Weber 22.5

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nomnomnom

Fire Starter
Original poster
Sep 12, 2013
39
12
Loveland Ohio
So, I think I'm giving up on this ECB. After the mods it works great in "optimum weather", but I live in Ohio and the weather goes from perfect to annoying in 10 mins. I was wondering, I need a good grill and I see people getting the smokenator for the Weber 22.5 inch grills. Has anyone has consistent luck with using this Weber as a smoker? There is an upgraded model of this on craigslist for $50. Its almost to cheap to pass up as it is under a year old.
 
Buy the Weber, $50 is too good a price to pass up.

I BBQ on mine all the time, butts, chuckies, turkey you name it, you can cook it.

This is my setup for long cooks, IMHO you do not need the Smokenator.

I put 1/2 chimney of fully lit lump charcoal in the open area on the left, this setup will give me 10-12 hours of cook time at 250°, YMMV.


9lb butt from this past summer.


Good Luck.
 
 
So, I think I'm giving up on this ECB. After the mods it works great in "optimum weather", but I live in Ohio and the weather goes from perfect to annoying in 10 mins. I was wondering, I need a good grill and I see people getting the smokenator for the Weber 22.5 inch grills. Has anyone has consistent luck with using this Weber as a smoker? There is an upgraded model of this on craigslist for $50. Its almost to cheap to pass up as it is under a year old.
If it's the smokenator you want you can live without it but it's a fun gadget to play with.   If your thinking about getting a Weber I don't have much of an opinion on that.  LOL (It's all I use)

You will NEVER regret getting the Weber. I am like Cliff: I have smoked turkey, pork butt, prime rib, fatties, chicken, etc, etc, etc.  Not to mention grilled steaks and pork chops and on and on.  ...and the Pizza!  It makes GREAT pizza!

 
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Nice. You guys have two totally different set ups but they both look like they turned out great. I'm guessing the first post is the "snake method" and the second one is a hybrid style of indirect heat.
 
I use my 22.5 Weber Kettle all the time, and like the other guys, I've smoked everything from whole turkeys to fattys to stuffed peppers and everything inbetween on it.  There are about 100 different methods you can use.  Personally, I just put some charcoal on one side of the grill, fill a chimney about 1/2 full and light it, then dump them ontop of the other briquettes after they've turned grey.  I place an aluminum pan with water under whatever I'm smoking.  The only mod I've done to mine was putting a thermometer in the lid.  My Weber Kettle is my most used smoker.  I love it.
 
 
I use my 22.5 Weber Kettle all the time, and like the other guys, I've smoked everything from whole turkeys to fattys to stuffed peppers and everything inbetween on it.  There are about 100 different methods you can use.  Personally, I just put some charcoal on one side of the grill, fill a chimney about 1/2 full and light it, then dump them ontop of the other briquettes after they've turned grey.  I place an aluminum pan with water under whatever I'm smoking.  The only mod I've done to mine was putting a thermometer in the lid.  My Weber Kettle is my most used smoker.  I love it.
Same here. Buy the thing. The Weber kettle is the most versatile BBQ cooker ever made. You can do most anything on it.
 
You cannot go wrong with the 22.5" Weber. I got mine in near new condition for $25 bucks from CL. A guy just didn't have the patience to light charcoal and bought a gas grill. Look around. There are a lot of them out there.

I've used mine for grilling, smoking and slow and lo. I have an MES for those times I'm going to do a really long smoke (3 or 4 butts) and use the AMNPS with it. Don't have the smokenator and know nothing about it.
 
I have two Weber Kettles in the backyard, a 22.5" and an 18". Just this week I passed on a $10 22.5" Weber Kettle in great shape on CL because in 33 years of marriage I've learned there's some temptations you just need to ignore.  A Weber Kettle belongs in every backyard.  I'm at my limit.

I have the Smokenator in the 22.5" and love it because it taught me what I needed to learn to smoke meat.  I received it as a gift. Everything I have smoked from fish to chickens to chuckies to ribs using the Smokenator has turned out great.  Is it necessary?  No.  With this forum and the Internet you can easily smoke great meat without it in a Weber Kettle.  While I still use it though, and love it, I've realized it is basically a temperature block or chimney so all the heat rises and circulates instead of radiating horizontally into the kettle. 

That said, I have significantly changed how I use the Smokenator.  I monitor temps at the grill, not the vent.  I dumped the little water pan and use a quarter sized anti jam pan instead, placed on the charcoal grate next to the SN not over the top of the SN.  Although I get great results smoking low and slow, as I've grown in experience I have split the difference between low/slow and hot/fast, now typically smoking at 250F to 275F.  Saves time, I get a nice simmer in the water pan, and I still get great tasting, tender results.
 
Chicken leg quarters brined 18 hours in water, salt, molasses, and brown sugar.  Then rubbed with chipotle infused olive oil and dusted with McCormick Sweet & Smoky. Dry smoked two hours with mesquite, hickory, and Kingsford blue bag at 275-290F.  Last 20 minutes coated with SBR's Hickory and Brown Sugar Sauce spiked with Kentucky bourbon and apricot-pineapple preserves.

Before, during, and after shots below.



 
I went ahead and got it since everyone seems to have little to no complaints on it. It must be one of the newer ones or something because it has a Weber thermometer built into it. Its the one touch gold. I just hope the extra ash catcher doesn't prevent good air flow.
 
It won't interfere with airflow.  Or you could do like I do if you are not worried about starting a grass fire if the wind picks up.  I don't leave my ash catcher attached.  I let it rest on the grate directly below where it hooks up.  With time the ash catcher corrodes and gets difficult to smoothly remove and install.  I solved that problem by not hooking it up.  I still sweep the bottom of the kettle after the ashes have cooled and they drop directly into the ash catcher resting on the grate.
 
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I have the smokenator and love it!!! I've done ribs,whole chicken , chicken thighs, turkey breast, hams. With that said I am getting a mes40 in the very near future BUT I will never totally abandon the smokenator
 
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