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View Full Version : Scored a Weber Ranch


saxart
12-01-2013, 11:04 PM
I got this Weber Ranch Kettle grill off Craigslist for about 1/3 the price of a new one. Who buys a $1,300 grill and doesn't cook on it???

Well.................................we no longer have a "NEW" grill! :mrgreen:

First off, I wanted to show the mods. Since this grill is going to be used for Low-N-Slow only, I wanted a charcoal basket so that it could keep things contained and not damage the side of the kettle by piling hot coals on it's side. After cutting two strips of expanded metal and welding them together end-to end I couldn't decide what size to make the basket, so I ended up just leaving it as a "wall" and tack welded it right to the charcoal grate. The welds are very small and could easily be ground away without ever knowing they were there.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod1.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod1.jpg.html)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod2.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod2.jpg.html)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod3.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod3.jpg.html)

Here it is with fire-bricks to keep the heat from "cooking" the food, and foil to help direct the airflow and catch the drippings.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod4.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/BasketMod4.jpg.html)

The other mod I did was to remove the one hinged side of the cooking grate toward the back of the grill. Since this is primarily used for smoking/slow-cooks, this mod allows us to get to the coals more easily. A large cold-chisel driven between the crimp of the grate leg separated that section, and it can either be used separately if needed, or replaced as a hinged panel again by sliding it in place and closing the leg shut with a hammer. I'll probably hang that piece on a nail in the garage and never touch it again.

Here is kind of a funny size-comparison picture showing that grate-panel removed:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Perspective.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Perspective.jpg.html)

Here we are loaded up with the bird. (13.78lbs) (It looks like a tiny chicken on that huge grill!) We just coated it in olive-oil and gave it a shake of Lowrys Season Salt and Tyme to keep it simple.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/TurkeyOn.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/TurkeyOn.jpg.html)

Temperatures were tough to regulate until I realized that closing up the large lid damper about halfway would make things less "touchy". After that she hummed right along @ 325deg. Prior to that it had gotten as high as 365deg with only two of the three bottom dampers open and would have kept going up had I not reeled it in.

And we're cooking....

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Smoke.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Smoke.jpg.html)

Two hours later, this is what it looked like. It was almost done, but I guess wanted to wait for the Vikings to finally beat those pesky Bears before emerging... :P

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Done1.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Done1.jpg.html)

On the platter, going in the house for a rest. (I'm not sure why the breast-skin split like it did in the two spots)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Done2.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Done2.jpg.html)

It was a very juicy and well favored bird, so all was good with that. In the end, I'm hoping to try more in-direct cooks with this kettle. Ultimately I'd like it to replace the WSM, but only time will tell if that can happen. For now it's just going to need a lot more cooks done on it to get that nice rich coating on the inside so that it cooks better. I guess the family is going to have to suffer through some more of these 'horrible' cooks. Poor them!!! :blah:

Here's the comical part to all of this. This past summer I sold my Weber Performer because...... It took up too much space in the garage! LOL :twitch:

Pyle's BBQ
12-01-2013, 11:13 PM
That is a great score.
Keep us updated on the progress.

bbqgeekess
12-01-2013, 11:19 PM
Awesome! :) That Smokey Joe is soooo TINY on it lol. That grill also looks like it would be really nice for starting a camp like fire in it for the backyard :)

BBQDaddio
12-01-2013, 11:21 PM
Wow the grill is huge. How much charcoal did it take to cook the chicken in your initial cook?

She sure looks pretty though.

Nice score.

Bludawg
12-02-2013, 01:04 AM
I have always wanted one but the price is what keeps me away when I can get 4 26'' for the same price and have more space. Now if I could get the same deal you got.....
Your buzzard looks good.

harris92
12-02-2013, 06:55 AM
Great Score! Congrat...:clap2:

dport7
12-02-2013, 06:59 AM
Nice, I always keep my eye on CL. good looking bird.

peeps
12-02-2013, 07:49 AM
That thing is a MONSTER! Nice score!

