You can add charcoala s you are coking...start your fire with the chimney and when it's going good, spread it out and plop on your meat.
Most of the time you will want to leave all vents fully open....always leave the bottom vents open unless you are putting out the fire.
If you are cooking something that takes a long time, you will have to add more coals...with tongs through the gaps in the grill grates.
If you are using wood chips you need to soak them for at least 1/2 ah hour before putting them on the fire....then don't put on too many or they will really damp down your heat.
Use the top vents and bottom vents to control the heat.
For smoking, things like ribs or a big roast chicken, spread the coals in a ring and put a pan (disposable) of water in the middle to create moisture...and if you want a really smokey flavor, put the soaked chips into the pan of water and partly close the vents to control the fire.
You'll learn!
Open and close the bottom vents rapidly to sift out some of the ashes...but you want to keep some ash as it reflects the heat.
Things that taste particualrly good....butterflied chicken, butterflied boneless leg of lamb, brats, steaks of course. boneless pork loin, salmon fillets....
Linda C

I cooked leg of lamb a couple of weeks ago and it turned out so good I jotted down a note so I could repeat it exactly.
Butterfly lamb
salt, garlic powder, pepper, oregano
Grill over coals 5 min per side
move to cool side of grill
10 min per side
let rest
The thinner parts were well done and the thicker parts were medium. I used one large chimney of charcoal on one side of the same grill you have with the vents wide open. I made sandwiches with pita, and tzatziki and a greek salad. It was excellent. The trick to cooking larger pieces of meat on the Weber is to brown it good on both sides then use the cooler side of the grill to finish it. If I want to add wood I just toss big chunks right on the charcoal. I don't soak. If you like pork ribs here is a good way to do them. Bank up some unlit charcoal and wood on one side. Take about a quarter full chimney of coals and dump it in the middle of the unlit stuff. Add the ribs to the other side and close the vents about half way. Walk off and leave it for a couple of hours. The unlit coals will gradually get hot extending the life of the fire. You guys are going to enjoy that grill for a long time.
James

Stacy, I agree, you are going to love your charcoal grill.

When using flavored chips I always make a packet with tin foil. Soak your flavor chips for an hour (about a cup), drain and put wet chips on large piece of tin foil add dry chips to the wet chips. The dry chips will act as tender and start your smoke packet to smoking. Make a packet with the chips and poke holes in the packet with a fork. Lay the packet directly on the hot coals. Then wait until you see lots of smoke coming out the grill. Quickly lay your burgers on the top of the grate a put the top back on. The smoke adds such a nice flavor.

I, too love to indirect cook on my charcoal grill. The other day I used a Cherry wood chip packet and cooked/smoked 4 pork tenderloins, that had been seasoned very well, until the loins where at 160 degrees. Took them off and let them rest for 5 minutes. YUM!

Stacy - check out the Weber website for answers to questions you didn't even know you had LOL! Plus there's lots of good info in the booklet that came with the grill, too.

When I cook I open both the top and bottom vents to get good air flow, the only time I close them during cooking is if I have a grease flare up. When you're done cooking, if you close both vents the fire will go out and you'll have a nice base of leftover briquets to start with next time.

One of our current grilled favorites is artichokes - cook the artichokes in a pot of water as you normally would. Then when they've cooled off you can cut them in half easily. Pull out the choke, then brush them with olive oil and garlic and grill cut side up with indirect heat for a few minutes while the rest of your dinner cooks. Corn on the cob is another one that cooks in just a few minutes - wrap the husked ears in foil with a little butter and let them cook on the side while the meat cooks over the coals.

Enjoy :-)

Becky

Here is a link that might be useful: Weber Website

Whoo Hoo! Your first Weber! Play time ahead girl.

You have got to do a chicken. Cheap easy and you will be amazed how easy.

Here are some action shots of my grill... click the thumbnails for a big picture.

Charcoal on the sides under the grate flaps. Later you can drop some wood or more charcoal. Probably won't need more charcoal!
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Bird in the middle. Stuff if you want but at least get the gizzard package out.
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Vents both bottom and top wide open!
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Go drink alcohol and party!

*picture censured for indecent content*

When you are drunk and partied out return for food.
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Note paper like skin. Eat it with your fingers while slugging on your beer. Relax... beer and chicken skin are calorie free when consumed together.
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Often best to work with kitchen gloves and tear the bird apart with your hands. Leftover skin, fat, and the bones should go in a pot for soup broth... a great lentil soup base because of the smokey flavor. There is a whole 'nuther bird stuck to the bones and you will be amazed at how meaty the soup is! After simmering for about an hour strain the broth to get the skin and bones back out. A wishbone in there!... remember those. Return any meat to the pot that you don't nibble away. In the picture I added coconut milk, curry paste, and cayenne pepper (flaming hot! and !!! hot) to the chicken broth and spooned it over lentils cooked in the microwave.... lentils cook in about 20 minutes when nuked!
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Being single I reserve the breast meat for sandwiches. Thighs have fat deposits that pick out with ease leaving nice lean meat. Wings and legs are prime snack parts... hand to husband and tell him to go lay down.. "good boy". I can still get a decent fryer bird for about $4. Leftover shredded chicken meat can be covered in bbq sauce and refried for a dandy sandwich filler... taco sauce for taco meat... soy sauce for fried rice... you get the ideas. Best spent 3-4 bucks in my whole grocery bill.

Works fine with a whole turkey. Note the bird is so tender and well done that the legs pulled out to their sockets while rolling into the pan for transport to the kitchen.
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Works with every meat I've tried!... london broil, eye of round, bottom round, pork roast, and brisket. It even makes a meatloaf if you wrap the loaf in foil. Caution with foil wrapped stuff as there may be hot liquid to drain off... don't get splashed or drizzled on.

