Trying out my 21" Supreme

[Karen Clark]

I just set up my 21" Supreme at my sister's place and decided to try if it would power through with a rack of ribs.

Thought everything was going fine until I saw smoke leaking from the front. Turns out I hadn't latched the lid all the way. I know, it's a beginner mistake. After fixing that, I noticed the grill struggled to bounce back to temperature after I put the ribs on, even though the coals were burning fine. Could it have been the moisture from the meat?

Also, how do you know when it's fully heat soaked? Is it just about time or is there a better way to tell? Is it my fault?

 

[Theknight]

Don't beat yourself up, it's a beginner mistake, you'll get the hang of it. For these you'll need to leave them about an hour after lighting to bring it up to temperature. In your case the unlatched lid and the ribs cause some moisture which is why it struggled to get the temps optimal. A lesion for next time and I'm sure you'll get it right.

 

[CARL!SLE]

I just set up my 21" Supreme at my sister's place and decided to try if it would power through with a rack of ribs.

Thought everything was going fine until I saw smoke leaking from the front. Turns out I hadn't latched the lid all the way. I know, it's a beginner mistake. After fixing that, I noticed the grill struggled to bounce back to temperature after I put the ribs on, even though the coals were burning fine. Could it have been the moisture from the meat?

Also, how do you know when it's fully heat soaked? Is it just about time or is there a better way to tell? Is it my fault?

Gagagam the smoke leak is something common to newbies so don't worry. We've all been there. The moisture from the ribs definitely cools the fire down so give it some time to bounce back after you put them on. For the heat soak, I usually wait until the temperature is steady for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Good luck!

 

[Omni man]

I just set up my 21" Supreme at my sister's place and decided to try if it would power through with a rack of ribs.

Thought everything was going fine until I saw smoke leaking from the front. Turns out I hadn't latched the lid all the way. I know, it's a beginner mistake. After fixing that, I noticed the grill struggled to bounce back to temperature after I put the ribs on, even though the coals were burning fine. Could it have been the moisture from the meat?

Also, how do you know when it's fully heat soaked? Is it just about time or is there a better way to tell? Is it my fault?

Why do these things always happen right when you're trying to impress someone or feed them ribs? Don't sweat it, though, heat soak depends on time and how steady your dome temp holds

 

[XeroM_]

Most people overhype heat-soaking like it's magic, on a 21" Supreme, it barely matters. Meat moisture will wreck your temp regardless, and obsessing over a perfect preheat is mostly unnecessary; just learn to manage the lid and airflow instead