Weber Kettle Memories

[yankee2bbq]

Do any of you have family memories using the Weber kettle growing up?
I sure do.

That’s what brought me here..to SMF.

I remember my Dad grilling burgers and us kids playing in the backyard and the smoke of the grill hitting our noses.

There is some things you can’t change. I will always remember the burning of charcoal when it is first lit, or the attendance around the kettle waiting for the food to be done.

Memories…

 

[Brokenhandle]

Can't say that I do, didn't have any kettle use or smoking, growing up. Not till I found this place . But I'll toast to your memories with my glass of proper 12! Nothing beats good memories !

Ryan

 

[chopsaw]

My Dad had one of those open hood type grills . Adjustable grate height . I can still smell the Falstaff being poured over the chicken and pork steaks .

 

[Fueling Around]

Not a Weber, but we always had a charcoal grill. Fondest memory is my brother home on leave from Navy in December and wanting grilled steaks.

 

[mike243]

Never had much grilled and probably no smoked food growing up, gilled burgers or hot dogs at friends house every couple years. started in my early 20's built my first smoker and at 60 haven't stopped loving anything off the smokers or grills. it's a rare week I don't grill or smoke something. I have a Weber performer with gas lite and it will be the last grill to leave my home. Pretty sure I bought in 2011

 

[DRKsmoking]

Dad would like to bbq in the summer a few times when he was not out to sea with the navy. When I was a kid

I still remember the smell of the canned fuel he would spray on the charcoal and than stand back , cause its going to blow.
Than he and Mom would have a big slab of round steak ( the econo priced beef of the time ) and we would have hard cooked burgers and dogs . And loved it. aaaa takes me back. lol

This is the style of q that I remember , no cover and either 3 or 4 legs . This is just a picture to show kind of what I remember

I think you had to spin the grate to get some height, but not much

David

 

[Nate52]

I grew up in a gas grill family, so I never got to experience that one. But I definitely have plenty of those little triggers that bring back great memories, especially smells. Like a freshly sealed driveway. It always brings me back to playing at my grandparents' house as a kid.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

Hell yeah. My dad would grill a few times a month in the warmer months. Burgers and dogs with the occasional steak. Mostly the only time he drank beer was when grilling. Every time he turned away I would snatch that Natty Light and pound about half of it and put it back. Ah good memories!

 

[pineywoods]

My Dad never got into smoking just eating it. I do remember him cooking on the charcoal grill once in awhile. Once gas grills became more available he got one and got rid of the charcoal. Burgers, hot dogs and steaks are the only things I remember him grilling. We did have friends that grilled and some used smokers. Living in a coastal town near the Gulf of Mexico we used to host and go to fish fry's and parties where oysters and or shrimp was cooked. The fish and shrimp were usually fried in large amounts using gas fired burners, the oysters were usually done in the shell on grates over an open fire with wet burlap bags over them to get the oysters to steam and pop open. We also used to go to parties where pigs were cooked on spits over open fires. Lots of good memories.

 

[Bearcarver]

Dad would like to bbq in the summer a few times when he was not out to sea with the navy. When I was a kid

I still remember the smell of the canned fuel he would spray on the charcoal and than stand back , cause its going to blow.
Than he and Mom would have a big slab of round steak ( the econo priced beef of the time ) and we would have hard cooked burgers and dogs . And loved it. aaaa takes me back. lol

This is the style of q that I remember , no cover and either 3 or 4 legs . This is just a picture to show kind of what I remember

I think you had to spin the grate to get some height, but not much

David





View attachment 521280

We never had any Grill, when I was a Kid, but my Grandfather had one like David's (above).

The only outside cooking we did was over a Wood camp fire in the mountains.

Bear

 

[motocrash]

Next door neighbor had a kettle and he would always make rock salt and mustard crusted hamburger steaks that were killer. He used an electric charcoal starter and when I smelled the charcoal going I knew it was time to go over and act like a little waif

 

[ravenclan]

From my dad cooking Hamburgers, chicken and Steaks. The smell of the meat cooking and the sizzle of the fat dripping on the hot coals and then the smell of the fat burning, Brings back some great memories when I was a kid.

