Weber Kettle Thread!

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TallDan said:
Fun fact: my kettle was made before the date code system was started at weber, which means my grill is older than I am. It was given to me 5 or so years ago by my vegetarian aunt and uncle. I don't think they used it since going vegetarian in the 1970's. Happy grilling!
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I bought my Weber in 1973. Yours looks quite a bit like mine, but I did some work on it two summers ago. It now sports the "new style" bottom dampers, new wheels and a new front handle. But it cooks food as good as ever!

glenn514:mug:
 
DrunkleJon said:
That grill is in darn good shape for being unused since the 70s.
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Yep, all i really did was give it a quick cleanup when i got it. Hosed it out (had cobwebs and such in it) and wiped it down. The Glaze is a bit faded, the charcoal grate is a little bent and the cover doesn't fit well unless it's lined up the right way, but I would have never thought it was that old when i got it.

glenn514 said:
I bought my Weber in 1973. Yours looks quite a bit like mine, but I did some work on it two summers ago. It now sports the "new style" bottom dampers, new wheels and a new front handle. But it cooks food as good as ever!
Click to expand...

Based on what i read online, they did not change at all from 1970 when they started putting the patent number on it and 1979 when they started date codes, so mine could be made anywhere in that time frame. The bottom dampers on mine are a bit bent up and I think I'm going to at least try to straighten them out some time when I feel like messing with it. How much trouble was it to switch to the new style dampers? Any secrets to long weber grill life?
 
TallDan...I simply called Weber-Stevens parts and support [800-446-1071], spoke with a live body, and they sent me a set of "new style" vents...but for the wrong size Weber! So, I called them back, and I was told to keep the ones that didn't fit, and they'd send a new and correct set. Both sets were free, by the way. And it was simply a matter of turning the kettle over, drilling out the centers of the vents, and putting the new ones on. Easy-peasy!

glenn514:mug:
 
I've had my Weber Performer for a few years now, and I couldnt be happier with it. Although, my gas ignitor stopped working a while back (I gave up on trying to fix it), I'm fine whith using the chimney and some BGE starter squares, to fire up the coals.

At a local shop, one of their employees fabricated a stainless steel plate to fit in the kettle to isolate the coals/wood for indirect smoking. It works like an absolute charm. I can grill, or stoke the chamber and dial in my temps for long smokes. I usually can maintain 225-235 for around 3 hours before adding more fuel.

I also have the rotisserie attachment which I've done multiple whole chickens, legs of lamb, and even a bone-in (12.5 lb) prime rib.

It's ridiculous, the amount of use, and variety of foods you can make. I use mine regularly, at least 10-15 times a month. I'll have to post some photos in the future.
 
Lgaddy44 said:
I've had my Weber Performer for a few years now, and I couldnt be happier with it. Although, my gas ignitor stopped working a while back (I gave up on trying to fix it), I'm fine whith using the chimney and some BGE starter squares, to fire up the coals.

At a local shop, one of their employes fabricated a stainless steel plate to fit in the kettle to isolate the coals/wood for indirect smoking. It works like an absolute charm. I can grill, or stoke the chamber and dial in my temps for long smokes. I usually can maintain 225-235 for around 3 hours before adding more fuel.

I also have the rotisserie attachment which I've done multiple whole chickens, legs of lamb, and even a bone-n (12.5 lb) prime rib.

It's ridiculous, the amount of use, and variety of foods you can make. I use mine regularly, at least 10-15 times a month. I'll have to post some photos in the future.
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I'm interested in a rotisserie attachment for my performer. Can you give me more information on that? Thanks.
 
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I cooked wings, bacon wrapped tator tots, ABT(s), meatballs, and turkey leg lollipops.




Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
Enjoy!

ribs.jpg
 
Instead of briquettes or lump, I cooked a couple t-bones over the embers of an oak fire. (I got the untreated, food-safe wood from the place that supplies restaurants that have WFOs.)
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1409688319.845251.jpg
 
Yall ever bake in a Weber? I'm thinking of making a big cornbread in mine. Start with a sweet mix, add some peppers and cheese. Maybe tomatoes and onions. Maybe some meat. Do all this in a dutch oven.
 
I found that the indirect zone stabilizes around 350, so baking something should work just fine.
 
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1499186407.529312.jpg

Figured I'd post a pic of my Weber. I love it.
Just replaced the front leg with a wooden dowel.
This unit is 36 years old, I bought it for my dad as a Father's Day gift in 1981.
It's a tried and true grille and as I've told friends and family, "it's seen more meat than Jenna Jameson"!

