Weber kettle owners, a question
Discussion
I recently bought a Master Touch (don't know what he Premium is).
Handy features on mine include the lid hanger which the cheaper ones don't have.
It also came with some useful accessories - the coal baskets, for example, are worth having.
I'm not so sure about the chimney. I struggled to get it hot enough using the chimney - a combination of cheap charcoal (avoid!) and too large and area/not bunching the coals up. You also lose some of the heat in the chimney burning process.
What I've found works better is filling the two baskets with Weber charcoal and lighting with a lighting block.
It takes a while but you get more, hotter coal and a much longer cooking cycle. I just have the chimney for back up now.
And the grate on mine has hinged areas so I can add more - look for that feature too - not sure the cheaper ones have it.
Handy features on mine include the lid hanger which the cheaper ones don't have.
It also came with some useful accessories - the coal baskets, for example, are worth having.
I'm not so sure about the chimney. I struggled to get it hot enough using the chimney - a combination of cheap charcoal (avoid!) and too large and area/not bunching the coals up. You also lose some of the heat in the chimney burning process.
What I've found works better is filling the two baskets with Weber charcoal and lighting with a lighting block.
It takes a while but you get more, hotter coal and a much longer cooking cycle. I just have the chimney for back up now.
And the grate on mine has hinged areas so I can add more - look for that feature too - not sure the cheaper ones have it.
I would recommend spending the little more and getting the extra few features. I’ve had my current weber kettle for c.9-10 years now so the extra cost will work out negligible over time.
Easier to clean and keep the air flowing with the bottom section.
Also the chimney starter is a revelation, if you use premium coals you should only need 1/2-3/4 of a chimney worth for normal direct cooking. A full chimney for indirect/slow cooking where you can control the air flow and keep a ‘top-up’ chimney fired up at the side to add white hot coals at a later date if needed
Easier to clean and keep the air flowing with the bottom section.
Also the chimney starter is a revelation, if you use premium coals you should only need 1/2-3/4 of a chimney worth for normal direct cooking. A full chimney for indirect/slow cooking where you can control the air flow and keep a ‘top-up’ chimney fired up at the side to add white hot coals at a later date if needed
AC43 said:
I recently bought a Master Touch (don't know what he Premium is).
Handy features on mine include the lid hanger which the cheaper ones don't have.
It also came with some useful accessories - the coal baskets, for example, are worth having.
I'm not so sure about the chimney. I struggled to get it hot enough using the chimney - a combination of cheap charcoal (avoid!) and too large and area/not bunching the coals up. You also lose some of the heat in the chimney burning process.
What I've found works better is filling the two baskets with Weber charcoal and lighting with a lighting block.
It takes a while but you get more, hotter coal and a much longer cooking cycle. I just have the chimney for back up now.
And the grate on mine has hinged areas so I can add more - look for that feature too - not sure the cheaper ones have it.
I just bought an original kettle 57cm for £134 and it has the lid hook and the coal baskets. Doesn't have the hinged basket though.Handy features on mine include the lid hanger which the cheaper ones don't have.
It also came with some useful accessories - the coal baskets, for example, are worth having.
I'm not so sure about the chimney. I struggled to get it hot enough using the chimney - a combination of cheap charcoal (avoid!) and too large and area/not bunching the coals up. You also lose some of the heat in the chimney burning process.
What I've found works better is filling the two baskets with Weber charcoal and lighting with a lighting block.
It takes a while but you get more, hotter coal and a much longer cooking cycle. I just have the chimney for back up now.
And the grate on mine has hinged areas so I can add more - look for that feature too - not sure the cheaper ones have it.
I don't think I'd miss the other features, but the one thing I do wish it had was a small table or something to put raw and cooked stuff on!
Thanks for the coal tip.
The MT range has been updated, so make sure you are getting this year's models.
MT is much more flexible that non-MT and absolutely worth the extra.
Premium used to add better wheels and heavier duty Stainless Steel grill, that seems to be standard on all MTs now.
Now the Premium adds some useful extras to facilitate low n slow and smoking, along with the cast iron GBS grate.
List price of the cast iron GBS grate is £52.99, so the premium for the Premium (sorry, couldn't resist) of £50 is a grate (sorry again) deal.
MT is much more flexible that non-MT and absolutely worth the extra.
Premium used to add better wheels and heavier duty Stainless Steel grill, that seems to be standard on all MTs now.
Now the Premium adds some useful extras to facilitate low n slow and smoking, along with the cast iron GBS grate.
List price of the cast iron GBS grate is £52.99, so the premium for the Premium (sorry, couldn't resist) of £50 is a grate (sorry again) deal.
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