# Smoking on a weber kettle grill



## bearsfan1985 (Jan 27, 2013)

I've bought a weber kettle grill and want to do more than grill. I've done a salmon, beer can chicken, and turkey breast on it with success, but I want more. Can you smoke a pork butt on it? If so how? And what else can I do?


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2013)

This would probably be more manageable for you if you want to try a larger cut of pork...this was more on the hot & fast side...just a couple hours total cooking time:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...gold-w-recipes-hope-you-dont-mind-some-q-view

...butts will keep you pretty busy tending the fire, as they need to cook low & slow to get tender (12-15 hours for an average butt @ 8-9lb in a kettle is a lot of work), while the loin is already pretty tender, so a hotter chamber temp won't hurt it at all.

Eric


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## cliffcarter (Jan 27, 2013)

Yes you can-













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This is how I set it up, here I am using Stubbs briquettes and apple wood pieces 3"long

by 1" thick, set on end in the charcoal. About 15 fully lit briquettes go in the open space

to the left of the foil pan-













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__ cliffcarter
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I like to cook my butts at temps between 260° and 280°, the last one was a 7.25 pounder that cooked to pulling temp in about 8 1/2 hours.

Ash build up will restrict air flow over time so be sure to sweep the ash out of the kettle about once per hour.


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## bearsfan1985 (Jan 27, 2013)

Thanks Eric. That looks great. Do you brine your loins, or just rub them?


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## bama bbq (Jan 27, 2013)

I've done ribs, chicken, prime rib, turkey, pork butt, etc all low and slow on my Kettle.  I bank the coal on one side of the charcoal grill and keep temps low with the lower vents.  I've had success by covering the 2/3 part of the charcoal grill that does not have coal on it with alum foil and put an alum pan under the food with water in it.


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## JckDanls 07 (Jan 27, 2013)

I've done butt's , briskets, as well as other big meats on a kettle...  just did beef ribs on one Sat. in a competition...  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135304/county-fair-competition-and-the-results-are-in#post_925025

You just need to do the minion method...  put all your charcoal on one side with your wood chunks mixed all throughout ...  light about 8-10 briquettes (half lit) and dump them at the very end of your line of unlit charcoal ..  it takes a few cooks to get it figured out, but once ya do you can cook for hours without reloading...


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## pthefree (Jan 27, 2013)

I have smoke with great success with my Weber Performer. I spent a little money and purchased a Smokenator 1000. Look it up on YouTube to see how it works. It is a MUST have for kettle owners. 













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## linguica (Jan 27, 2013)

The search bar above is a good starting point," smoking with weber kettle"

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/charcoal_grill_setup.html


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## JckDanls 07 (Jan 27, 2013)

Linguica said:


> The search bar above is a good starting point," smoking with weber kettle"



yes.. we've been through this with other members so you should find all kinds of info


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## forluvofsmoke (Jan 27, 2013)

Bearsfan1985 said:


> Thanks Eric. That looks great. Do you brine your loins, or just rub them?


You/re welcome. I have brined a few in the past...the halved loin I linked you to wasn't.

Ah, here's one that popped into the ol' brain waves just a few seconds ago:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...osemary-rub-apple-pecan-smoke-q-view-finished

Was a while ago when I did that one...good eats.

_*EDIT:*_ Oops! Just went back and looked...the brine recipe wasn't there on the above thread...here it is:

7 cups water
1 Tbls Coriander Seed, whole
2 Tbls 5 Peppercorn Blend, whole
2 tsp Chili Powder, coarse grind
2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1-1/2 Tbls Paprika, mild
1 Ancho Chili, dried and broken
2 tsp Fennel Seed
2 Tbls Red Bell Pepper, chopped and dried (sub with 1/4 cup fresh)
2 Tbls Rosemary Leaves, dried
7 Bay leaf, med/large, whole

Mix all ingredients while heating in a saucepan to ~180*. Chill well before adding meat and keep refrigerated until ready to cook. You may want to remove the bay leaves after the brine solution has cooled a bit...they can continue imparting flavor long after the solution has cooled and can get fairly strong in relation to the other spices.
This is my latest and probably greatest pork brine and rub recipes...not sure if you'd have all the ingredients, but it's got a very unique flavor profile...in a good way:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-rub-2-butts-recipes-q-view-1-sliced-2-pulled

