Grilling on a smoker?

[drunkenmeatfist]

I got volunteered to cook for a work lunch that is going down tomorrow. Menu is just burgers and dogs, but the crowd might be around 30 people. Originally I agreed to bring a Weber kettle and my PK, but when I heard it was 30 people I said I might not have the capacity for that. A coworker said he has a grill that would be big enough. Today I found out that his "grill" is an Old Country Pecos.

I've never tried grilling on one of those as I did not think they were designed to hold hot coals in the main chamber. Now I am considering loading up my two grills and trying to cook everything on those. Any advice?

 

[Speeed]

Bring what you know.

 

[Fooball]

Tell your boy with the Pecos to forget it unless he's gonna let you grill in the cook chamber.

Even without his, I think you could handle 30 if it's just dogs and burgers as long as they let you get a head start and you can just throw a set of cooked dogs and burgers in a covered foil pan for 15 minutes. Is your kettle at least a 22"?

It will be easy if he lets you throw charcoal in his Pecos, but in a pinch I still think you could get'r done with your grills in 2 or at the most 3 shifts.

Don't forget the diced onions, lettuce and sliced tomatoes ahead of time. Cheese if you want to go to the trouble.

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Well it looks like the Pecos is out due to transportation issues. Got to clean up my grills to make them look presentable. Things might not get cooked all at once, but they WILL get cooked

 

[LloydQ]

I had to cook a bunch of burgers for the homeless shelter a while back. I cooked them all on the Blackstone at home, then hauled them in a pan with warm beef broth. They kept just fine.
Cooking in batches should be fine.

 

[ModelMaker]

Just be aware, that much meat all dripping fat at the same time will create a fire hazard of unknown proportions! Same with a full grill of brats.
Been there and most certainly did that!!
Ed

 

[Juggy D Beerman]

Except for grilling steaks and roasting peppers, I always use the indirect method of cooking on the kettle. I use about 2/3s to 3/4s of a (Weber) chimney full of charcoal. Place a row of charcoal on each side of the kettle and place the burgers in the middle of the cooking grate and arrange them so that none of the burgers are sitting directly over the coals. Depending on the size of the burgers, you should be able to get six to eight burgers on a 22" kettle grill.


You can double your capacity by adding another 22" cooking grate to the mix. Turn the extra grill handle side down and place it so that there are handles every 90 degrees. A six ounce burger will be ready to turn after 15 minutes cooking time and should reach a serving temperature of 160F degrees in 25 to 30 minutes cooking time. You will need a pair of heavy duty gloves to remove the top grate in order to flip the burgers on the bottom grate. You will also need a work table to place the top grate on when you need to access the bottom grate.


I hope this helps,


Juggy

 

[drunkenmeatfist]

Everything turned out fine except for some inconvenience for me. I fired up the grills and then I saw the burgers. They were frozen Sam's pattys in 36 count sleeves. I hammered the first batch and it did not matter. They could have had an IT from 150 to 250 and they would still taste like a cafeteria burger. I burned the bejesus out of all of the dogs though because I wasn't paying attention to them.

 

[Fooball]

Everything turned out fine except for some inconvenience for me. I fired up the grills and then I saw the burgers. They were frozen Sam's pattys in 36 count sleeves. I hammered the first batch and it did not matter. They could have had an IT from 150 to 250 and they would still taste like a cafeteria burger. I burned the bejesus out of all of the dogs though because I wasn't paying attention to them.

It's VERY easy to burn a dog. I know from experience. I kinda like a little char on my dog, sets it apart from a pan cooked one.

Glad to hear you pulled it off. The Sam's Sirloin patty's aren't too bad. I think they are 1/3 pound each.

I buy the Sam's beef dogs, the same ones that they serve up front at the counter. They are 1/4 pound each and come in a 3 pound 12 pack in the refrigerated cooler section.

 

[SmokinAussie]

That's a shame. Looks like they set you up to fail.