- Joined
- Jun 21, 2006
First of all, let me THANK Phil for his most excellent post found here;
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1230539#post1230539
That inspired me. I'm back . . . !
When I started reading around here a couple few years ago, I found many, many ways that people suggested to modify my cookers, but most of those suggestions involved working with big sparking electrical things or gasses that were hot. I just KNEW I was gonna get hurt!
But then, my half-a-brain kicked in and I started thinking . . . what if I made most of these modifications using aluminum foil? I could use several layers for the modifications that were near the firebox and fewer layers of foil for mods away from the fire.
So, that's what I did. I made many, many modifications, especially to my Brinkmann SmokeNPit Pro (which is a very leaky box but a great cooker) . . . and to my Brinkmann verticle box smoker which required the simplest modification of all; a simple, single sheet of foil loosely laid in the bottom of the smoker. (This simply slows the onrush of air coming in through the five overly-generous air intake holes so that the fire doesn't run away. (Once the entire cooker was engulfed in flames!) )
Tonight, I'd like to show you another super-simple mod that you can make on your Weber kettle. (You DO have a Weber kettle, don't you? If not, you should seriously consider one. Check Craigs List for used Weber kettles at reasonable rates (free?) near you!)
Here's a photo of the Weber kettle that my wife Nancy bought for me for Christmas.
She was inspired by the blue Weber kettle 'fire-pit' in use at the Mid-West Brethren Bash back in November at the Lawrence, KS KOA
That's also the firepit that my daughter and her husband bought me, a couple of ancient steel foldup chairs (one with the kettle cover on it) and my new LARGE WSM over there on the right. (Yes, I am truly blessed and grateful for ALL of these!)
I didn't think to take photos of the whole entire process, but I thought you might get some ideas from what I did manage to shoot when I cooked some ribs on the kettle.
Here's what the foil deflector looks like with the ribs on the grill - they've been cooking a while in the rib rack;
The coals are all piled up on the one side so that they are 'Steve Raichlen' style. I tried Steve's method in the past, but I found that I had to rotate the ribs at least once. Well, I like for things to come out even without having to rely on my old, moldy memory to turn the suckers, so I tried using this foil shield to even it all out. It works great!
Here's another view of the ribs on the kettle with the foil deflector mod;
But the one thing you are NOT seeing is the charcoal and how to access it to add more if you need to (and you almost surely will need to after a couple hours).
I know that the flip up end grates are quite a bit more expensive than the standard flat grate - but let me tell you - I think there's not a better upgrade that a person can buy than the flip-up ends for the Weber kettle grill. They allow you to keep your kettle cookin' for hours on end - they are especially useful for cooking turkeys and other long term residents of the smoke . . .
Always ALWAYS use some tongs or other utensil to raise the foil!
That's kind of easy to forget when you've had a few Shiners and you think you're Superman! (But you're still NOT Superman!)
That's because those little suckers are HOT HOT HOT!
Anyway - that's just a short, simple example of how I use aluminum foil to moderate the temperatures in all my cookers. You don't need to know how to weld and grind plate steel (although I appreciate those with the skills) . . . just use your imagination and a LARGE roll of WIDE aluminum foil!
Have fun!
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1230539#post1230539
That inspired me. I'm back . . . !
When I started reading around here a couple few years ago, I found many, many ways that people suggested to modify my cookers, but most of those suggestions involved working with big sparking electrical things or gasses that were hot. I just KNEW I was gonna get hurt!
But then, my half-a-brain kicked in and I started thinking . . . what if I made most of these modifications using aluminum foil? I could use several layers for the modifications that were near the firebox and fewer layers of foil for mods away from the fire.
So, that's what I did. I made many, many modifications, especially to my Brinkmann SmokeNPit Pro (which is a very leaky box but a great cooker) . . . and to my Brinkmann verticle box smoker which required the simplest modification of all; a simple, single sheet of foil loosely laid in the bottom of the smoker. (This simply slows the onrush of air coming in through the five overly-generous air intake holes so that the fire doesn't run away. (Once the entire cooker was engulfed in flames!) )
Tonight, I'd like to show you another super-simple mod that you can make on your Weber kettle. (You DO have a Weber kettle, don't you? If not, you should seriously consider one. Check Craigs List for used Weber kettles at reasonable rates (free?) near you!)
Here's a photo of the Weber kettle that my wife Nancy bought for me for Christmas.
She was inspired by the blue Weber kettle 'fire-pit' in use at the Mid-West Brethren Bash back in November at the Lawrence, KS KOA
That's also the firepit that my daughter and her husband bought me, a couple of ancient steel foldup chairs (one with the kettle cover on it) and my new LARGE WSM over there on the right. (Yes, I am truly blessed and grateful for ALL of these!)
I didn't think to take photos of the whole entire process, but I thought you might get some ideas from what I did manage to shoot when I cooked some ribs on the kettle.
Here's what the foil deflector looks like with the ribs on the grill - they've been cooking a while in the rib rack;
The coals are all piled up on the one side so that they are 'Steve Raichlen' style. I tried Steve's method in the past, but I found that I had to rotate the ribs at least once. Well, I like for things to come out even without having to rely on my old, moldy memory to turn the suckers, so I tried using this foil shield to even it all out. It works great!
Here's another view of the ribs on the kettle with the foil deflector mod;
But the one thing you are NOT seeing is the charcoal and how to access it to add more if you need to (and you almost surely will need to after a couple hours).
I know that the flip up end grates are quite a bit more expensive than the standard flat grate - but let me tell you - I think there's not a better upgrade that a person can buy than the flip-up ends for the Weber kettle grill. They allow you to keep your kettle cookin' for hours on end - they are especially useful for cooking turkeys and other long term residents of the smoke . . .
Always ALWAYS use some tongs or other utensil to raise the foil!
That's kind of easy to forget when you've had a few Shiners and you think you're Superman! (But you're still NOT Superman!)
That's because those little suckers are HOT HOT HOT!
Anyway - that's just a short, simple example of how I use aluminum foil to moderate the temperatures in all my cookers. You don't need to know how to weld and grind plate steel (although I appreciate those with the skills) . . . just use your imagination and a LARGE roll of WIDE aluminum foil!
Have fun!
