Summertime...Barbeques, Grills & Smokers!

Good eye. 26 and 22.
Would love a Webber Ranch!
http://www.weber.com/grills/series/ranch-kettle/ranch-kettle
Had some friends over to share. Made it taste even better.

 

Those ranch kettles are gigantic. I saw one in person at a grill store and it was way too much grill for me.

I have learned to make the most of the 18" kamado, but I still have my 22" Weber kettle when I need a little more space.

 

As much as I would love to get a Ranch, I would probably only use it 2-3 a year.

 

I love my 22. A 26 would be great at times though. That Ranch Kettle is impressive. Steve Raichlen uses one occasionally on his shows. I could never bring myself to shell out 1300 bucks for one.
My neighbor bought a Weber Performer Deluxe at a garage sale like new for 50 bucks. I almost cried. They're 400 new.


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That's a Performer Deluxe I did the beer can chicken on. It was given to me. When someone asks you if you want a free grill, you say, "yes."

 

Part of my lunch and dinner for tomorrow, working 12 hrs. Smoked @ 250 ° with apple wood for 1.5 hrs Now just need to figure out dinner for tonight, lol.

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I'd say toss one into a torpedo roll, smother with sautéed peppers and onions, some homemade fries on the side...

somebody pass me a napkin, please? I'm starting to drool.

 

Red beans and rice is traditionally eaten on Mondays.

 

We have two of those ranch kettles at the church that have seen plenty of use over the years. Great for large events - but bit of overkill for the average home BBQ. They don't get as much use anymore as now we have a guy with a large smoker/grill unit on an 8ft. Trailer. Reminds me of a locomotive engine.

 

Finally did the maiden smoke in my 22.5 " Weber Smokey Mountain... Armadillo Eggs - Jalapeño filled with a mix of cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese and some pork rub wrapped in sausage with a dusting of the pork rub.

ABT's (atomic buffalo turds... seriously, who comes up with these names). These are jalapeños cut in half with pineapple cream cheese wrapped in bacon with a dusting of your favorite pork rub. These were smoked at 245° for an hour and a half with Kingsford charcoal and pecan wood chunks. Everything came out pretty tastey. In the future I might toss the abt's under the broiler just to crisp up the bacon.

This was a test run to see how it the temps run and to see if it will shut down with all the vents closed. I had a buddy at work make up a smaller charcoal ring as the one that came with it is huge. It'll hold 20+ lbs of charcoal. I don't need one that big for short smokes. Started off a little leaky around the charcoal door but it settled in nicely between 245° & 250° with no water in the water pan, two of the three bottom vents were closed with the third barely cracked. If I added some water then I could easily maintain 225°. Towards the end I opened two of the bottom vents, got it up to 315°. Pretty confident I can get 325° which is what I want for skin on chicken. Closed all the vents and within an hour it was cool to the touch.

Pretty successful and informative first smoke.


Tomorrow (Labor Day ), ribs and baked beans in the smoker...

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Let us know how you like the WSM after some use. I've been contemplating one vs a Kamado type for some time.

 

Ah leftovers.



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I will keep you informed. If you've done done the smallest amount of research then you already know about the only downside of this smoker is the door. Luckily mine doesn't leak too bad, I was able to shut it down after the first time using it. I'm liking it already. Much less attention is needed vs using my kettle to smoke with. Of course I'll still use my kettle for small short smokes.

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Boston butts and corn smoking on a 22" Weber, for dinner tomorrow night. The corn is going into a hot corn dip my wife will be making. Using Kingsford charcoal, and didn't have any wood to add. It will still be good! The rub recipe is called Meathead's Memphis Dust from AmazingRibs.com, and to me, is the best rub I've ever used. I highly recommend you check it out!

 

+1 for Memphis Dust! His big bad beef rub is pretty awesome too. I learned a lot from that site... still learning from it.

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In a previous post you said that you used to have a kamado. Why did you get rid of it and what did you replace it with?

 

I had the Primo brand ceramic grill around 15 years ago. On the first one, the lower shell cracked in use and I got it replaced under warranty. The fireboxes had a tendency to crack and break, but as long as the pieces were big enough to stay together you could still use them. I believe it was when the third firebox deteriorated to the point it was no longer useable that I gave up on it. The models I see in the stores today look like they have design improvements, such as split fireboxes to better handle thermal expansion and more features. There's a lot more competition now too.

Right now I use a Weber kettle for the small amount of smoking I do, and a Weber gas grill for grilling. For a while I had an electric smoker but didn't like it. It was a pain to clean and didn't really smoke properly in my opinion.

 

I've also been contemplating a WSM. Years ago I had a couple of Brinkman smokers, but I was never able to get more than maybe 4 hours of cooking time without refueling, and then the ash in the charcoal pan would smother the new coals. From what I understand, the WSM design is far superior to the Brinkman. Anyone have any thoughts on a comparison?

 

Thanks. I never had an outer shell crack, but have been through a number of fire boxes. Luckily I have a 20 year warranty on ceramics. I got a replacement and repaired the old firebox with Rutland Furnace Cement. I have my dad's Kamado from the early 60's and the firebox completely disintegrated. I should just let it go and clear up the space it takes.

 

I've considered the WSM, but could never convince myself to pull the trigger. It's reported to be the best bullet smoker out there, and I know Jim Minion made some award winning bbq on it and could get long, cool smoking sessions on it. http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html The Brinkman is reported to have too many air leak paths to maintain a consistent temp easily.

I guess my reservations are:
1. A bullet smoker just seems like it would be difficult to maintain and clean.
2. I think the Weber name carries an excessive price premium, although it is easy to get replacement parts.

I would also be interested to hear the thoughts of a WSM user.