Burnt2acrisp wrote:Hi, given its a while since your post about using the Slow n Sear, I'd be really interested to know if you still think it was a worthwhile investment? I've been thinking about making a purchase and have been looking at the reviews on Amazon in the US...I have a 57cm kettle and have had a few problems trying to keep a constant low temp without having to watch it and keep tinkering with the vents every half hour.... I'd like to be able to just set and leave for a few hours.
I've done four cooks on it this year (3x ribs and 1x pork hand). Each time it's been a total success.
Here's the process I follow:
- Light 8 briquettes in the corner of the device and leave for 5-10 mins until 'smokey'
- Pour in a bunch more coals next to the lit ones, add boiling water and close with the top vent fully open and the bottom one 50% open
- When the temp gets to about 80C close the top vent so it's about 1/8th open
- Add the wood and meat at 105-110C, monitor for about an hour adjusting the vents as needed
- Walk away looking forward to my dinner later
In all the process takes about 90 minutes from lighting it to getting the desired/stable temperature. The last two cooks I didn't have to touch the vents much at all as I kinda knew from experience what to do.
Now, I paid £90 for mine last year. Is the convenience of this contraption worth it? After all, I could just throw a pan of water in there and push all the coals against the side - this is still how I smoke chicken as the Slow 'N Sear seems like a lot of hassle.
HOWEVER, for long cooks (e.g. the 9-hour pork hand I did today) the 'set and forget' nature of the Smoke 'N Sear clinches it for me. I work from home, so I fire it up in the morning and keep half an eye on it during the day.
Regarding the 'sear' functionality, I don't use it. At the end of a rib cook, I want to sear them off but there's wood and mostly burned coals in the end. It might work, but the area isn't massive and it's much easier to fire up the gas and do it on there! I think the sear zone might work for chicken or steak but I can't be bothered using this for fast 2-zone cooking.
In summary, it's a relatively expensive conversion kit that has consistently delivered. It's still fiddly to get the temp right for the first 90 minutes, but after that it's almost zero maintenance. Since I got it in August last year I've used it maybe 10 times, or £9 a meal. The stainless steel construction is such that even with my rough treatment it's not going to break, so that cost-per-meal is always going down and I can worry about other things when people are coming over for BBQ!