| Increasing Cooking Capacity
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Originally
posted: 03/01/2001
Last updated:
02/25/2008 |
No matter how big your cooker, there are always times when you wished it
was just a little bit bigger! This dilemma has caused some creative folks
to develop the methods for increasing WSM cooking capacity shown below.
You will have to purchase
additional cooking grates for most of these methods.
The 17-1/2" top grate can be purchased at most home
centers and barbecue stores--it will be labeled as a replacement grate for
the 18-1/2" charcoal grill. The 17" lower grate must be ordered
directly from Weber.
Finally, remember that when you
increase
the cooking capacity of your Weber Bullet, you'll change the performance
characteristics of the cooker, too. It will take longer to come up to 225-250°F when
you first add all that cold meat to the cooker. It will also take longer to cook
the meat than you're used to, and your cooker will use more fuel and smoke wood.
As
always...click on any of the pictures to
view a larger image.
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Stacking Grates
For thin items like chicken
quarters/pieces or ribs, an additional top cooking grate can be turned 90°
and placed upside down over the top cooking grate (Picture 1). Thanks to Brad
Perkins for this suggestion.
A steam rack with collapsible
legs (Picture 2) can be placed on either the top or bottom WSM cooking grates to
increase cooking capacity. The distance between the steam rack and the WSM grate
is 3-1/2". Available in a variety of sizes, steam racks can be purchased from
restaurant supply stores for around $12. The Big
Green Egg grid extender (Pictures 3 and 4) is a 15-1/2" cooking grate with legs that attach to the WSM grate.
The grate swings up on both sides to
access the grate below. The distance between the grid extender and the WSM grate
is 3-3/4". The grid extender can be used
on either the top or bottom WSM
cooking grate. If you fasten down the swing-up portions (you'll have to wire
them down yourself), you
can hang it from the top WSM cooking grate. The grid extender
costs about $20 plus shipping and can be ordered from The Big Green Egg at
770-934-5300.
Picture 5 shows the use of empty soup cans to hold another grate above the
standard grate. You can also use pieces of fireplace brick. Picture
6 shows
two
grates fastened together using electrical conduit, bolts, and washers. Cut three spacers of equal
length from electrical conduit. Choose three bolts that are about
1/2" longer than the length of the spacers, three matching nuts, and six
matching washers large enough to prevent the bolts and nuts
from passing through the grate. Place a washer on a bolt and pass it through the
top side of the top grate. Slide a spacer over the bolt from below, then pass
the bolt through the bottom grate. Fasten with
a washer and a nut on the bottom side of the bottom grate. Repeat this process for the remaining spacers.
This modification comes from Hi-Tech Smokers of Blue Springs, MO.
Picture 7 shows 3 grates fastened
together using threaded rods, washers and nuts. This modification comes from Rob
B. of Winter Haven, FL. Rob used four 12" threaded rods, 24 fender washers, and
24 nuts to connect a generic cooking grate between the standard WSM top and
bottom grates. "When it's time to baste, rotate, etc. it's a quick and easy
process. Just grab the top grate handles and the rest follows."
Pictures 8 and 9 show spacers
attached only to the bottom cooking grate. Fasten four 4" x 5/16" bolts with
nuts and washers to the bottom grate and place a second cooking grate on top of
the bolt heads. This modification comes from Ken Johnson of Topeka, KS.
There are several things to consider when attempting any of these grate stacking methods:
- When stacking a grate on the
top grate, use a smaller diameter grate and short spacers. A grate that's
too large or spacers that are too tall may cause the grate will hit the inside of
the lid.
- Consider the thickness of
the meat you will be putting on the grates when choosing the height of
spacers. Thick cuts like pork butt will require taller spacers than a brisket
flat or butterflied chicken.
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Removable Middle Grate
You can increase cooking
capacity by mounting a removable grate halfway between the top and bottom
grates.
Dan Cannon of the Coyote Road
Kill Barbecue Team created the modification shown in these three photos. This
mod requires that you drill holes in the middle cooking section of the cooker.
Determine the halfway point between the top and bottom grates and make four
equally spaced marks around the perimeter of the cooking section. Drill a small
hole at each of the four marks, then fashion two support rods that pass through
each pair of holes, as shown in Pictures 2 and 3. Place a 17" cooking grate on
the support rods when you want a middle grate, or remove the grate and rods when
not in use.
Dan says not to worry about
smoke leakage or heat loss from the tiny holes--they don't affect the
performance of the cooker in any significant way.
Ed Semple from Louisburg, KS
modified the grill straps inside the middle cooking section to hold a third
grate. Remove the four grill straps and drill a hole in each one halfway between
where the top and bottom grates rest, making the hole just large enough to
accommodate a 16-penny nail. File the head of a 16-penny nail to make it
somewhat thinner, then cut the nail 1" from the head and insert it through the
back of the grill strap. Refasten the grill strap in the cooker and repeat for
the other straps. Place a 17" cooking grate on the nails and you've got a
mid-mounted cooking surface. |
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Stacking Middle Cooking
Sections
By stacking two middle cooking
sections, your WSM can have four cooking grates, or you can try hanging ribs,
whole fish, and other meats vertically.
Take a 2-1/2' length of heavy
duty aluminum
foil and cut it in half lengthwise. Gather each piece of foil loosely across
its width to form a gasket. Place the two pieces end-to-end around the top edge of the middle cooking
section, then insert the second middle section into the gasket. Crumple the foil into the void between the two sections to achieve a good
seal.
To hang meat from the top grate in the top cooking section,
buy meat hooks
from suppliers like Allied Kenco, or
fashion hooks
from stainless steel
nails or rods.
Perhaps a better hanging setup is to remove two
opposite support flange screws from the top cooking section and run a
sturdy rod between the two screw holes. Hang the meat from the rod, similar to
what's shown in Picture 3 in the following section.
Rob B. from Winter Haven, FL
sent in these photos of his stacked WSM in action. Picture 2 shows a close-up of
how Rob fashioned the foil gasket. Using this configuration with the Minion
Method and sand in the water pan, Rob cooked 3 slabs of spareribs on the top two
grates, two chickens on the third grate, and a beef roast on the fourth grate.
On another occasion, he cooked nine chickens. Rob says the cooker runs just fine
at 240°F, it just takes a little bit longer to come up to temperature.
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Monster WSMs
I've included these pictures
sent in by Jerry Fear to show you the lengths to which some people will go to
increase the capacity of their WSM! Jerry combined the charcoal bowl from a WSM
and the lid from a Weber kettle with a middle cooking section fashioned from a
55-gallon barrel. These pictures show his project at various points in the
construction process.
For most of us, it would be
easier to just buy a second WSM...but if you've got the time, money, skill,
tools, and inclination, this might be the project for you!
Photograph of three connected cooking grates: 2003 by Rob B.
Photographs of bottom grate spacers: 2004 by Ken Johnson
Photographs of stacked WSM: 2003 by Rob B.
Photographs of
Monster WSM: 2000
by Jerry Fear. |
Back to Operating Tips & Modifications |