Eric


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## r ahrens (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi, Weber has a great new book out: Weber Smoke.  It has recipes and processes for smoking on the kettle, gas grill and WSM.  They indicate their preferred grill for each recipe but the processes are transferable.  Although I very rarely use my Summit and the WSM is my go to for low and slow, I have a tendency to put some chunks of smoking wood on the coals every time I use the performer.  I love a rib-eye with a bit of oak smoke!  Happy smoking!


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## mneeley490 (Jan 30, 2013)

r ahrens said:


> Hi, Weber has a great new book out: Weber Smoke.  It has recipes and processes for smoking on the kettle, gas grill and WSM.  They indicate their preferred grill for each recipe but the processes are transferable.  Although I very rarely use my Summit and the WSM is my go to for low and slow, I have a tendency to put some chunks of smoking wood on the coals every time I use the performer.  I love a rib-eye with a bit of oak smoke!  Happy smoking!


I have that book and it's a great resource.

Also, you may want to go to YouTube and check out the videos made by "BBQ Pit Boys". They do most of their smoking on a Weber Performer. I'm not saying I'd follow all their practices, but it's a great starting point. And the videos are highly entertaining, too.


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## tstalafuse (Feb 14, 2013)

Another option is to buy a Smoke EZ insert if you are want to add capacity.  I can get 3 cooking racks in for a total of approximately 1500sq inches of smoking space. 

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__ Jan 29, 2013


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## rubrchickenhead (Feb 22, 2013)

Here's a photo of a simple smoker setup on my weber:













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I just throw an aluminum pan in there and I also find that some expanded metal grate helps the lump charcoal burn longer and more evenly. 

I've since upgraded to cast-iron grates, but the setup remains the same:













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__ Feb 12, 2013





     View media item 200472
You can have a lot of fun smoking on a weber kettle and it's quite easy once you get used to it.


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## danksidebbq (Jun 7, 2013)

Oh man this is going to be super helpful for my next BBQ I am looking to blow peoples mind and I really want my meat to be delicious and my sauce as well!


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## raybones (Jun 7, 2013)

I myself have done many smokes low and slow with my weber. Looking at getting the smokenator however you can do some great smokes without it


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## savupoika (Apr 25, 2014)

cliffcarter said:


> Yes you can-
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Great post cliffcarter! I will try with 15 litten briguettes next time i smoke.


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## cliffcarter (Apr 25, 2014)

Savupoika said:


> Great post cliffcarter! I will try with 15 litten briguettes next time i smoke.


Since posting this I have changed to using about 1/2 chimney of lit charcoal because it gets me to my desired cooking temp more quickly.


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## savupoika (Apr 25, 2014)

cliffcarter said:


> Since posting this I have changed to using about 1/2 chimney of lit charcoal because it gets me to my desired cooking temp more quickly.


Thanks i keep this also in my mind.


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## mneeley490 (Apr 26, 2014)

Since we were out of town on Easter, I'm smoking a cured pork picnic on my Weber right now. Also doing a batch of beans in a black iron pot at the same time. About an hour and a half in, and it's holding steady at 230°-240°. I'll post the results in a different thread.


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## savupoika (Apr 26, 2014)

Which place do you measure the temperature ? I noticed that thermometer inserted trough top vent gives about 60° bigger reading compared to level of cooking grate.


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## bosox20 (Apr 26, 2014)

Always trust temp by the meat. Always!


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## mneeley490 (Apr 26, 2014)

I drilled a hole in the lid and installed a temp gauge. I then subtract 25° from the reading for the grill temp. I've found this one is accurate w/in 5° that way. And I always use another temp probe in the meat.

This was a shot when I was grilling steaks.













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__ Apr 26, 2014






Placement on the lid.













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__ Apr 26, 2014


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## savupoika (Apr 26, 2014)

bosox20 said:


> Always trust temp by the meat. Always!


