Weber Kettle cleaning?

[Kuniyosh]

Had my first bbq with my new Kettle 22” and did wings and burgers. Burgers were awful as I over cooked them.

The wings… best wings I ever ate! 2tbsp ground whole pepper, 1 tbsp course salt ground fine in mortar and pestle, tablespoon of Chipotle Chili powder and 1 tablespoon of garlic granules. Sprinkle liberally over wings for good even coverage.

Smoked at 250 till 160f internal and then maxed the heat to 300-350 for 15 minutes till 198f internal.

Amazing!

The cleanup was epic! Fat and grease made the base a mess with all the ash. Won’t be using briquette again. Lump coal will be my go to.

Any cleaning tips for the kettle? I used warm soapy water and wiped it out and then warm soapy water to clean the grills. Dried everything with a fresh cloth to eliminate any standing water in joint or under the ash vents in the bottom. Is there are way to prevent this mess when using the vortex or is it all part of the fun?

 

[indaswamp]

Any cleaning tips for the kettle?

Fire. Burn it off....

 

[jaxgatorz]

Yup. What he said.

 

[Kuniyosh]

Yup. What he said.

So burn with no food every once in a while?

 

[indaswamp]

Yes. I recommend a weed burner propane torch like this one:

 

[Kuniyosh]

Yes. I recommend a weed burner propane torch like this one:
View attachment 665374

So just burn all the fat grease until it’s completely disintegrated and turns to ash? Novel idea!

Found one and not too pricey. Another toy for my bbq addiction! First smoke in 3 years and I was like a kid at Christmas. Those wings were perfect!

 

[chopsaw]

So just burn all the fat grease until it’s completely disintegrated and turns to ash?

I wouldn't do that on a kettle . Get some plastic putty knives from the hardware store , and a cheap paint brush . Couple different sizes . After it completely cools just scrape the heavy grease and ash into the ash catcher and dump it . I keep a small galvanized trash can with a locking lid bail to dump the ash in .

 

[lamar]

I use a metal 1 1/2" putty knife with the corners ground round it fits curved surfaces and does not scratch the surface

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Plastic scraper is what I use.

 

[gmc2003]

Plastic scraper here also, but since my kettles are stand-alones I just pick them up, turn them over and dump the crud out. Word of warning. Try and stay clear of the fins on your one-touch. You don't want to bend them.

Chris

 

[choochooman442]

Yes. I recommend a weed burner propane torch like this one:
View attachment 665374

Great for lighting charcoal as well

 

[Steve H]

If I know the grub I'll be cooking will be messy. Sometimes, I'll lay aluminum foil under the coals. To reduce the clean up. Other than that. Just scrub with soap and a green pad.

 

[Colin1230]

Inch and a half plastic scraper here also. Buy three or four, they grow legs.

 

[thirdeye]

I use a slow n sear side basket 99% of the time and drips are easy to clean-up on the indirect side.

For the grates I buy stainless BBQ forks on sale and cut off the tines, now I have a nice scraper. As an alternate, get some paint sticks at Home Depot and fashion a wooden grate scraper.

 

[indaswamp]

thirdeye

Ingenious!!!! I am constantly amazed at the ingenuity by members here on SMF!!

 

[Kuniyosh]

I use a slow n sear side basket 99% of the time and drips are easy to clean-up on the indirect side.
View attachment 665433

For the grates I buy stainless BBQ forks on sale and cut off the tines, now I have a nice scraper. As an alternate, get some paint sticks at Home Depot and fashion a wooden grate scraper.
View attachment 665434

Oh man I am an idiot! Just wrapping the coal grate in foil and the sides and cut a hole in the middle so the ash can fall out the bottom of the vortex! Thanks dude!

 

[JckDanls 07]

wrapping the coal grate

Just remember... The vortex is getting it's air supply from the bottom... Wrapping the grate with foil is going to starve the charcoal of air (I would think)...

 

[cptnding]

Oh man I am an idiot! Just wrapping the coal grate in foil and the sides and cut a hole in the middle so the ash can fall out the bottom of the vortex! Thanks dude!

I don't think that will help much. The drippings will just run off the edges of the charcoal grate.
With the vortex I always pull off a couple of long sheets of foil and kind of line the inside of the grill under where the food sits. After the grill cools off just wad it up and toss it in the trash.
If the rain holds off I'm planning to try individual ribs with the vortex tomorrow evening. I'll try and get a photo so this makes sense.

 

[Kuniyosh]

Just remember... The vortex is getting it's air supply from the bottom... Wrapping the grate with foil is going to starve the charcoal of air (I would think)...

I mean to wrap area where the vortex doesn’t sit, ie the edges around the vortex, to catch drips and then foil the sides to catch the rest.

 

[Kuniyosh]

I don't think that will help much. The drippings will just run off the edges of the charcoal grate.
With the vortex I always pull off a couple of long sheets of foil and kind of line the inside of the grill under where the food sits. After the grill cools off just wad it up and toss it in the trash.
If the rain holds off I'm planning to try individual ribs with the vortex tomorrow evening. I'll try and get a photo so this makes sense.

I think I know what you mean and it is exactly what I meant just was t clear.