Facts! I have NEVER waited until all the coals at the top are ashed over. You will have almost spent all the coals at the bottom. As soon as it stops smoking and you see those flames it's go time.

@JBSmoke1

Ай бұрын

Totally agree. I'll let the lit coals get to about 2/3 of the way up the chimney then I'll dump them. If you wait until all the coals are ashed over, you're just wasting fuel and time.

@SonicBoomC98

Ай бұрын

That's what I do now. I used to always be unsure about when to flip my coal. I found that the coal was too ablaze for too long when I let to go longer also

@marcmcguckian751

Ай бұрын

Plus you can use the 5 mins as the grill preheating time

@nategibbons172

13 күн бұрын

That is true with low quality charcoal.

I couldn’t agree more. As soon as you have clean smoke in the chimney and you see some flames starting to show it’s time. Also when I dump I distribute the barely lit coals evenly. By the time the grills finished preheating you are good to go👍🏻

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Couldn't agree more.

I found by time the top charcoal ash over, the bottom ones are almost gone.

I recently got a chimney and started using it. I would wait until the top was ashed over but would notice my coals would burn out sooner. Essentially because I used some of it's cook time to wait until the top is ashy. Was going to start pulling it earlier and this just reaffirms my thinking! Thanks for the video!

I actually never heard of waiting until it was ashes over. I always just waited until there is no more white smoke coming out of the chimney, which is about 15 minutes. Glad I've been doing it right the whole time 👍

@tylerwestman5258

11 күн бұрын

Then you’ve never smoked meat

@jonathankidwell6889

9 күн бұрын

I bet this is marketing from Kingsford. Like when the shampoo companies put repeat on their bottles.

@tebill8248

5 күн бұрын

Its literally right on the bag

Excellent vid, very scientific. I'm a lumpwood man myself but I do use a starter chimney and dump it out as soon as the thick smoke starts to drop off, not when it's completely gone but when I can see it's starting to settle down. That way all the dust and stuff has a minute or two to settle and for the kettle to warm up before I start to load in the goodies . If you can see visible ash on the top of the coals before you dump it out you're just wasting fuel.

When I first started I used to wait for the charcoal to be mostly ashed over. I now do as you do and as long as they all appear to be partially lit, I pour them in the kettle baskets.

Once the flames start to hit the top pieces of the chimney, I dump in the slow and sear. Hot coals end up on top and they eventually get the rest. By the time I dial in the vents to my desired temp the white smoke is done and we are ready to grill.

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Easing into your temp is the way to go! You are totally right, getting the hot fully lit coals up high does the most good and they are on the bottom and come out last.

@willgaither2478

Ай бұрын

Agtree

Another great video Ryan!🔥

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Thanks again for all of the support!

You are spot on! Great information

Great tips! Nice lawn!

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

We've gotten a lot of rain lately. It'll be hot soon enough and it won't look as good, but I'll enjoy it while I can!

@lilpd24

Ай бұрын

This mans lawn is superb!

Agreed. I let it get close but never fully Ashed over. It really depends on what you are trying to do.

Awesome, I’ve always waited for the top ones to get white before dumping them out of the chimney. Takes forever. Now with your demonstration, I don’t have to do this. Thanks.

@GrillTopExperience

3 күн бұрын

See how it goes! You should get longer cook times out of it.

Super helpful.. thanks!

I recently had been trying to wait until the top briquettes were white because I remembered hearing that and just couldn't do it. There was a roaring fire and clean smoke, so I just went with it like always. I'm able to get a second full-length, full temp cook out of most fresh batches of charcoal when doing it that way or will supplement with a few new briquettes. Much more economical.

Yeah, I stopped doing this years ago for several reasons, but the main reason was that the completely ashed-over charcoal didn't burn as long. However, I also don't use briquettes - only lump charcoal, which typically burns hotter and cleaner than briquettes.

@davidpaylor5666

Ай бұрын

Agreed. Lumpwood all the way. I think it gives a cleaner flavour.

@JohnSmith-oe5kx

26 күн бұрын

It just depends on the quality of your briquettes. I use only additive-free hardwood briquettes with 5% vegetable starch binder. Easier and cleaner to handle than lump, ready quicker. I only use lump for slow cooks now

good vid dood!!!

Thank you kindly...!

I just started lighting it in my slow n’ sear with some tumbleweeds. Once the coals around the tumbleweeds get going, you can just stir the charcoal around and it will all light pretty evenly

I have a small Smokey Joe. So I only use 1/2 a chimney. When I can see glowing orange on the bottom briquettes and flames licking up the side of the chimney I dump. Its really close to what you're doing.