It works in the winter and in the rain! No need to let a little rain stop the bbq. In fair weather you can use your Weber with the top off for traditional grilled steaks or whatever. Sometimes when smoking a chicken I'll slip a burger or steak over the coals. You may need extra charcoal if you lift the lid often... like an oven it cooks faster when left alone. Soak the wood but if you are lazy like me just drop a chunk on top the charcoal. A few peppercorns on the coals makes a pepper smoke... great flavor but don't get the smoke in your eyes.

Now you need an injector kit! Inject those dry beef roasts with good stuffs for super juicy tasty experiments. Butter and cajun spice are a favorite. The grocery store probably has a dozen pre-made liquids for injecting.

I'm currently eating on a beef brisket that I thusly smoked using charcoal, hickory wood, and black pepper. Last night pulled a chunk of cooked brisket from the fridge and covered it with vinegar, evoo, and rosemary before reheating in the microwave... a great main course in under 2 minutes! So good I'm having more for breakfast.

I like to put an empty catfood can in the middle of the ash catcher to collect dripping grease... much of the fat will drip out the bottom. Your dog will probably eat it ashes and all before redepositing it on your livingroom carpet.

: )
lyra

Linda, thank you for your very thorough answer!

James, - thank you - both ideas and your suggestions will be very handy - I promise to at least try the pork - I'm a little frightened of lamb - but I have to get over it.- right?

Karen, I love your suggestion for the foil packet - I will be sure to try it.

Becky - thanks - I will check out their website - should have thought of that - lol. Artichokes? You're on! I only bought them for fresh ones for the first time about 2 months ago - I loved them, and look forward to trying on the grill!

Oh Lyra, Lyra, Lyra...every time I get a post from you, I so want to hang out with you! your pictorial is wonderful - and your enthusiasm for the grill is contagious - lol. wings and legs will be handed to son...husband only likes boneless - sigh. But in my old age, have decided that he will eat what I make and if that means pulling delicious chicken off the bone, then so be it...:-)

You guys are the best - I have to get in the habit of taking pics again, with my new friend Weber.

Thanks,
Stacy

It seems to me that fattier meats absorb more of the smoke flavor, and so I only grill fatty fish like salmon and shrimp. Lean fish just gets dry too quickly and is better grilled indoors. I also like sausage and chicken on the grill, but I grill {{gwi:1525080}} so that I can baste it, and I stuff seasoned butter under the skin. I've had less luck with grilling turkey than with chicken, but then I've never grilled a whole turkey.

BTW, I have the exact same grill as you, plus a smaller version, which uses even less charcoal.

Garlic toast is great on the grill as well - season some butter with herbs, garlic, and olive oil (the oil makes it easier to spread) and grill unbuttered side first, unless you butter both sides! With salmon, always grill the presentation side first and the skin side last, so that it will remove from the grill nicely. I always put olive oil on the presentation side, and sometimes I add a bit of dried dill and pepper. I prefer salmon without salt - it has a sweeter flavor that way.

For vegetables, I like zucchini, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, red bell pepper, and squash. I generally do the tomatoes on separate skewers, since they cook much more quickly than the others, and I merely slice the zucchini and squash thickly lengthwise and season with olive oil and pepper. Again, I don't like salt on zucchini and squash - it tastes sweeter without it. The mushrooms I marinate in a garlic vinaigrette, and I put them on skewers with the red bell pepper and onion pieces.

I'll probably barbeque next week-end because I have company coming over on Friday.

Lars

OOOH Stacy, that is one very pretty Grill. Can't wait to see some of your first pitures of what ever comes Hot off the Grill.

Michael, great pictorial. Makes me want to run out and buy a charcoal grill myself.

Ann

Lars, thanks for the excellent advice. And I hadn't even thought of garlic toast - mmm!

Ann, I will be sure to take a pic when I can - but thank goodness lyra told me to go ahead and grill in the rain because that seems to be all that it's doing here!

Stacy

Ah you know you are a foodie/CFer when you are excited to get a cooking appliance as a gift, lol.

Applause to Lyra!

Stacy it looks just like my charcoal Weber and I wouldn't trade it for anything! Cook away...during winter,spring, summer and fall - we use it all the time.

Chicken, steaks, pork, seafood, hamburgers, hotdogs - the list is endless.

IMO nothing beats the flavor of charcoal and wood chips.

Enjoy!

I have a little Weber, and an offset smoker and I use my grills 3 or four times a week. Generally, almost anything I make in the kitchen I cook on the grill, I just make the pieces bigger so they don't fall through the grates:)

How you use the smoking wood depends on how you want to cook and the wood chunks themselves. When I am doing steaks, burgers, and dogs, high heat quick cooking stuff, I use the wood 'flakes', and I just toss them on dry. They'll burn up quickly but you'll be done by then anyway. For things that take a bit longer, pork loin, whole chicken, beef roast, pork roast, I soak the wood flakes so they burn a little longer. For long term 'low and slow' cooking, ribs, whole turkey, brisket, etc..., I soak large chunks of wood overnight and feed them in until I feel there has been enough smoke. After that I just feed in the coals.

For your reference, but by no means set in stone, at @215 F, it takes about 8-10 hours to smoke a turkey, 'on smoke' for 6 hours. Spare ribs take 6-8 hours, they're 'on smoke' 4 hours. Baby back ribs take about 4 hours, on smoke for an hour and a half. Briskets I start on Saturday afternoon and serve on Sunday evening, they're on smoke until mid-morning Sunday.

You can add hardwood charcoal to a lit grill without any problems, but you should never add unlit briquettes, makes everything taste a little chemically.

Enjoy the Weber, it's a beautiful thing.

aug