Question for y’all I put 5 butts on my Weber and slow smoked for 14 hours. It seemed like there was a hot spot toward the handle and a bit to the right of the handle. Did I overload the grill causing that? I have had plenty of other cooks with much less meat on the grill and I haven’t noticed this before. Your thought? Thanks.
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What model? -
Yeah, it would be helpful to know which Weber you are using.
That being said, you are gonna have hot spots on almost any smoker or grill. And when you load it up, you are more than likely going to have more hot and cold spots. For the most part, I never worry about them. They are a fact of life. You can rotate the meat around to compensate, but I rarely do that either.Comment
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Given he is posting in the Weber Summit forum, I would assume Weber Summit.Comment
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5 butts on a Weber? You need to share a picture of that!
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Weber Summit, newer model without the propane tank on the side. The front right was hotter than back left. Charcoal hardly burned on the back left.Comment
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I know this is an old string, but thought I’d chime in anyway. On the first few cooks on my WSCGC I noticed the same thing regarding burn pattern, the fire seemed to progress from the center to the right front. Then one cook I fed the probe wires down through the the top vent instead of out the right side, and voila, a uniform burn pattern. Been doing it that way ever since and things have been generally fine. I have a theory that the Summit is so efficient that the.. (continued)Last edited by Jessterr; June 25, 2022, 06:12 PM. -
(Continued)..the slight gap caused by the probe wires running out the right side alters the air flow pattern, and consequently the burn pattern. Just a theory, but it does seem to have worked for me. I did pick up some probe wire extensions to make the longer run out the top easily manageable, and with those it hasn’t really presented a problem.
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Even if you could have the fuel and burn perfectly distributed, the inconsistencies in meat density are going to cause hot/cold spots. Especially when loaded as you imply.Comment
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ty1028 looking at your setup, it appears you put a rectangular foil drip pan on top of the heat deflector. What I am thinking is that the combination of the heat deflector and the foil pan led to the hot spots in a few spots past the edge of the foil pan, if that makes sense.
I have a Slow 'N Sear Kamado, and I can tell you that even if the center of the grate is running at 225F with a Digital thermometer, the areas at the edge that are not over the heat deflector can be MUCH hotter - 350F or more. A lot of the heat goes up and out at the very edges on a kamado, where the heat escapes from under the deflector. You just won't notice it when cooking a couple of butts in the center of the grate, as they are directly over the deflector, but when you load it up, you will. I've had mine loaded up with a half dozen slabs of ribs, and the ends that are not over the heat deflector tend to get a little crispy.
Did you start the fire in the very center, with a single Weber starter cube? What type of charcoal did you use, and did you bury wood chunks in it? All of those are factors, plus the fact that charcoal, especially lump, can burn somewhat unevenly, leading to what you saw with the burn pattern after the cook.Last edited by jfmorris; October 28, 2021, 09:49 AM.Comment
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That is quite a feat gettin that much hog meat on that cooker! It just might get you the weekly award.Comment
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Lots of good info. I have a Weber Summit at my cabin and we have cooked two briskets at once totally filling the grilling area and didn’t have the hot spots, but several of your explanations make a lot of sense. Thanks for the info.Comment
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All Grills/Smokers have hot spots and cool spots, if you learn where they are located, you can use them to your advantage. The easiest way to locate them is to get a roll of "dough boy" biscuits and place them evenly around your grill. and cook according to directions.Comment
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