Getting the barbie above 250c

[Ultraviolet]

.. anyone any tips?

I can get the Weber up to about 250-260c, but any hotter is eluding me at the moment.. and the moment I open the lid to say, turn a steak, the heat drops and is difficult to recover.

any tips on getting - and keeping - the Barbie hotter? I'm using lumpwood charcoal at the moment, lit with a chimney and put into the char baskets. Even with the chimney full to the brim, there still doesn't seem to be enough oomph somehow. Vents both top and bottom are fully open...

any hints or tips appreciated...

UV

[Ultraviolet]

Thanks for the tips.. Will give it another whirl this evening.

1. Top vent is always open, except when closing down the Barbie after use to extinguish the charcoal. I've also been reusing charcoal.. Maybe not such a good idea?
2. Lid is closed and I'm using direct heat at the moment
3. Garden is pretty sheltered although there is some gusting wind where the Weber is currently located

So looks like I'll need to look into
- Filling the weber chimney right up, and waiting longer until the charcoal is greying (I've been waiting around 20 mims for the chimney, with gas ignition underneath, until the top most charcoal is glowing)
- Look at engineered charcoal - the londonlogcompany is a great site, and seems to have some very high quality stuff, also for smoking.
- mix of briquettes and charcoal and possibly more that 1 chimneys worth of fuel
- check thermo / temp with a digital thermometer

Any other ideas? Rump steak tonight, so will need plenty of oomph..

Cheers,
UV

[Ultraviolet]

Craikeybaby said:

How did you get on?

You mentioned the too vent in your post, but not the bottom vent, that's the one that really controls the temperature.

Went well... Followed the tips above, including moving the barbecue but I think half the problem was impatience... I was waiting around 20 mins after emptying the chimney onto the grill as the temperature seems to 'pause' at about that point... However, leaving it for around 45 mins got the temperature up to 290c... Much more acceptable.

So did rump steaks with salt / pepper / garlic / paprika / flat leaf parsley / virgin olive oil rub over direct heat for 9 mins, turning once after 5 mins, accompanied by broccolini with a sea salt / olive oil rub then cooked over direct heat to char it up a bit, then indirect to soften. Broccolini was soaked in water for 30 mims first. Currently following the Weber cookbook which is very good...

I leave the top vent open all the time and keep the lower vent fully open until the temperature builds up, then close this to about 50% to try and keep the temperature and slow the burn... Lid is kept closed all the time, except for (minimal) turning...

Still experimenting.. I overdid the steaks slightly as I didn't reduce the time enough given their thinness relative to sirloin... Want to have a crack at smoking next...

Cheers,

UV