Yes your right. I always dump the charcoal when the top ones in the chimney are just barley catching. My logic is if I wait till there all white then the bottom ones will be partially gassed out and therefore less cooking time.

@drinkthekoolaidkids

Ай бұрын

Exactly

Yep! If you wait until theyre all ashy you lose a lot of cooking time. I dump as soon as I see clean flames coming out the top of the chimney.

When you grill out in the winter months in the mid west, I always wait and let them all ash up. Plus I use royal oak charcoal chunks for the most optimal heat. Damm right, I have steaks on the grill in a snow storm.....

@tellygang_red

10 күн бұрын

Now that's real Midwest life! 🫵💯

good info

Great....info...great

Thank you for this👍🏻ROCK ON!!!!!!!🤘🏻🤙🏻✌🏻

Different charcoal obviously burns at different rates. I either use the Slow n Sear or a Vortex most of the time. I think dumping in/rotating from top to bottom works best when using a chimney. If you don’t watch and you use the competition style charcoal, your charcoal has already burned down about a third faster than regular charcoal. Not a big deal for faster cooks, but slower cooks require more fuel, time, effort and cost. A little smoke isn’t going to kill you ghat much faster than getting everything clean, esp. if you are going to use some wood chunks to smoke with.

Great upload, I normally leave it around 15 mins and dump in the slow n sear

usually 15 minutes is all it takes - when there's no smoke and you can see red in the middle holes its time to go. I've recently experimented with homemade starters smearing vaseline between 2 cotton round makeup pads and it works seemingly faster than my all time favorite tumbleweeds, but even cheaper and fun to make. I make up a crap load and store them in an old Folgers coffee container.

I stopped using briquette charcoal because my wife would start feeling ill after cooking our meal with it, but she felt fine after I changed over to lump charcoal. We determined that the difference between the two charcoals had to be the binding agent used in the briquette style charcoal. After switching I found that lump charcoal lights off faster and hotter.

@vinquinn

Ай бұрын

It is much better but it tends to burn up the fire grate pretty quickly. It also falls through.

@kimlog7476

Ай бұрын

Lump is the way to go

@kimlog7476

Ай бұрын

@@vinquinn If you use quality lump, the pieces will be bigger than briquettes normally.

@charlesc4925

Ай бұрын

@@kimlog7476What if you doing a low and slow like pulled pork or brisket? 🤔

@kimlog7476

Ай бұрын

@@charlesc4925 It is not a problem. If you have very good quality lump, it will be big pieces. You just restrict airflow, and that will burn for a long time. Poor quality is a different matter, then the lump is almost like chips, and that is not fit for anything but burgers and hotdogs.

I stopped getting it to white hot as well. I saw everyone talk about it but didnt care to do so. - It takes too long - Temperature seems too hot - Just too lazy to wait for all to get white hot - Once white, it crumbles too easily - Nowadays i just pour them in once the top gets a hint of fire on it. Works perfect!

@JonathanIsrael708

Ай бұрын

There's been an obsession with cooking things as hot as possible. People complain when they can't get their vortex over 600°F.

I agree!

Interesting test. I have a couple of things I do, and I'm not gonna change. I never use lighter fluid or those white cubes. Three balled up sheets of newspaper is enough unless it's monsoon season. [The color supermarket weekly flyer ads burn best.] It always takes the time to drink one beer, before the chimney coals are flaming. I use about 13 Kingsford briquets on the bottom for a positive light [No Black Magic here, just enough to cover the bottom holes.]. The next layer in the chimney is a few inches of partially-burned Mesquite chunks. [In the days of Steam Trains, pre-burned coal was called Coke -- predates the cola drink.] The last half is topped with new mesquite charcoal lumps. An alternate is to cut down season-aged mesquite branches [1 - 2'' D.] with a 20 volt circular saw and get some 2 - 3 inch pieces. [These can be recycled on another cook if not fully consumed.] When my first beer's gone and flames of 9 to 12 inches are leaping out of the chimney, I put on welders gloves and tip the coals into my grill. I let them settle for a few minutes, then brush last weeks grease off the rods with a Grill Daddy -- steam action. Time to cook.

So what happens with charcoal or briquettes when you need to add more to a grill for long cooking times or using the snake method?

Can we talk about your lawn? Wow! 👍🏼

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Thanks! The LawnCareNut was a huge help, but the heat will soon turn it back to brown.

which is why we mostly use our gas BBQ (even though we have 3 briquette style Weber bbqs)

Never heard of “ashed over” My coals are ready when the white smoke is gone and I have a flame on top. Top coals only have small ash spots by then but still 99.5% black. Good job dispelling what appears to be a stupid bbq myth and boy are there many.