I've bought newer ones but they just don't cook as well as the old school one I have.
 
Glad this one was bumped, as I've never come across it before. I'm also a Weber fan. I've never bought the coal basket, and just rely on mounding it to one side when emptying the chimney. Someday I'll finally buy the baskets.

My technique for ribs is to put the coals in the middle (often with some applewood chunks), then center a pizza stone on the rack above them. Then put the ribs across the top of a rib rack to not touch the stone. I'll fashion a pan from tin foil to fill with water or cider on the stone under the ribs. This is a picture from a couple years back before I added the water tray to my setup (and upgraded the tongs). Works out well for me. I'm waiting for the day my stone cracks, but so far so good. I've also cooked tenderloins this way.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1499779520.695766.jpg

Besides ribs, we frequently do steaks with asparagus, squash or other veggies. For steaks I do indirect with a meat probe until the center is 120F, then pull the probe and sear each side directly over the coals for a medium to medium well finish. That works well for me to grill the veggies first over direct heat when the meat hits about 100F to time things out together. The veggies go to the indirect side while searing to stay warm.

Our other favorite is prosciutto wrapped shrimp. Use half a slice of prosciutto per shrimp. If it's thin enough it'll stick well to itself and stay bound. On our second attempt my wife got greedy and used a whole slice of meat, and it was way too salty.

A couple questions:
For those who have built their Weber into a wood table, any issues with charring or burning? What size air gap if any between the wood and kettle rim?

Can you close the hinged portion of the grate when using a basket for direct heat (for example to finish my steaks)? Or does the basket restrict the grate from laying flat?
 
Your post prompted me to grab some prosciutto while I was picking up lunch. Prosciutto wrapped shrimp tonight!

Do you put it over the direct heat when you do that?
 
Yes, direct heat. Just a couple minutes per side. It's takes a bit longer than shrimp on its own, but still not much. I highly recommend a tester for the grill master just to check progress.
 
I'm totally fascinated. I wrapped the prosciutto around the shrimp and it was a little loose (I solidified my technique by the last couple). I told SWMBO when I went outside "well, we're either going to have a wonderful combo of shrimp and prosciutto or naked shrimp and a bunch of prosciutto stuck to the grill grate."

The prosciutto conformed to the shrimp like it was shrink-wrap. Turned out so well. When we sat down I was like " What else can I wrap in prosciutto?"
 
Asparagus or par-boiled string beans can be wrapped in bundles or anything that's previously been sloppily wrapped in bacon. I usually have one shrimp per batch that unwinds a bit while grilling. I also had a rookie deli girl slice it way too thick once and that was hopeless.
 
Zuljin said:
Yall ever bake in a Weber? I'm thinking of making a big cornbread in mine. Start with a sweet mix, add some peppers and cheese. Maybe tomatoes and onions. Maybe some meat. Do all this in a dutch oven.
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I have baked a pumpkin pie in the weber. Had family in town and we were having people over for dinner. My mom was making a pumpkin pie from scratch and we go to put it in my oven and it would not turn on (gas oven - lighting mechanism busted).

Didn't feel like taking it elsewhere to bake them so I lit the weber and put it on the grill indirect. It came out pretty awesome actually. We she made an extra for "leftovers" and we cooked that one on there as well!

I think cornbread would work great.
 
Zuljin said:
Yall ever bake in a Weber? I'm thinking of making a big cornbread in mine. Start with a sweet mix, add some peppers and cheese. Maybe tomatoes and onions. Maybe some meat. Do all this in a dutch oven.
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Quoth the wife: "That's not a cornbread, that's a casserole."
 
I've fried chicken, baked a pie, baked pizza, made stew, etc, etc
 
Hey, it's dry heat and I've actually put an oven thermometer in the kettle. The indirect heat zone with the coals piled up against two sides and the bottom vents wide open, temp stabilizes at 350°F and stays there for quite a while. Could totally bake in there.
 
JonM said:
Hey, it's dry heat and I've actually put an oven thermometer in the kettle. The indirect heat zone with the coals piled up against two sides and the bottom vents wide open, temp stabilizes at 350°F and stays there for quite a while. Could totally bake in there.
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So do you have the top vent opened at all, or completely closed, in this scenario? I'd love to be able to run that thing at 350* sustained for an hour or more!
 
The top vent is always fully open any time there's a fire in there.
 

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