The Weber Bullet is one of the best values in barbecue cookers on the market today. It is very easy to use and you can get great results right away with a little knowledge and a little practice. Follow the tips listed below and you’ll be a Weber Bullet expert in no time!
Preparation
Mise En Place
Make sure you have everything on hand that you’ll need for cooking—meat, rub, charcoal, smoke wood, utensils, and so on.
Cooking Log
Use a cooking log to record your entire preparation and cooking process. This information can help you duplicate your successes in the future and avoid repeating your past failures. You can download a copy of the cooking log I use.
Prep Meat
Prep your meat in advance of cooking. You’ll have enough to do getting the cooker up and running without having to hassle with trimming briskets or cutting up whole chickens. Apply rub either the night before or just before putting your meat on the cooker.
Prep Smoke Wood
Prep your smoke wood. Most people use wood chunks for their smoke source, while others use small split logs, chips, or pellets. Some people remove the bark from their smoke wood, believing it contains substances that affect taste, while most people–including me–just use it as-is.
I use 3-6 fist-sized chunks of dry smoke wood, usually apple, cherry or oak. I don’t soak them in water before placing them on the hot coals. Experiment with the type and amount of smoke wood to find out what you like best.
Clean Machine
Start with a clean cooker. Empty any ashes, clean the water pan, and brush any loose material from the inside of the lid and middle cooking section. Brush the cooking grates with a grill brush or crumpled aluminum foil, or wash with warm, soapy water if needed. You’ll find detailed cleaning tips in the Cleanup, Maintenance & Storage article.
Foil The Water Pan
Some people like to line their water pan with wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil for easy clean-up after cooking, especially when cooking with an empty water pan as called for in some recipes. You’ll find lots of tips on using a foil-lined water pan in the Using A Water Pan In Weber Smokers article.
Be aware that using aluminum foil may cause marks or discolorations to appear on the water pan surface which cannot be removed through cleaning. This condition occurs especially after long cooking sessions when perforations develop in the foil and liquid gets trapped between the foil and pan surface.
Operating Instructions
With all due respect to the fine folks at Weber, my first piece of advice is to ignore the “Getting Started” instructions in the Owner’s Manual. Instead, see the Firing Up Your Weber Bullet article for descriptions and photos of the two most common ways to light your Weber smoker:
- Standard Method: good for shorter “hot & fast” cooks.
- Minion Method: good for longer “low & slow” cooks.
Safety Tips
Safety should always be your #1 concern!
- Keep an eye on your Weber Bullet throughout the entire cooking process.
- Do not operate your cooker near combustible materials.
- Keep a fire extinguisher on-hand in case of emergency.
- Operate your cooker outdoors with plenty of ventilation.
- Use heat-resistant gloves or mitts when handling cooker components while they’re hot.
- Follow all the standard recommendations for safe food handling, refrigeration, internal meat temperatures, personal hygiene, sanitary work surfaces and tools, etc.
Finally, a note about disposing of ashes safely…
Ashes that seem cold on the surface may still be hot deep inside, even after sitting for two days, so take care when handling and disposing of them.
The absolute safest way to dispose of ashes, regardless of whether they’re red-hot or seemingly stone-cold, is to put them in a small, galvanized metal trash can that is dedicated to the purpose of ash storage. Keep the can away from any flammable materials, including your house, wood pile, dry grass, or weeds. Let the ashes sit for a good, long time until there is absolutely no doubt they are fully extinguished, then dispose of them in your regular household garbage.
If a dedicated ash bin is not an option, stir through the ashes to make sure they are absolutely cold before dumping them in the garbage.
See the Cleanup, Maintenance & Storage article for tips and videos on disposing of ashes and water pan waste, cleaning cooking grates and the water pan, and how to separate and reuse any leftover charcoal briquettes.
