I have been using my Weber One-Touch-Gold 22.5" grill for smoking this year because my MES heating element failed and I haven't put the new one in yet. I've done about a dozen pork butts and will do my third brisket of the year Labor Day weekend. I've also done chickens and Cornish hens.
Here is what I've learned. Because smoking wants a low temperature and a long, slow cook, the charcoal and wood chunks have to be arranged so that they don't all burn at once. Search here for "Snake weave" and you will find what I use. I normally have a row of charcoal briquettes (KBB) around about 90-95% of the rim of
the kettle at the coals grate. This row is made up of 4 briquettes interspersed with blocks of your favorite wood chunks. I use hickory, pecan and oak and occasionally mesquite. Use chunks, not the shredded chips. I try to have wood chunks about every 6 inches or less in the charcoal ring. I put charcoal on top of it and try to get a couple of briquettes up against the sides of the blocks. I then put 8-10 briquettes in my
chimney starter and place them over a tuna can with a bit of rubbing alcohol in it - maybe half full, or a shot glass full. I then light the alcohol and place the starter briquettes over the lit tuna can of alcohol. In 5 minutes I have glowing, grey-coated embers that I pour on one end of the 'snake' ring in my kettle being careful not to light both ends. I let this fire catch the unlit coals and put the top on with the bottom vent at half open and the top vent at 3/4ths closed. At this point I put the cooking grate in with my Maverick ET-733 smoker probe in the little grill snag or in a potato and watch chamber temps. It usually takes about a 10 minute wait. for me know how much heat I've got once the unlit begins to burn. I adjust vents top and bottom until I have a heat range between 220 and 260. I have my Maverick set to alarm if either of those limits aren't maintained. IOW I want to know if its getting too hot or if I'm losing heat. Too hot and I remove the lid for a bit then close the vents a bit more. Too cold and I add more lit coals and/or open vents more. After opening the top, for about 5 minutes, you should know within a quarter hour if you've got the heat where you want it. Remember, it is not an electric or gas oven and temps will range widely during a smoke.
I've found that I can get anywhere from 12 to about 16 hours out a smoke. I think wind, temperature and humidity have a lot to do with how long you will have heat as will how carefully you place your lid to prevent heat loss or air intake. I keep a full chimney of unlit coals at hand and I keep another handful in the smaller chimney in case I need to add unlit fuel or need to light some more starter coals. Depending on what I'm cooking, when the fuel is about exhausted and smoker temps are dropping, I either finish in the kitchen oven or add more coals around the perimeter of the Weber cooking grate. On brisket, I do not get the temp to 195 on the Weber and usually just take it off when the coals die our and bring it to 200-205 in the kitchen oven. For butts, I usually remove the lid and the cooking grate and add charcoal around the perimeter on top of the ashes and add a chunk or 2 of wood. I like for the butts to stay on smoke for the whole ride. Of course chickens and other foods - like pork loin - will cook to IT before a full ring of charcoal is consumed. I remove the meat and the cooking grate. I keep a small hoe at the grill - 20" long - and rake a gap in the unburnt fuel to stop the fire when the meat is done. I then take my long handled metal headed grill brush and brush the cooking grill if I place meat in a foil pan. Otherwise, I take the whole cooking grate inside before I remove the meat. (I need to work on better technique in this regard. I think I should be able to remove the meat and clean the grill straightaway, but butts tend to fall apart and a bit of bark gets wedged in the grill. I get so focused on managing the heat loss on buts that I neglect the grill. I'd appreciate any pointers in this regard.)
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!