Too my Mother in Law cooking her famous BBQ burgers and the way it smelled. I still to this day can not get my Burgers to taste like she made hers.

Lots of great memories to think about.

 

[sawhorseray]

I got my first Weber kettle as a wedding present about 45 years ago. Had my family over for a whole prime rib dinner and the coals were taking forever to get going. My dad took a vacuum hose to blow torch the coals to fire up. Dinner was way late, but the prime wasn't overcooked. My older sis took over Xmas dinner after she got married and always turned the prime into soup meat. My dad declared after mine came out medium rare that the holiday meal would be my job from then on, and so it was. RAY

 

[Colin1230]

My folks never cooked outdoors when us boys were growing up. I didn't get into grilling until I was in my late teens or early twenties. First was a cheap hibachi grill and then a Weber Smokey Joe. I cooked on that thing a lot!

 

[chopsaw]

My Dad had one of those open hood type grills . Adjustable grate height .

Had to go and find a picture on the internet . I'm sure some of you guys will remember these . This is exactly what he had . Roto and the grate spun around a center shaft .

yankee2bbq Dude , I'm real happy you started this thread . About a month ago My Mom had a water line break . I was cleaning up some of the mess in the basement , and found this tucked in under the stairs .

That's the exact roto that's in that stock photo I found . I knew it was his , just didn't place it with that grill . Heck that was '65 at the latest .
Memories ? More than ever now .
Here's the label . Tonka , lol . Maybe my old trucks are down there somewhere .

 

[DRKsmoking]

Yes yankee2bbq great post for the memories and chopsaw that would be the same time frame for us, we only had the tray no base or hood . Now come to think of it
ours spun like like I mentioned but I don't think it raised or lowered , we must have had the Datsun model not the Cadillac model

David

 

[noboundaries]

My Dad had one of those open hood type grills . Adjustable grate height . I can still smell the Falstaff being poured over the chicken and pork steaks .

Chop, thanks for posting that picture. That's the exact same grill-type we had growing up.

Dad got a great paying sales job when I was in the 4th grade in 1964. He bought our first house for $17,000. It was an 1800 sq-ft tract-home. A 30x15 foot pool and cement deck soon followed. He and his drinking buddies built a tiki-theme covered patio next to the pool. That patio and pool became party central for all the neighbors.

That BBQ got a workout every Spring and Summer weekend. Burgers, dogs, sausages, and steaks were all he cooked. Chicken was verboten because he hated it after growing up on a farm and getting fed boiled chicken in the Navy during the Korean War.

The smell of charcoal lighter fluid, which I don't use but some neighbors do, still brings back memories.

I bought an 18" Weber with my first shared rented home in the Navy, late 70's. Been cooking on one ever since.

 

[yankee2bbq]

Had to go and find a picture on the internet . I'm sure some of you guys will remember these . This is exactly what he had . Roto and the grate spun around a center shaft .
View attachment 521285
yankee2bbq Dude , I'm real happy you started this thread . About a month ago My Mom had a water line break . I was cleaning up some of the mess in the basement , and found this tucked in under the stairs .
View attachment 521286
That's the exact roto that's in that stock photo I found . I knew it was his , just didn't place it with that grill . Heck that was '65 at the latest .
Memories ? More than ever now .
Here's the label . Tonka , lol . Maybe my old trucks are down there somewhere .
View attachment 521287

I don’t remember that type of grill Chop. Before my time I guess. I was born in 1976. (And don’t call me a youngin’)

I’m glad I posted this!!

 

[Pappapit]

I remember my dad trying to cook on a cheap gas grill. Most things were burnt but still raw.
That's when I started cooking myself

 

[SmokyMose]

I can't really remember any grilled food growing up. Doesn't mean we didn't have it LOL!
Dad got a Weber kettle after I moved on and used it some and got me one for my birthday in '95 and I still use it.