Originally Posted by
BEagle
Howzit, MrB? Those charcoal holders look good, but pretty expensive?
Greetings, Beags! Yep, as I wrote in my earlier post they are a bit pricey, but given how much money I
haven't spent during lockdown, I thought "Ahhhhh, what the heck!" and bought them!
(And this despite my employer reducing my salary by half for April and May ...)
Originally Posted by
BEagle
Mine's only an 18.5 in model, but I just leave the indirect wire things in place and put the lumpwood charcoal either in the centre for direct cooking or outside for indirect. They work just fine!
I have a set of those "indirect wire things" too, but what I like about the char-baskets is the ability to move them around, if necessary, after cooking has started - push them together for a big direct cook, and push them apart again later if you want to. Not really practical to do that with the "indirect wire things".
Originally Posted by
BEagle
Weber have stopped making the excellent ash catching device on 18.5s - heaven knows why. Only that useless hub cap thing and 3 finger biting wore clips now.
My 29 year-old Weber is the only one I have ever owned, and it only has the aluminium hubcap which, I agree, is not much cop, being too small and too shallow. Even in a slight breeze, any ashes that have been 'raked' into the hubcap just end up getting blown all over the place. Which seems to be
another advantage of the char-baskets - they retain so much more of the ash during the cooking, so a lot less falls into the bottom of the kettle!
However, if I were to buy another Weber kettle, I would
certainly go for the fancier ash catcher variety! We don't really need a BBQ the size of the 22.5 inch any more, and I dare say an 18.5 inch would be much better suited for cooking for two of us ...... but the requirement for a
proper ash catcher would mean buying the 22.5 inch, which as you have mentioned before, means a bigger kettle space to heat up for cooking. C'est la vie! For laughs, I might just write to Weber and ask why the 18.5 inch kettle doesn't have the proper ash catcher any more.
Another slight issue with my elderly (but still in very good nick!) Weber is the third leg, the one
not on the wheel axle - it occasionally tends to drop out at inopportune moments when moving the BBQ. The legs are only friction fit, but I see that later variants had a spring clip introduced at the top end of the leg to prevent just this sort of problem. So, just after the last barbeque I raided our recycling box, pulled out an empty Tiger beer can, cut out a strip of the aluminium, and shimmed the third leg into place - much better now, ha ha!
Originally Posted by
tdracer
Slight thread drift:
For a long time I'd only heard of the 'Big Green Egg' - but lately they've started to show up in the local stores and I'm curious. What makes them so desirable to justify the huge price premium over a similar sized Weber? Yes, they appear to be very well made and should last forever (assuming you don't drop it), but does it make outdoor cooking that much easier or better?
I'd never heard of them until now. Had a look at the website, and concluded that is just stupid money. Probably priced to appeal to those who believe that, unless items are expensive, they probably aren't good quality? I wouldn't pay it, anyway, as there is there is much better value available out there, without having to resort to cheap, and I think my 29 year-old Weber kettle is testament to that!
Originally Posted by
SnowFella
Easier in that it's usually dead easy to keep a low and stable temperature for ages without having to resort to building a snake in the weber. Just pile in the charcoal, light it in one spot and as it comes up to temperature just shut the vents down for a stable cook. I've got a Chargriller Akorn and 10+ hours cooking without having to bother with adding any coal makes pulled pork and similar easily done.
And on the other side of the spectrum you can get them screamin hot if you want to by just leaving the vents open.
Usually hold moisture better too so generally no need to add a waterpan.
I have had success with cooking and smoking whole chickens using the Weber kettle! Though it takes a few hours, and needs a couple of small additions of charcoal and wood chips, the heat can be controlled nicely with the top and bottom vents, and the kettle lid helps to retain moisture. Does a good job!
Originally Posted by
Easy Street
I swear by my Weber chimney starter. Never a drop of fluid needed. Pile it full, stand it over a lit firelighter (or even just paper) on the bottom grille and come back 10-15mins later to something a blacksmith could work with. Tip it out, top grille on, cook. If feeling bold you can sear bits of steak or tuna over the ‘furnace’ before tipping it out. It transformed my BBQ experience!
The Weber chimney starter is another gizmo that I bought this year and, I agree, it gets the charcoal going in no time flat!
