I noticed on the Orion website the cooking time for 2 Boston Butts is 4 hours 30 minutes. Will the charcoal stay hot for that long?
1307168
It should. However, have a little bit of charcoal on hand (just in case) for the first time of cooking the Boston Butts. We have found the times to be accurately stated.
1307169
DS, I typically cook mine for about six hours by adding additional charcoal. An easy process since the heat source is on the outside. But, to answer your question, a full tray of charcoal should give you 4+ hours of heat.
1307170
I cook 6 butts, all of the time, in 2 cookers. I did a test on the cooking temps, and time, years ago, and found that the cooker reached max temp. ( 390*) after 2hr 15 min. Then the temp fell quickly from there. I add a 1/2 load of fresh coals after 2 hrs. to keep the temp. high, for a nice char finish. 3 butts never take more than 3 1/2 hrs. this way.
771999
This unit is definteily a cook by feel unit...once you've used it once or twice you can generally tell how much charcoal will keep it burning at what temp for what length of time (sounds more painful than it really is).
1204218
It does not take but a few hot briquettes for a warm side and 7-8 for a hot side. Try reading a few bbq books on grilling. The picture shows way too much charcoal for a couple pieces of meat!
669450
I have had 3 of these cookers; they last about 10 years.Don't try and make it something it is not (a barbeque grill).Wood chunks will too big for them to burn correctly; just stay with the chips.Use it only as a smoker with top closed.
2128636
To season it i just did acouple of cooks with some fatty foods. Bacon or meat that you do not wish to eat just to seal up all the holes. To start the charcoal I use a chimney starter with some newspaper under it which lights it up real quick!
1941178
I've never actually timed it, but I would guess no more than 4 minutes. They light quick and get the charcoal going fast.
1530371
The Char Broil infared does not get hot enough (really disappointed) to harm anything underneath. The same goes for my Char Broil gas fired 2 burned grill-----NOT TRUE INFARED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2161299
No, Not long at all. I've never timed them, but certainly no longer than 2 minutes. The quick heat up is my favorite feature.
1071534
I've never used the bigger WSMs, so I can only describe the 14.5" one. The charcoal sits on a grill, inside a vented "hoop", creating a charcoal chamber. I have done cooks that have lasted 10 1/2 hours. The first time long cook like that, I used charcoal that I had previously used, and had to add some more after 8 hours of cooking time. I would definitely say that the charcoals do not die quickly. Now when I do a long cook, I start with fresh unlit charcoal in a ring, and then pour in a small amount of lit coals into the middle. Lasts for hours and hours.
1797743
I've put together several other grill so I at least have an idea what I am doing; this one took about 3 hours and I needed a second person only once to put the cooking surface on the cart. For someone that has never put together a grill, this will be challenging so I'd expect 4 - 5 hours and a second person when needed.
1008220
55 minutes at 330 degrees all except the largest pan I needed to leave it inn an additional 15 to 20 minutes, a guess it depends on you oven. Just keep on eye on them
1529311
I have not noticed the temperature difference that you describe, However, I haven't cooked anything that would take over 30 to 45 minutes. Sorry, I am not alot of help.
2114429
not to easily. it will be to hard to keep low temps. the grill is really shallow so the charcoal is to close to cook slow the meat will cook to fast and the smoke will have no time to permiate the meat.
1677468
It does not mater what kind of charcoal you use, it heats from the outside in. I some times use dry branches and limbs from the woods behind my home. average time for a 8 lb shoulder butt roast is 3.5 hours or so.. just need to keep it fueled, charcoal does work the best. flraven
2128634
I seasoned mine with pork fat. I put strips of pork fat on the grate and cooked at 300 degrees for about 3 hours. I start my charcoal with a Weber chimney.
1232680
Jason, I've had a hard time getting it up to the desired smoking temp when it's cool & windy or just cool. I think one of the problems is that they only recommending using 12 or so starter coals. Yesterday I increased this number to 20 or so and that seemed to work better. I'll keep fooling with it and could see using up to half the coals in the chimney starter. And I've found that I need to have the top holes open more than the 5/16 they recommend. I'd say open them all the way up and then throttle them down. I also think it makes a big difference and significantly slows down the process if the meat isn't close to room temp to start. But I'll tell you, the more I use the device the more comfortable I feel with it. I'm having a retirement get together this coming Sat so started preparing for that this weekend. Using a rib rack I smoked 6 full racks of ribs on Sat and 6 more on Sun. I'd never have dreamed that 6 racks of ribs would fit on the Weber but they did. I baby sat the Sat batch pretty closely but once the Sunday batch was up to speed I only looked at about once/hour to stir the coals, add water & wood. We ate one last evening and it was good but will put the rest in the oven for 2 or 3 hours to get them more tender before serving. I hope that this (long) answer is of some help and encouragement. Dave McCartney, Marion, OH dkmcpa@yahoo.com
1853780
Try taking half as long to preheat as you did before... so if you preheated for 30 minutes then try 10-15. You can always climb up to temp but if its too hot at the start then your food will burn too fast. Also, try placing on indirect heat (the cooler side of your grill). Steel will still soak up and retain the heat but at a slower rate for more control. Good luck! Enjoy!