Weber kettle - raving

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:11 pm

I need to give a shout out to the Weber 22.5" kettle. Very Happy

This thing has blazed through 6 months of Canadian winter and kept us fed better than any other winter in my 32-year history. Unless I smoked a long overnighter or needed to cook up lots of food, the kettle is what I used for all my smokes. I didn't have to dig it out of the snowdrifts like I do my WSM, the cleanup is much easier, no water or sand or foil to worry about, etc. It holds heat, the charcoal and wood chunks are easy to fill, the ashes are easy to clean up, I could just go on and on.
I've cooked pork loins, ribs, chickens, salmon, beef roasts, you name it.
I can't get over how well it cooks with the lid on - it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I have the coals banked to one side or both... for example if I'm cooking up some steaks or chops, I've usually got the meat cooking over or close to the fire, and potatoes and veggies on the other side.... The potatoes always get nice and crispy despite being 12" away from the fire.

My only problem... Why didn't I pick up on of these 15 years ago Question

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 4:30 pm

Rob, I own two of those beauties. A great cooker.

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:20 pm

I got the same one and it has served us real well. You are right about not having to dig it out of the snow. Anything cooked over charcoal, especially in the winter, tastes good on it.

Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:25 pm

I wouldn't be without mine either. I've even cooked a Thanksgiving turkey on mine.

Here's a treat though, get some Jack Daniels pellets for flavor then bake up some potatoes (indirect heat of course) smoking them with the JD and you'll eat them with no other fixens. I often cook 10# of them then keep the in the fridge and warm them up in the microwave then eat them like apples. Good Eats for sure.

http://www.bbqrsdelight.com/flav.htm

Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 7:10 pm

You can sign me up as a new owner also. Very Happy

We ordered it over the weekend and it should be here in about 10 LONG Days. The discussion about the tri-tip got me to thinking that it wouldn't be a bad little cooker to have. Once we get used to cooking on it, I will thaw the tri-tip and give it a whirl.

Tracy

Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 7:25 pm

Tracy wrote:

You can sign me up as a new owner also. Very Happy

We ordered it over the weekend and it should be here in about 10 LONG Days. The discussion about the tri-tip got me to thinking that it wouldn't be a bad little cooker to have. Once we get used to cooking on it, I will thaw the tri-tip and give it a whirl.

Tracy

They're not the No. 1 selling grill for nothing.

Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2007 10:02 pm

Tracy, one of my favorites off the grill is to pile the charcoal on one side and indirect some bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. They turn out great every time. Just had some yesterday and the company said "it was the best chicken they had ever had". Boy I love to hear those words. Grand Champ again!! Very Happy

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:50 pm

Pretty easy when you are the only competitor Jim-Bob

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:26 pm

What is it Jim OR Bob? Sounds like 2 competitors there Morley. Laughing

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:51 am

Jim - that's exactly what I cooked yesterday. Just awesome.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:36 am

That chicken sounds like a great thing to try. I was wondering if you guys just "bank" the charcoal to the sides or do you use the baskets as was mentioned in the previous topic? And if yes, does it make a difference?

Tracy

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 7:56 am

Tracy I don't have the baskets so I just bank the coals to one side. There is a special grill to use with those baskets and they have small access "doors" so you don't have to lift the grill out to add more charcoal if needed. I haven't seen them up here but down in the USA at Menards. Have you got your grill yet? or are you just getting your mind all set up for its arrival?

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:34 am

Tracy wrote:

That chicken sounds like a great thing to try. I was wondering if you guys just "bank" the charcoal to the sides or do you use the baskets as was mentioned in the previous topic? And if yes, does it make a difference?

Tracy

I use what you are calling baskets; they are actually walls that clip on to the charcoal grate so you can adjust the fire size a little. I like them since they make it real easy to use just aluminum foil on the bottom center to catch grease. I thought the food grate with the access doors was a product change in recent years; how old is your Kettle Jim? I bought a new one 2 years ago and it came with the access doors.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:38 am

Mine is only 4 years old Bill. It is the Silver model and so being the low end probably didn't come with the fancy grill.

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2007 8:45 am

I picked up those charcoal baskets (just like THIS)

but to be honest I don't really use them.. Most of the time I have the charcoal banked to one side and it still cooks evenly across the grate.