Can You Grill On a Weber Smokey Mountain

There are those days when you are not in the mood for lengthy cooking procedures, as is common in smoking food. You want a simple cooking method for a quick meal.

One of the great options for preparing fast and delicious meals is grilling.

The Weber Smokey Mountain is widely known for the superior smoke flavor it adds to food. 

However, the question among several people has always been, "can you grill on a Weber Smokey Mountain?" The answer to this frequently asked question is a solid "yes." 

Hereunder, we shall look at the Weber smoker's features that make it a perfect grill. We shall also see some basic grilling steps, differences between grilling and smoking, and several grilling precautions.

Weber Smokey Mountain Review: Features

The Weber Smokey Mountain is also known as a weber bullet due to its bullet shape. Let's see some more features of this smoker:

Size

The weber smoker comes in three sizes: 14-inches, 18-inches, and 22-inches. These sizes refer to the cooking space of each grill.

For example, the 22-inch grill has a bigger cooking space than the 14 inch Weber smokey. This also means that the different sizes come with different prices; the larger the smoker, the higher the price.

Choosing the right smoker size will depend on the number of persons you will be cooking for and your budget.

Fuel

The Weber grill uses lump charcoal, charcoal briquettes, wood chips, or wood chunks. These sources of fuel produce the required temperature for cooking when lit.

Construction

The Weber charcoal smoker comprises three major sections:

● The bottom (that hosts charcoal or wood).

● The middle (that holds the middle grate and top cooking grate).

● The head area comprising the weber domed lid.

How to Use Weber Smokey to Grill

Now, it's time to convert our smokey mountain into a grill and start grilling. It's straightforward. Just follow the following few steps.

Converting the WSM into a grill

First things first, remove the middle part of the smoker together with its dome lid. What will remain is what many people refer to as the little black egg. This little egg-shaped grill also resembles the weber kettle grill.

Heating up

Start by placing the charcoal chamber (charcoal ring) on the weber smokey charcoal grate. This chamber helps keep charcoal from blocking the air vents and helps with smooth airflow.

Place some lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes in your charcoal chimney starter; this will quickly help you get some hot coals. Ensure that the coals have an ashy coating before using them for cooking.

After liting your charcoal correctly, arrange each hot coal on the charcoal grill, ready to produce direct heat to your cuts of meat or the other foods you will be cooking.

Grilling

Place a grilling grate above the charcoal chamber. This grate almost fits wall to wall of the little smokey grill.

Next, you can place your seasoned food on the cooking grate and hold your nose so high to feel the deep aroma as it penetrates the atmosphere.

I know that you wouldn't like your food flavors to disappear into the air. Thus, you can consider covering the charcoal grill with the dome lid.

But, there is one drawback when covering your charcoal grill using the smokey mountain lid; the lid doesn't snap into place compared to when using the whole WSM for smoking.

However, the dimensions of the upper part of the little grill and the lid are the same. So, the cover will rest on top of the grill with the possibility of sliding. However, this is no big deal but be careful when grilling.

Is your food done?

You already know that food sometimes can seem done on the outside but undone on the inside; you can't fully trust your eyes to judge whether food is ready for consumption.

So, what now? You will need a food thermometer to ascertain that your food has cooked well before removing it from the grill or even before consuming it. 

How about tasting your food to check whether it is done?; this, too, is not recommended. Raw foods, especially meat products, are harmful to your health.

So, ensure you have a meat probe at hand whenever you are grilling on a weber smokey mountain; this will help you know when your food has attained a safe internal temperature, thus making your food ready for consumption.

Finally, you can now take your meat and other foods from the grill when you have gathered evidence showing that your food is ready. 

Differences Between Grilling and Smoking

Now that we have seen how you can grill on the weber smokey mountain cooker let's see another concept that most people confuse with grilling.

Some people can rarely differentiate grilling from smoking. The truth is, these two cooking methods are a bit different.

Here are some of the differences between grilling and smoking:

Let's now see the above differences in deeper detail:

Cooking temperature

Weber grill smoking temperature ranges between 68ᵒF and 175ᵒF. Why?

High temperatures will cause the outer parts of your meat to cook quickly, thus hindering heat and smoke penetration to the meat's innermost parts, leading to poorly cooked meat.

On the other hand, grilling requires a minimum temperature of 350ᵒF and a maximum of 500ᵒF. Again, this temperature depends on the type of food you are grilling. For example, a streak requires between 400ᵒF to 500ᵒF cooking temperature.

Direct and indirect heat

Grilling uses direct heat. You place your meat or other foods directly above the lit charcoal.

When smoking, smoke and heat travel indirectly from the charcoal bowl into the cooking area.

Cooking time

There is a big difference between grilling and smoking time.

Grilling takes lesser time compared to smoking food. For example, you might use a few minutes or an hour when grilling food.

On the other hand, smoking takes several hours or even more than a day to have food ready.

Types of foods

Smoking is perfect for cooking tough or chewy meat; such cuts of meat require quite some time to soften and some low heat that can easily penetrate the meat interior for a thorough cook.

