shape of the charcoal baskets is a hindrance to more cooking space, when using 2 IMO.

[Allon]

Welcome from Central Massachusetts

I use a Nexgrill rib rack.

[nunyaz]

Thank you Allon - you look like a no nonsense kinda brother I wouldn't want up ag'in me!

[Allon]

I’m pretty mello these days…

[Donw]

Welcome from Maryland

[BKYDBBQ]

Welcome from White Stone, Va...

[STEbbq]

…welcome!

[DavidNorcross]

Welcome from Virginia!

[Draznnl]

Welcome to the Pit from a touch south of you.

[CHNeal]

nunyaz

I showed in my pics what can be done with just the rib rack and banking coals.
I will tell you that I have recently purchased an SNS-XL for my 26 and it is very quickly endearing itself to me. It doesn’t really take up anymore room then I was using just banking and the integrated water pan is very cool.
I’m still in the honeymoon phase and still trying to see if it was a net gain for me but it’s very promising. I probably gonna pick one up for the 22 and run it head to head with a bankrd one as I’m interested in the fire control and duration of cook without refueling that so many swear by.
All in all I’ll say that the XL was VERY expensive but I don’t feel I’ve wasted my money, it’s a incredibly well built tool that I’m sure will be around as long as my cooker and I have no doubt will be useful and more efficient then my old way of doing things.