Question for those with a Santa Maria grill

[Killa J]

I have one that is finally going to be delivered in a week or so (was supposed to be finished last December).

Obviously they are great for direct cooking over a fire. Will it work like a regular grill if I put a lid over the food? It seems like I could use the lid from my Smokey Mountain and set it on the grate. Will the smoke just go out around instead of going into the covered area? Or will enough go into it to still function like the lid does on normal grills?

 

[South Butte Slim]

I have never used a lid on mine but have seen others use a weber kettle lid. They felt like it helped with cooking thicker cuts of meat. Having said that we have cooked tri tips, half chickens and ribs without a lid and it came out great. The biggest learning curve for me was lowering or raising the grate and fuel regulation to sustain your temp over time. I wish someone would have told me that a 5 mississippi count on the heat is a good place to start with cooking temps.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

A lid will help a bit with big things, but you are correct that most will just go around the sides. The vents need to be wide open to get much of anything to actually get to the meat.

I would not go out and buy a new weber lid, but I use the one off my smokey joe every once and a while.

 

[HogGrog]

Like mentioned above, I use the lid from a Weber kettle on larger cuts of meat, sometimes. It helps if you have a wind guard.

 

[Killa J]

Is the wind guard just a sheet of metal on the back and sides? I don’t have a welder, but I could bolt something on. Also, I think I might replace the chains on mine with a metal cable like in the picture, the chains look dinky to me.

 

[SmokerKing]

I have one and ended up fabricating a 3 sided steel draft shield. They burn a lot of charcoal and extend your cooks if you don't.

Weber lids make good covers to centralize the heat on burgers, steaks, etc.

 

[HogGrog]

Is the wind guard just a sheet of metal on the back and sides? I don’t have a welder, but I could bolt something on. Also, I think I might replace the chains on mine with a metal cable like in the picture, the chains look dinky to me.

Yes, the wind guards on mine are 1/8-inch steel and were welded on during fabrication of cooker. I highly recommend them even if bolting on, it makes it safer, more usable in breezy weather, and more fuel efficient.

My cables are stainless steel and roll up and down super smooth, go for it!