I always use thermometer for bigger meat chunks. The temp on the top-vent doesnt seem right to me since it gives bigger temps than on the grate, it doesnt matter what the temp is on top-vent since im not cooking there. Its a little strange to me that the thermometers are usually located at the top of the lid, i guess you can just decrease 20-30% of the reading and then you have cooking grate temp.


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## cliffcarter (Apr 26, 2014)

Savupoika said:


> Which place do you measure the temperature ? I noticed that thermometer inserted trough top vent gives about 60° bigger reading compared to level of cooking grate.


I modded my Weber by putting a thermometer in the lid at grate level-













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__ cliffcarter
__ Apr 26, 2014


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## mneeley490 (Apr 26, 2014)

That's probably what I should have done, but I was looking at where Weber was placing thermometers on some of their models.


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## savupoika (Apr 27, 2014)

cliffcarter said:


> I modded my Weber by putting a thermometer in the lid at grate level-
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Imo that gives more realistic reading of the temp on grate level. Thats a nice mod!


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## papadon (Apr 27, 2014)

I just got the 26.75 kettle and the smokenator 2600. I've smoked butts and chicken. 100% better than my electric. It doesn't matter which smoker you use, you'll still have to tend the meat every hour or two. Weber kettle is the way to go for grilling or smoking, access to the meat is easier on the kettle than a regular smoker like my electric. Use the snake or minion meathods. Good luck and have fun!
GO BEARS!!


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## papadon (Apr 27, 2014)

Just realized you started this thread in January . Have you tried smoking anything?


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## h2so4ca (Apr 28, 2014)

I've had the luxury of having several smokers at home and more often then not if I'm just doing

something for the family I like to use my weber kettle. It's easy and produces great food. 

this weekend we had two friends coming over and we wanted chicken so. I put these two on.













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__ h2so4ca
__ Apr 28, 2014






They came out great. And for chicken I like that on the Kettle I can easily maintain

a temp of 300 deg for some nice crisp skin.


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## bosox20 (Apr 28, 2014)

They look awesome. Congrats!


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## redwing2001 (Jun 19, 2014)

I managed a first attempt at a pork leg and ribs while the mrs was away. 
The food was amazing and the cold beers just as good. 
The leg took 7 hours at 125f and the ribs were on for 6 
Happy days indeed


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## carbine1koos (Apr 28, 2015)

cliffcarter said:


> Yes you can-
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I use Stubbs briquettes too with almost the exact same setup on my Kettle grill.  I haven't done Pork butt yet but am very interested to try it.

What time do you typically start cooking on the grill for pork butts?  I'm wondering if I can start it at say 3 or 4 AM and then get up at 7am or 8am and if the vents would be too clogged by then so that the temp would have crashed?


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## timberjet (Apr 28, 2015)

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I smoke everything in my kettle. Well, unless everything doesn't fit and then I fire up the uds. This is my setup and it works like a charm. Weber charcoal baskets 12 bucks. Priceless.


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## cliffcarter (Apr 28, 2015)

carbine1koos said:


> I use Stubbs briquettes too with almost the exact same setup on my Kettle grill.  I haven't done Pork butt yet but am very interested to try it.
> 
> *What time do you typically start cooking on the grill for pork butts?*   I'm wondering if I can start it at say 3 or 4 AM and then get up at 7am or 8am and if the vents would be too clogged by then so that the temp would have crashed?


6 or 7 AM, I cook at 300°+ so they get done in a reasonable amount of time. An 8 pound butt gets done in seven hours or so. No more interrupted sleep or overnights for me
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






.

IMHO the quality of the finished product is better as well, so it's a win-win.


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## carbine1koos (Apr 28, 2015)

cliffcarter said:


> 6 or 7 AM, I cook at 300°+ so they get done in a reasonable amount of time. An 8 pound butt gets done in seven hours or so. No more interrupted sleep or overnights for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'll give that a shot thanks sir!


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## legrand (Dec 28, 2015)

I had the choice between a Weber and a Coleman kettle grill. Choose the later for it's leg construction. I have smoke a few things on it and it comes out great. Love the info on this post. Learned a few things.

Here is my kettle and one of it's babies. LOL













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