Has the app for the spider venom gotten better? I actually returned mine because the app would not work and I was getting a probe error for the grill grate probe.

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

I haven't had any probe errors and I got one of the original Venoms. The Venom keeps going along, but I end up closing and opening the app to stay connected on a long cook. I mentioned that in the will it survive a rainstorm video and thought the venom was toast, but it was just the app.

I agree. I let my starting chimney stop smoking. Then drop the coals in my Weber.

It depends on your purpose, right? If I’m doing an 8hr low and slow smoke with the slow n sear, then I’m just getting a portion of the coals “white hot” and then going from there. But if I’m grilling fajita steaks and just need 10-15 min of med-high heat, then I’m getting the whole batch white hot…albeit a smaller batch. But I think your point is that in the latter scenario (fajita steaks), I still don’t have to wait on the whole batch to get white? Makes sense. Thanks!

@Roger__Wilco

Ай бұрын

When you want a quick high heat briquettes are the wrong fuel for the job anyway, get yourself some lump charcoal!

That is why the higher quality stuff is worth the money. BnB burns longer because the "drop" when fully lit is very minimal. Kingsford, has a lot of "drop" so you are wasting more. That is why I found that I get more cook time with less BnB vs Kingsford, so the cost is actually the same if not less for the BnB.

Interested in your video to find out about this and 13 sec in a damn ad. UGH. Great video btw!

I usually just wait until the smoke clears up.

If you use lump, you'll have less "impurities" as there are no binders etc. I agree with the core of this video though, no need to wait till all is white.

When I grill I’m not so concerned about speed, a few beers while doing it makes it enjoyable.

@Roger__Wilco

Ай бұрын

Glad to see you're still enjoying your retirement, should have asked for more ransom money though :D

Cooked over wood and multiple charcoal types for decades. The equipment and fuels have become nearly cost prohibitive. We now support some of the great local BBQ joints and spend more time playing with the grandkids.

@brianzachary5618

Ай бұрын

I use wood on offset bbq and sometimes cook on the gas grill. When my grandkids come over, I get them involved in cooking. That is one way we spend time together.

@williampalchak7574

Ай бұрын

@@brianzachary5618 agree. Ours are a little too young yet.

Where can we find the charcoal basket?

@-----------g-

4 күн бұрын

It's called a chimney just amazon it 😊

Depending on the cook ill wait until the my starter cube of tumbleweed has burned up, otherwise once I get clean smoke I start cooking

Exactly what I was about to try perfect I normally cool steak so I run them to fully white such a waste!

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

For searing, I've noticed that they'll be plenty hot by the time I grab the steaks and put the grates on. You might have to wait a couple of minutes, but that's better than overdoing it in the chimney.

Rob Halford from the band Judas Priest has a song named White heat red hot.🤘🏻🤘🏻

@AzTurboMini

Ай бұрын

My first Judas Priest concert was June 6th 1980 in Midland Texas. Good times! ✌️

@danielploy9143

Ай бұрын

@@AzTurboMini yep, mine in Houston. Heavy metal will survive, wimpy music must die. My motto anyways🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

Few things to mention - All the elitest in the chat saying Briquets is not Charcoal when almost every Brisquet manufacturer calls it as 'Charcoal Briquets'. - Most ordinary people who just grill once in a while or have no idea about BBQ call briquets as Charcoal. My wife and all my 'ordinray' friends will say 'Lets buy more charcoal', 'I need more charcoal'. They won't they 'Lets go buy some briquets' - Oxford Dictionary: 'Charcoal': a porous black solid, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when wood, bone, or other organic matter is heated in the absence of air. - According to Oxford Charcoal is a more wide term. Charcoal is simply a form of carbon. Briquets, lump charcoal are all charcoal

You are using charcoal briquettes, which is confusing to me because charcoal means lump to me. Anyway there is a lot of smoke when I use briquettes and just fire them up. The smoke is not tasty and I wait untii it is gone. When I use lump charcoal, I don't have that problem and I can put the meat on sooner and it makes a nice charcoal flavor as it slowly combusts. I have stayed away from using lump because I found it burned too fast and was using briquettes mixed with lump for longevity and flavor. I am using the firebox in my offset for grilling, which has a grate. A few days back, I removed the grate and put the charcoal right on the bottom of the firebox. This had significantly longer burn time and it burned at a lower temperature. I used much less lump charcoal, so I guess I could have added some more for more heat. I also could have played with the vents and closed the lid of the firebox. Anyway, so now I am excited to run the offset on lump charcoal without the grate to see what ribs come out like because I can get a reasonable run time instead of burning half a bag.

