Who doesn’t like a tasty and flavorful grilled food?
Everybody does like the barbecue meat and vegetables.
Grilling is one of the most popular ways to cook food at your home or in your backyard.
Today, we have a wide variety of cooking grills available in the market whether they be fueled with charcoal or wood.
One such popular and best quality charcoal grill is Weber charcoal grill.
One day I had a question in my mind and that question was if you could burn wood in a Weber charcoal grill.
Will it be a good idea to use wood instead of charcoal in a Weber grill?
The simple answer is Yes, you can use it without any issues.
After some deep research, I found that it is perfectly ok to use firewood in your charcoal grill instead of just charcoal.
In fact, there are some unique benefits of burning wood in your Weber grill that you will not see in a charcoal.
Charcoal provides more heat whereas firewood provides unique flavors to your grilled food.
It is also seen that charcoal takes more time to ignite as compared to firewood.
Because it also needs another light fluid or accelerant to light up charcoal material.
On the other side, wood is easily ignited without the help of other accelerants or lighter fluids.
In reality, there are pros and cons of using both types of materials in your Weber charcoal grill.
But I highly prefer using the ideal combination of both charcoal as well as firewood to help you get the best grilled and flavorful food in no time.
(Source: Cuttingedgefirewood.com)
Can I Have a Wood Fire in My Weber Charcoal Grill?
The answer is “Yes”.
There are no safety concerns here when using firewood in your Weber grill.
So, you can also use wood or firewood as a fuel in your charcoal grill without any hassles.
However, there are few concerns that you should tackle properly.
For instance, when you use firewood in your Weber grill, you must maintain proper ventilation or else you won’t be able to cook your food properly.
Also, wood does not produce as much heat as charcoal and burns quickly as well.
In this case, you will need to add more wood every often if you decide to use firewood in your charcoal grill.
Now, if you have better quality hardwood such as apple, hickory, oak, etc., then they may prove to be better than charcoal.
Fun fact is oak tends to burn hotter than some charcoal briquettes.
Also, using flavored wood gives your food a much better taste when compared to the food grilled with charcoal.
Charcoal doesn’t provide you with unique flavors like firewood does.
Furthermore, firewood can be controlled easily.
Therefore, you can control its extent and flavor comfortably which is somewhat difficult to obtain in case of charcoal.
Plus, you won’t be needing any accelerant or lighting liquid for firewood as long as you don’t use any wood logs.
In case of charcoal, you require a lighting fluid or accelerant to ignite the material.
Due to all these reasons, I highly recommend you to use more firewood along with some charcoal to get more heat and unique flavors in your grilled food.
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How Do You Turn a Weber Grill into a Fire Pit?
In order to convert your Weber grill into a fire pit, there are 8 simple steps that you need to follow.
Roll up your sleeves because it’s time to unscrew some screws and start disassembling your Weber grill components.
Step 1: Take out the iron dome, cooking grill, and charcoal grate from the Weber grill.
Step 2: You will see that the handles and the legs of the grill are secured with screws.
So, take out your screwdriver and first unscrew the legs and then remove them by pulling them out.
Step 3: Now move towards the handle and unscrew the holding.
Step 4: Take a measuring tape and note down the depth and diameter of the Weber grill (without the iron dome).
Step 5: After this is done, it’s time to dig a hole.
You will need a reliable shovel for this task.
You already have the measurements, so simply add 2 cm extra to the actual diameter and depth and then, dig a hole.
For instance, if the diameter is 63 cm and the depth is 48 cm, then you will have to dig a hole of 65 cm in diameter and 50 cm in depth.
Step 6: Now, take the grill and push it gently and firmly inside the ground.
Step 7: If there are few gaps left, then you will have to fill them up properly.
To fill them correctly, simply get rocks or gravel and put them inside those gaps.
Put sufficient gravel to ensure a good grip.
Also, if you want, you can decorate it a bit with gravel.
Step 8: At last, put back the charcoal grate in the grill and start the fire.
On a safety note, put the Weber dome back on the pit to prevent any damage.
That’s it, with the help of some household tools, now you can easily convert your Weber grill into a fire pit with the above simple steps.
How Do You Cook with a Wood on a Weber Charcoal Grill?
Actually, cooking with a firewood is very simple and uncomplicated process in a charcoal grill.
In fact, its somewhat easier to do in comparison to using charcoal to grill your food.
You just have to add wood to the grill then, pour accelerant or papers to aid the burning.
Then Start the fire and wait for a few minutes.
Once the wood turns greyish in color, stop the ventilation which will kill the fire.
Now, your wood coal will be smouldering rather than burning in flames.
Once you reach this state, you’re ready to put in your food and start grilling.
Remember to keep the lid slightly open for some ventilation and to keep the smoke trapped.
Now, you can use certain wood flavors to get unique flavor in your grilled food.
For instance, you can use a hickory wood to get unique flavor in the beef brisket, a whole turkey, etc. and make your food taste delicious.
If you’re going to grill fish then, I recommend to choose alder wood.
Alder wood chips provide the mild flavor which is great for fish grilling.
Hence, it would be great if you get specific wood after doing some research.
If you want to bring amazing bbq flavors in your food using Weber charcoal grill, then using the right types of wood chunks is very essential.
I highly recommend you to check out the following video to understand how to use the right wood chunks to get the right flavor in your food.
Is It Okay to Burn Wood In a Weber Grill?
The simple answer is obviously “Yes”.
You can certainly use firewood in a Weber charcoal grill without any problems.
Its not bad to burn wood in your Weber grill if you don’t have charcoal at that time.
Charcoal, gas, and wood go through the same reactions.
What’s more important for you to prevent your grilled food to become charred or partially blackened due to extreme heat and fire.
If you char the food a lot, you will be looking at a lot of carcinogens.
So, simply grill it and avoid charring your food and your health should be okay.
To get the best flavor in your grilled food, you have to know how to use firewood properly in your Weber grill.
The professional grillers suggest that you should keep the burning wood on the side and keep your food above on the other side.
It’s wrong to keep your food directly above the burning wood.
By keeping them separate, the food will get enough time to absorb the smoke and develop the taste eventually.
This will also prevent overcooking and charring of your food.
Plus, if you use flavored wood like hickory or apple wood, then your food will become smokier and more delicious in terms of taste.
Can I Perform BBQ with Wood instead of Charcoal in a Weber Grill?
Yes, absolutely. Why not!
But it would be even better if you use both charcoal and firewood in the right combination.
Use charcoal and wood in the right proportion to get the best flavor and more heat at the same time.
As charcoal burns for longer it would be a perfect heat source and wood tends to burn hotter so, cooking will be perfect.
But if you want to use only the wood then also it’s a green signal for you.
You have to look out for the merits and demerits regarding the use of firewood.
The advantages are known to most of us already.
Let’s recall them quickly.
Wood burns hotter and provides a better smoky flavor to your food.
Plus, wood is considered a safe option compared to the charcoal.
The reason is that charcoal contains some chemical compounds which can be harmful to humans when burnt at a higher temperature.
You’ll find wood being all-natural with flavor and no additives, making it the perfect choice as fuel.
Only thing you need to make sure is that the wood must not be moist.
It will directly affect your food as you’ll be struggling in lighting it.
And a dark smoke may also generate which doesn’t provide that good taste and flavor which you seek in your food.
Click Here to Get The Best Quality BBQ Firewood for Your Weber Grill.
References:
https://www.cuttingedgefirewood.com/news/can-i-grill-with-cooking-wood-instead-of-charcoal/
https://www.hunker.com/13409349/how-to-convert-a-weber-bbq-into-a-fire-pit
