Using Your Vents
I’ve found many don’t know how to properly use the vents on their grill to help them cook. The best example of this is my sister Karen, who thought the bottom swivel was only to clean the ash. Bless her heart.
Simply put, the more airflow you have, the higher your temperature rises. This is one of the best parts of using a Weber grill. When you have a full load of coals in there you can be anywhere between 250 and 600+ degrees! With practice, you will have amazing control over the temperature of your grill.
I almost always keep the bottom vents wide open. This really keeps the air flowing and easy to control.
The top vent is what I use for control. I start with them wide open until I get to the temp I need for that specific meat, then I begin to close them to lower the temp if needed. When I’m smoking I keep the top vent closed a bit more to keep the smoke around my meat as long as possible.
I will occasionally close the bottom vents while cooking if I want the temperature lower for a slower cook.
And yes, when I’m done cooking and the grill is cooled down, I use the bottom vent swivel to clean out the dry ash. :)
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey all,
Great site and great recipes! I’ve been grilling for around 3 decades but only recently got into the world of low and slow. Man, what a difference! Anyway, I have a stick burner with 2 vents and was wondering if y’all have any advice. Seems like a very fine line between too cool and too hot…
Thanks much and keep up the good work, Best of luck!
Rob
Hey Rob – thanks so much for reaching out!
Stick burners…unfortunately these are probably the toughest pits to regulate temperature. With only 2 vents and using wood, it’s difficult to control the flame ups of the wood. It takes a LOT of practice.
I would try starting with a base of briquettes for your even heat, then add small chunks of wood on top of the charcoal for your smoke. See if that helps you regulate the temperature a bit. You don’t NEED to use wood for heat. Wood is there strictly for adding smoke to the flavor profile. So start with the smallest chunks possible that give you smoke and work your way up from there.
I sure hope this help, Rob! Let me know how things go and PLEASE contact me anytime with any questions, thoughts, help.
What would be the proper way to direct grill on an old smokey? It’s a jumbo. Trying to perfect it the best way I can.
The Old Smokey is similar to the Weber Smokey Mountain, and I’ve direct grilled many times on the Weber smoker. You should be able to just pile up a good amount of charcoal in the base of the old smokey and grill on that bottom grate. Just get those coals good and hot and it should work nicely. Let me know how it goes…or if I’m way off base! Thanks for the question, Mike.