I never use brickets, always lumpwood, big difference I feel.

Yeah, I agree, is a waste to get your charcoal in a chimney fully asked over. I've always just let it go until the smoke stopped and it was burning clean. Besides, when you pour it out, you are putting the less burned coals onto the bottom with the hot coals on top and it just makes for a longer burning fire.

@samuelhowie4543

Ай бұрын

I generally set up the grill with a hot side/cool side and will usually start dumping the coals in the middle then pour most on the hot side. That way I can put the coals that aren't based over on top of the ones that are.

Yeah, I'm cheap... i never wait till is ashes over, as half the coals at the bottom have burned off. I typically wait till i see flames coming out of the cylinder, and pour it out. I may use a coal rake to even out and mix unburnt coals with lit coals. You provided a good tip here... as briquettes aren't as cheap anymore.

No starter cubes. I save a cup of bacon grease in the freezer and put a small chunk in a piece of paper folded like a square and put it in with the crumpled paper as usual. The grease helps the fire burn longer to start your coals better.

@nategibbons172

13 күн бұрын

Dude, the weber cubes are like $5 for 24. It makes things so much easier to just grab a cube.

I would have done this test using the recommended lighting method as opposed to a coal starter maybe it makes a difference… or big charcoal just wants to sell more bricks..

If you can’t control temps with lump it’s user error.

What was that white cube he used to start it?

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Those are Weber lighter cubes. You can find them at any place that sells Weber stuff.

@ninjaraph

Ай бұрын

@@GrillTopExperience Thank you! Wow how did i never know about those

@samuelhowie4543

Ай бұрын

​@@ninjaraphThere are a number of fire starters out there. Plus you can use a brown paper grocery bag sprayed with cooking oil also. I use olive oil for mine.

I agree with using lump Throw some apple wood on there. Oh yea

@SimRacingVeteran

Ай бұрын

Try some pecan wood. 👌

Maybe you should consider only using lump charcoal instead of briquettes, which are natural and have no fillers. Then do this test all over again.

Also by letting burn to while. Your loosing all the charcoal SMOKE AS WELL,, Like burning wood until its white hot. Loosing a lot of flavor, as well as cooking. cause you can shut it down and save the wood for another cook as well

@nategibbons172

13 күн бұрын

You want flavor? use a small chunk of wood

@426superbee4

12 күн бұрын

@@nategibbons172 That seem to work well to, but not always. Large pieces can burn, and be put out, to use again👉👉It all depend on? If it cure out or GREEN? I like Green wood. That seem to be where the smoke flavor come from the best. Dried cured out wood, seems to have LESS FLAVOR, and burn hotter than green wood. with less smoke

@nategibbons172

12 күн бұрын

@@426superbee4 you don’t use green wood to smoke. Buy a bag of wood chunks apple, pecan, hickory. whatever you want and throw a chunk on the coals when grilling

If you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to the level of your training... 😊

I stop because it makes the grill too hot. That only took about two tries to learn that.

Dude what’s with you buddies at sns coming out with charcoal baskets?! Wasn’t the slow n sear supposed to replace them?!?!?

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

I'm glad somebody said it.

@Southjerseysmokin

Ай бұрын

@@GrillTopExperience right?! Isn’t that going backwards?!

Use lump. 600 all day. Lights faster burns hotter longer (less cost)

i do the same because if you wait too long the charcoal at the bottom will be mostly ash and useless

This was like charcoal algerbra!! Man just que that s___!!! 😂

I see recommendations to let the coals ash over then posting slow cooks with most of the coals unlit.

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

That's a little different process. They call that the minion method where a few coals light the other ones. That gets a good hot fire, but keeps you cooking low and slow.

"When they are ashed over. Which should take 15 minutes." That's never happened, ever.

you talk about charcoal, but use brickets.. that is a big difference! And even so.. it depends on what you are cooking. Brickets and a chimney, then white hot is a solid method.

Lump charcoal just put out with water then dry and use again next time you need charcoal

@kimlog7476

Ай бұрын

You can't be serious. You don't "put out with water". Just deprive the fire of air, and it will die out. Don't put water in your grill/smoker.....

