Is it Possible to Smoke Meat on a Weber Kettle?

[achilles007]

I've been feeling a little down lately, because all I've got is this Weber Kettle my dad got me. I just cant afford anything else right now at the moment-- so this is all I've got.

I'm worried that I cant make delicious-tasting Que on this thing. Someone on youtube told me that all a Weber kettle is good for is for grilling stuff, not smoking it. Can someone tell me whether this is true or if it is at all possible that one can still make bbq on this thing even though it's just a kettle?

thanks any and all for your help.

 

[SmokinAl]

These guys do all their smoking on a kettle.

http://www.youtube.com/show/bbqpitboys

Here's some ribs I did on my kettle. They are as good as when I do them on my smoker.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/110870/baby-backs-on-the-old-weber-kettle

 

[shooter1]

You absolutely can smoke on a kettle. Before I got my WSM all I had was a kettle also, it just takes a little more work tending the fire. I actually still will pull out the kettle if I am only going to do a small amount of meat. I smoked my first pork butt on the kettle and it came out great. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.

 

[lovinspoonful]

I used to smoke on a weber kettle with some creative use of tin foil.

I have a friend who has one of these inserts and he swears by it. If you have the money, give it a try:

 

[bama bbq]

I smoke meat (brisket, ribs, butt,etc) on my weber 22.5, and fire bake pizza, and grill steaks. Here's the way I set it up for smoking: using heavy duty alum foil, cover 2/3 of one side, pile the charcoal and a couple chunks of hardwood on the uncovered side all the way to the food grate level with a lighter cube on one side or the other to get a slow burn thru the coal.  I start with the lower vent at about 3/8" open and the upper vent at about 5/16" open (when not using the pitmaster stoker).  I place a pan of water on the alum foil and place the food over the drip pan - away from the coal/wood. I use binder clips to fasten the lid to the bowl to eliminate leaks and place lid where the top vents are over the food.  You can run a thermometer thru the top vent down to the grate level.  You should get a nice slow burn for several hours this way ...and it smokes that nice thin blue smoke!  I use the 3 - 2 - 1 method for ribs and don't add fuel for the entire 6 hour smoke.

 

[shortend]

I've been feeling a little down lately, because all I've got is this Weber Kettle my dad got me. I just cant afford anything else right now at the moment-- so this is all I've got.

I'm worried that I cant make delicious-tasting Que on this thing. Someone on youtube told me that all a Weber kettle is good for is for grilling stuff, not smoking it. Can someone tell me whether this is true or if it is at all possible that one can still make bbq on this thing even though it's just a kettle?

thanks any and all for your help.

achilles, you absolutely can smoke stuff on a kettle. You'll need to use just a few briquettes, say maybe 10-15 and keep them banked up to one side of the kettle and keep the meat or whatever on the the opposite side. You can fashion a piece of metal or a fire brick to help keep the charcoal contained which would be handy. If you don't happen to have one of the grill grates with the lift up sections on each side, you may want to get one. I think they're about $20 or so, but well worth it. It'll make tending the fire, adding chips, pellets etc. so much easier. Just lift the side where the fire is with a pair of tongs and close back down when your done. You'll also need a thermometer to keep track of the grate temp. You can use an old can of some kind and punch a bunch of small holes in the bottom of it, maybe a few on the sides to allow for airflow, to hold your wood chips or pellets. Just set that on top of the charcoal and add wood when needed to maintain the smoke. Keep the top exhaust vent wide open and directly over the meat side and control the temperature with the bottom intakes. It'll take a little more tending than most smokers, but it will definately do the job. Just learn how to use the air intakes to control the temps, add charcoal and chips as needed to maintain the proper temp and smoke, and your BBQ will be every bit as good as you can get with any other smoker.

If you get into it and have any questions, lots of folks on here including myself, have smoked just about anything imaginable on a kettle and can advise you. If I had to give up all my grills and smokers except one, my choice would be the Weber Kettle. Whoever that clueless numscall was on youtube, that said you can't smoke food on a Weber Kettle, doesn't know their 

 from a hole in ground! Enjoy your Kettle and all that it can do.

ShortEnd