Ribs

[bigsteve]

Aug 26, 2009 21:55:48 GMT -5 lytefly said:

Aug 26, 2009 20:30:54 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

I keep the dome vent on the opposite side of the smokenator, maybe this is responsible?

For those who have tighter dome to grill temperatures, where are you placing the vent side of the dome?

That's where you want the dome vent. It causes the heat to flow across the food and promotes proper circulation of the heat within the kettle.

Exactly. That's what I do too.

[fdesorme]

Now if putting the vent opposite the smokenator provides better circulation, wouldn't the binder clips decrease circulation?

Prior to putting the binder clips I had some smoke coming out the sides. Could this help circulate the heat throughout the kettle? Could I put binder clips on the side of the smokenator and leave the other side free of binder clips?

[bigsteve]

Aug 27, 2009 5:36:41 GMT -5 fdesorme said:

Now if putting the vent opposite the smokenator provides better circulation, wouldn't the binder clips decrease circulation?

Prior to putting the binder clips I had some smoke coming out the sides. Could this help circulate the heat throughout the kettle? Could I put binder clips on the side of the smokenator and leave the other side free of binder clips?

In the "perfect" smoker, your air would enter through the intake vent, and exit through the exhaust, and not leak anywhere. In that regard, the binder clips should be helping you. By eliminating leaks, your heat control will be more precise. Smoke leaking out the lid can't be regulated, which will act to draw more oxygen in through the intake. Oxygen may also enter where the smoke is leaking, causing still more unregulated oxygen for the coals.

My grill leaks out the side of the lid. I have about a 20* difference between my dome and grate, and I can control temps pretty well. So I don't give it a second thought. But if someone is having real trouble controlling his temps, he should be looking for a big leak in his lid area, something the clips would probably help.

Many folks with dedicated smoker rigs will modify their units so that the exhaust is at about the grate level. This ensures that the meat that is cooking will be surrounded by even heat, and smoke. Brinkman bullet smokers don't even have an exhaust. The lid is made to flt loose so that the smoke exits there.

Our Webers are not genuine smokers. Don had to come up with a compromise. He relies on using the exhaust vent. If he kept the lid a little skewed, he couldn't regulate the rate at which the coals burn. Smoking food is an art, not a science. IMHO, Don has come about as close as you can get to making smoking on a Weber kettle a science.

It won't hurt anything to experiment.

[lytefly]

Aug 27, 2009 8:41:20 GMT -5 bigsteve said:

Smoking food is an art, not a science. IMHO, Don has come about as close as you can get to making smoking on a Weber kettle a science.

It won't hurt anything to experiment.

I agree! ;D