@le3045acp

Ай бұрын

@@kimlog7476 water cleans the burnt charcoal and when it dries it looks like new but when i put the lid on and cut the air off i still clean with water and let dry i dont put water in or on my grill i put coal in a 14 inch old weber set it in the river to extenguish and use again next week been doing so for 25 years and the 14 inch weber is still good to go

first off, thank you, this is exactly the question that's been bothering me. i have 2 followups if you'd be so kind. in your experience with the spider venom, if you need to add more charcoal mid cook, can you add them cold? or would you recommend preheating them for 12-15 minutes to burn off the 'bad-smoke' ignition components. or is there a way to add enough charcoal in 1 chimney for an entire overnight brisket cook?

Why don't you just pick up the chimney and give the charcoal a shake to rotate the coals around so that they all light up evenly???

@mikemccabe8015

25 күн бұрын

Unless you want a shower of sparks hitting your face and the rest of your body, I would recommend not doing this

Bout 15 minutes, let it warm up the grill bout ten more minutes and you’re good to go! I like B&B oak

You only need to ash it over if you're using lighter fluid.

Anybody who doesn't know this shouldn't be cooking with charcoal or grilling in the first place.

I guess he's never read the instructions on a bag of Kingsford. He really hasn't stumbled on anything unknown here.

These are brickets, not charcoal...

Don't use lighter fluid or charcoal with chemicals in it.

1

Nothing like using firewood, hardwood of course.

I didn't get this video at all😮😮😮

No duh….😂

So that you're not wasting fuel? Seems elementary to me.

And the second thing you learn is not to use briquettes, use quality lump charcoal.

Yeah, it's a silly myth and a waste of time and charcoal burn duration. And even if you get that white smoke for a few mins, it won't ruin the taste of anything.

This is not real charcoal, those are briquets

@AnontheGOAT

4 күн бұрын

K, so what are they made from then lol?

People really over complicate BBQ. Get fire going, put in grill, wait a bit more and then start grilling. It’s not rocket science. It’s meat on a grill folks.

Wtf uses lighter fluid nowadays

@GrillTopExperience

Сағат бұрын

I watched someone use lighter fluid and a chimney the other day. Wild.

This is not charcoal…. it’s briquettes.

@AnontheGOAT

4 күн бұрын

And what are they made from then?

Why would anyone cook on those nasty chemical coals?

@JohnSmith-oe5kx

26 күн бұрын

You seem unaware that there are pure, high-quality briquettes out there

If you want to do real BBQ, you use lump charcoal, not briquettes. Briquettes are for amateurs and people who likes eating their food with chemical stuff flavor. Lump charcoal are lit faster, burn hotter, can be reused, do not need to be ash over and has no chemical. None of this is possible with briquettes. If you want great flavor and exceptional cooking experience, use lump charcoals.

@arthurcutaiar9994

Ай бұрын

Cooks too hot, burns to fast. I like the thought of lump but the reality is... TOO HOT FOR BAR B QUE/OK FOR GRILLING AN ROASTING. And burns to fast. Bar b que/low n slow grilling/incinerate your food.

@_DB.COOPER

Ай бұрын

My briquettes don’t have chemicals kid? What are you talking about? The food you cook has chemicals in it! 😝😂😆😆😂

@xSaltonx

Ай бұрын

Briquettes are for amateurs? Or are they for people who like consistent temperatures being held in there pit. With the inconsistency’s in the lump charcoal it’s better to use briquettes for most people. And not all briquettes have lighter fluid or chemicals in them.

@frankdukes5674

Ай бұрын

😂😂😂

@marcusm5127

Ай бұрын

You absolutely can reuse briquettes

That’s why you don’t use a chimney.

Jesus christ. Do it the way it works for you. Everyone has their own preference.

@limitedassurance

Ай бұрын

The point of the video is to give us his preference via his channel, which we subscribe to because we're interested in his preferences. It's a grilling channel on a social media site called KZread where people share ideas and preferences via video, almost as if by intention. It's nice for those who are either learning to do something or who like to look for ways to improve. You should check it out.

Those are briquettes, not charcoal......

@JohnSmith-oe5kx

26 күн бұрын

Charcoal briquettes. What do you think the briquettes are made of?

This channel is just common sense. Sorry.

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

The comment section disagrees. What is common knowledge for one isn't for another.

Terrible video. The reason why the top coals are lit last is because the fire starter is at the bottom. Duh

You don't even look or Sound like what you're talking about, good luck,you ain't from the South

@GrillTopExperience

Ай бұрын

Graduated high school in Louisiana. Grilling is a worldwide thing. Every culture has their version.

great info thanks. i have used web. kettles for 50 yrs.! black,red,blue,black,black lol