Grilling and smoking

[AKCheesehead]

There was a terrific thread on this that had died out in 21 and is archived (closed to new posts) so I’m starting a new one. Unless, that is, the old one can be resurrected and this merged in 🙂

I moved this summer and my beloved Weber kettle 22” had to be sold. I got a new one here and went for the step up version with the ash catch, thermometer and hinged grate. Of course since I’d researched it now I see ads for grilling things. Some upgrades are out there and I was curious if anyone has thoughts. Particularly on the vortex and the slow n sear. I’ve got a pretty good handle on the things I do with a Weber, direct and indirect. But maybe these could help me to step up my game?

[CheezWizHed]

I've been tempted by the slow and sear, but have a separate smoker anyway... so I'm not sure how much I'd use it. 

[AKCheesehead]

Weber makes a smoker Ive been interested in for years. But I just don’t know if it would make that much sense to invest the money and additional space on. 
last week I did a rack of ribs using the snake method and I feel like I’ve got the snake so dialed in that maybe anything else would just be clutter. 
Anyhow, I’m hoping to see the thread pick up. Successes, failures, photos, recipes, techniques what have you. The old thread was so good. And I value the thoughts and opinions of posters on this site far and high above anyone else’s on the internet. 

[NeedMoreFans]

I use a Kamado Joe, and overall it's fantastic.  I can crank the heat to 800 or dial it in to 275 for 11 hours.  I have a soapstone that is excellent for salmon and also a pizza stone.  My only issue with the pizza stone is it can get too hot and the crust burns, so I put a barrier between the flames and the stone. 

My most recent success was almost a failure.  I made modified version of Kalua pork (just scored the meat and used salt), tossed it on the smoker and nearly forgot about it because I got very busy.  Forgetting about it was the best thing because I didn't open the smoker to check on it, and it came out with outstanding flavor.  

Bacon is going on this weekend.  Got a great deal on a pork belly at Costco, so that will make enough bacon to last a couple of months.  

I stopped buying beef because of the cost, and it's an expensive mistake when it's done wrong.  

Edit: I have thought about getting a gas grill for simple food.  Charcoal can take a long time to get hot, and I don't always like waiting longer than the food will take to cook for it to get hot.  Also, my grill is well used and FILTHY!  I really need to do a deep clean, but don't even know where to start, lol. 

[GAME05]

On 9/9/2026 at 6:00 PM, NeedMoreFans said:

Edit: I have thought about getting a gas grill for simple food.  Charcoal can take a long time to get hot, and I don't always like waiting longer than the food will take to cook for it to get hot.

Yep. I recently did the same thing and got a small charcoal (+rotisserie) grill to compliment the pellet smoker and pellet pizza oven. Then realized that charcoal is insanely expensive to make grilling almost prohibitive. I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to be making my own charcoal. All the stuff is ready, so I just need to do it.

[CheezWizHed]

I use my in-law's gas grill when I'm at their house.  Charcoal is SOOOO much better.  Nothing comes out as good without the kiss of the dragon!

[SeaBass]

On 9/9/2026 at 5:00 PM, NeedMoreFans said:

Also, my grill is well used and FILTHY!  I really need to do a deep clean, but don't even know where to start, lol. 

Try searching videos on youtube. There's a video for everything.

[AKCheesehead]

I feel like gas is so minimally faster I have zero use for a gas grill. The chimney starters are so effective. And a little trick I use to speed it up is I tear off some of the bag and put it in the top, crumpled. Then the charcoal on it, followed by the used charcoal from in the grill. Then paper below like usual. By using that technique, the coals are ready in the about 10 minutes it takes me to take care of mise en place. 
Chicken thighs and zucchini last night were absolutely on point. 

[AKCheesehead]

4 hours ago, GAME05 said:

Yep. I recently did the same thing and got a small charcoal (+rotisserie) grill to compliment the pellet smoker and pellet pizza oven. Then realized that charcoal is insanely expensive to make grilling almost prohibitive. I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to be making my own charcoal. All the stuff is ready, so I just need to do it.

Depends on what grill you are using. If you have something with a good tight fitting lid and good vents you can shut as soon as you’re done cooking it’s not bad. 
I get about a dozen cooks off a 16# bag of kingsford now that I have a grill that the fuel guy didn’t knock over with the hose. 
But I’ve used friends’ grills that don’t have a tight fit and there’s nothing but ashes left the next day. That would suck. 

[nate82]

I’m lazy so I hate charcoal and Hank Hill would be very disappointed in you all for not using propane!

 

 

[CheezWizHed]

23 minutes ago, AKCheesehead said:

Depends on what grill you are using. If you have something with a good tight fitting lid and good vents you can shut as soon as you’re done cooking it’s not bad. 
I get about a dozen cooks off a 16# bag of kingsford now that I have a grill that the fuel guy didn’t knock over with the hose. 
But I’ve used friends’ grills that don’t have a tight fit and there’s nothing but ashes left the next day. That would suck. 

Yes, I've use a Weber kettle for 25+ years and you can snuff out the fire in 20 min.  I added a Chargriller 980 charcoal smoker and it takes much longer to stop, so it does waste more charcoal. 

The weber has a gas starter, so the charcoal would be ready in 5 min, but it eventually stopped working about 10 years ago and I couldn't find replacement parts for it. I use a chimney starter with a little olive oil on the paper... lights up in 15 min.  Not as fast a gas, but the taste is not comparable. 

[AKCheesehead]

I kind of would like this image pinned to the top of the thread 🙂

[nate82]

57 minutes ago, AKCheesehead said:

I kind of would like this image pinned to the top of the thread 🙂