First smoke in Weber Kettle

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jhill1440

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 16, 2011
2
10
I have had an MES for 3 years and have smoked some great things on it so this Christmas i took the plunge and got a Weber Kettle 22" Original Premium.  So this is the first smoke in the kettle.  Our local central TX HEB had a good deal on brisket at $1.97/lb.  So I had to buy 2 and put one in the freezer.  Put on Paprika, brown sugar, pepper rub and let the brisket sit overnight in the fridge.  This is how I have done brisket in the MES and the family likes it so this is how I will start on the weber.

I loaded up the kettle with the Royal Oak lump I had using the minion method.  Although at this point it is pretty much just a big bank of lump around 3/4 of the kettle.  With mesquite chips sprinkled in.


It looks like I may have over estimated the size of the kettle when I was making my brisket purchase at 8 lbs.  This is all set up.  You can see the glowing coals on the bottom left.  I will keep updating as the day goes on.


2 hours in. and it is holding steady at 250-300F by the temp gauge in the lid.  I did boil the lid temp gauge so I know that it is semi-accurate.


About 5.5 hours and reloaded with lump all around.  It seems to want to settle in at 250-300F by the temp dial in the lid.


And there is the final product after about 9 hours in the weber.  I left too much of the fat cap on but that is just a learning experience.  Since the brisket was so big the point was done quicker than the flat because it was closer to the coals.  It was a balance between getting the flat done and over doing the point.  But the kids all say, "that is some good brisket" , so that makes it a success.
 
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Great! My first smokes were in Webers. My very first was over maple alone, no charcoal. Hooked.

I got an offset, and it's a different control strategy. With a Weber, I'd keep the bottom vents wide open, and choke the top vent to control the fire. With the offset, the control is at the intake, and the exhaust is wide open.

I keep saying there's a lot of overlap between grilling and smoking. "Direct" smoking in a kettle is a good example. It can be tricky and not right for everything, but you can get some great results.  Try spatchcocking a chicken, if you pull it off right you'll wow people. The first time I tried that, I sort of stumbled into just the right amount of fuel, and the fire was just finishing as the bird was golden.

And, the Webers are built like tanks. They're expensive but they serve for many years.
 
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