Some meat cuts ideal for smoking on the smokey mountain grill weber include beef brisket, prime ribs, pork shoulder, whole turkey or chicken, salmon, and leg lamb.

On the other hand, you can grill more food types than smoking. However, when it comes to meat cuts, they need to be tender for a quick grilling session.

Some foods you can grill on weber smokey include steak, hotdogs, vegetables, baby back ribs, fish, hamburgers, shrimp, chicken, and corn on the cob.

Required skills

Every cooking method requires some skills; grilling and smoking are no exemptions.

However, as a beginner, grilling on WSM is easier than smoking. Maybe this is due to the little time used in grilling. However, you will need to be available during the entire grilling time to keep your food from burning.

In contrast, smoking on the WSM requires more skills.

Mastering temperature control in a weber smokey mountain cooker is usually one of the challenges that beginners face. However, you will indeed perfect your smoking skills with continued smoking practices.

Food preservation

Smoke is a preservative. Therefore, smoked foods are known to last for an extended period.

On the other hand, grilled food requires immediate consumption. So, cook enough food that will be exhausted immediately.

Weber Smokey Mountain Grilling Safety Tips

Grilling during summer is fun, especially when enjoying meals with family and friends. However, it would be best to be cautious since some grilling mistakes can burn your beautiful backyard or cause you to visit your doctor.

It's not that I am pessimistic. No. Statistics back the above statement.

The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) says that there are nineteen thousand patients in hospitals every year due to grill-related injuries. In addition, there are 4,200 house fires and 5,600 external fires recorded from gas and charcoal grills.

So, let's see some of the safety tips you need to observe when grilling on the weber charcoal smoker grills:

Use your Weber charcoal smoker outdoors

Don't allow winter to lie to you that it is OK to grill inside your house.

Charcoal needs to be burned in open places to keep you from inhaling carbon monoxide, which can be fatal.

Also, charcoal flareups can burn carpets or other fabrics in the house, which can cause a house fire.

Give your grill space

Let there be space around your grill.

So, don't place your grill next to a wall; this can damage the paint on the walls.

Placing the grill near plants can cause them to wither, while putting the smoker near flammable surfaces like coaches can lead to fires.

Keep your grill stable

The last thing you would ever want is to see your weber smokey mountain grill fall in the middle of a cooking session. Imagine all that grease and food on the floor. You would also not want your feet to get burnt by an unstable smoker.

Therefore, always ensure that your grill is standing on a stable surface. You can also invest in a grill mat if your floor is slippery or not conducive to grills.

Keep children and pets away

You will need to leave your toddler or pet under the care of someone else when you are grilling on WSM; this is because toddlers and pets tend to be always curious about almost everything.

Your toddler or pet could play around with the smoker when cooking. Let's not even explain further the possible risks present here.

Keep your grill clean

Grease accumulation in your weber smokey mountain cooker can be a recipe for trouble. This grease build-up is one of the reasons behind the common grease fires.

So, it's essential to scrape off those grease lumps before you store your grill.

Don't leave your grill unattended

Reject that temptation of going back to the house to catch up with your favorite TV program. You can't leave an unattended fire on your property.

Ensure that all your grill parts are functional

If any smoker parts are not delivering excellent results, you can always seek a replacement from the WSM parts list.

An unstable charcoal grate, for example, can lead to flareups which is one of the causes of grill fires.

Light coals using a charcoal chimney

Using a charcoal chimney is the best lighting method for the smokey mountain grill weber. You will light your coals from a central place, thus not messing your entire backyard with lit briquettes.

Don't use lighter fluids on hot coals

I know you would want a quickfire at an instant. However, using lighter fluids on your hot coals is dangerous.

The lighter fluid can cause sudden flareups, which can cause a grill fire. 

Also, what if you had spilled that fluid on yourself, and then you came into contact with hot coals? It's risky.

FAQs

1. Can you use a grill as an oven?

Yes, you can use your grill as an oven to prepare pizza, casseroles, brownies, pies, or coffee cake.

2. Can I grill on an offset smoker?

Yes, you can create a direct grill on your offset smoker. You achieve this by adding lit coals under the cooking grate for direct heat to cook your food.

3. What is better for cooking between lump charcoal and briquette?

Lump charcoal is recommended for high heat grilling and searing. On the other hand, briquettes are ideal for slow cooking. 

4. What is the minion method?

The minion method allows you to grill on the rocky mountain smoker without adding new coals amid a grilling session. 

You conduct the minion method by creating a circle around the charcoal grate using around 2kg of charcoal. You will then add 1 to 2kgs of lit coals over the unlit ones.

Conclusion

So far, we have gotten a conclusive answer to the question, "can you grill on a Weber Smokey Mountain?"

Now, I know you are super excited to modify your WSM and try some grilling recipes. 

Even as you enjoy your grilled foods, remember to stay safe. Consume well-cooked food and prevent possible grill troubles. This way, you can enjoy an excellent lifetime grilling experience.