Big George's BBQ
12-02-2013, 08:31 AM
Great score Nice cook I would get rid of the aluminum foil and put a pan down there to catch the grease

grillinguy247
12-02-2013, 08:50 AM
Nice grill great cook! :thumb:

Bonewagon
12-02-2013, 08:55 AM
Sweet score and the bird looks terrific. :thumb:

Hollando
12-02-2013, 09:03 AM
thats one big grill! congrats

sliding_billy
12-02-2013, 09:19 AM
That is an awesome grill.

HeSmellsLikeSmoke
12-02-2013, 09:24 AM
Where is the "jealous" emoticon? :thumb:

MisterChrister
12-02-2013, 09:56 AM
Way to go! When you get tired of this one hogging space, give me a shout!

Tonybel
12-02-2013, 09:58 AM
Nice find. The bird has a nice color I bet it was delicious. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-signs154.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

J-Rod
12-02-2013, 10:06 AM
Way cool man. I'd love to have one myself, just too damned expensive new. Great score! Btw great mod with the expanded metal coal shield. I always cringe when I think about how hot the kettle must get when banking coals on the side.

Moose
12-02-2013, 11:02 AM
Wow, really great score and like your mods, as well. Looking forward to more cook pics on this, especially interested in how your indirect cooks turn out- no reason they won't be great, and can't beat all that space!

RobKC
12-02-2013, 01:44 PM
Great score Nice cook I would get rid of the aluminum foil and put a pan down there to catch the grease


The aluminum foil helps with airflow. I'd set a drip pan on top of the foil though.

SITM BBQ
12-02-2013, 02:35 PM
Great find, have always wanted one of those but too pricey.

Tom Sr
12-02-2013, 02:58 PM
Nice find, your going love the way it cooks. :wink:

RevZiLLa
12-02-2013, 05:44 PM
Awesome score!

saxart
12-03-2013, 06:06 AM
Thanks for all of the compliments. There will be more updates posted here as we do more cooks on this kettle. On a side note, I was curious to see how much charcoal this thing would use.

This morning I peeked under the lid to see this:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/image.jpg (http://s15.photobucket.com/user/saxart/media/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/image.jpg.html)

At the start of the cook I had dumped an entire small (15lb) back of K-Blue on the charcoal grate. As you can see it looks like it burned a little less than 1/3 of its supply. I'm estimating about 4lbs of charcoal for the cook. It would have been interesting to let it go until it burned out just to see how long it would have lasted. I'm guessing, just like a WSM, most of this was burned getting things heated up. If we're all buying charcoal on sale like good little Kettle Cookers, then it burned about $1.00-$1.50 worth of coals.


Hopefully this will "extinguish" any worries about these things taking 12-bags to a cook. These grills are big, but don't seem to take an outrageous amount of coals for low and slow.

dwfisk
12-03-2013, 07:00 AM
That 14 pound turkey looks like a cornish hen on a regular Performer, the cooking real estate it huge. And I really like your idea of the expanded metal keeping the coal off the kettle. I added some 1/2" expanded metal to my 26.75 OGT charcoal grate with great results, think I'll add a vertical like yours. Thanks for the idea.

Smok'n n Joke'n
12-03-2013, 10:32 AM
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a387/saxart/Grills/Weber%20Ranch%20Grill/Perspective.jpg Looks like Father and Son :becky:

BobM
12-03-2013, 10:40 AM
Great score and a fine looking cook! :thumb:

Thespanishgrill
12-03-2013, 10:42 AM
Nice score, where did you find the thin fire bricks. I would like them instead of the double thick ones I have

NBBD
12-03-2013, 10:42 AM
Talk about a score! Awesome

Smokeat
12-03-2013, 11:37 AM
How about a Weber kettle pyramid picture? Smokey Joe on a Jumbo Joe on a 18/22 kettle on the ranch kettle.

Tom Sr
12-03-2013, 12:04 PM
I call my ranch "The Mothership":shocked:

Tango Joe
12-03-2013, 01:20 PM
Best CL score I have seen in a while - dig it!
Now I am off to scour CL, just in case.

saxart
12-03-2013, 03:17 PM
How about a Weber kettle pyramid picture? Smokey Joe on a Jumbo Joe on a 18/22 kettle on the ranch kettle.


I love this idea!! I'm gonna have to make that happen! :thumb: