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®
HOW TO START YOUR CHARCOAL BARBECUE
Note: It is recommended that the barbecue be heated up and the fuel kept red hot for at
least 30 minutes prior to the fi rst cooking on the barbecue.
• Open the lid and open all air vents before building the fi re. Note: For proper airfl ow,
remove accumulated ashes from the bottom of the grill if present (only after the coals
are fully extinguished). Charcoal briquets require oxygen to burn, so be sure nothing
clogs the vents.
• Remove cooking grates.
CAUTION: Keep barbecue level at all times.
• Mound the charcoal briquets into a pyramid shaped pile, or pile the briquets into a
Weber
®
RapidFire
®
chimney starter.
• Place either lighter cubes (they are non-toxic, odorless and tasteless) or crumpled
newspaper under the pile of briquets and light. NOTE: We purposely left out instruc-
tions for using lighter fl uid. That’s because we think the choices previously outlined are
superior. Lighter fl uid is messy and can impart a chemical taste to your food unless it
is thoroughly burned off. If you choose to use lighter fl uid, follow the manufacturer’s
instructions and NEVER add lighter fl uid to a burning fi re.
• Do not cook before the fuel has a coating of ash. When coals are covered with a light
grey ash (usually 25 to 30 minutes), arrange the coals with long-handled tongs accord-
ing to the cooking method you are going to use.
• When you are done grilling, close all vents to ensure charcoal safely goes out.
FOOD SAFETY TIPS
• Wash your hands thoroughly with hot, soapy water before starting any meal prepara-
tion and after handling fresh meat, fi sh, and poultry.
• Do not defrost meat, fi sh, or poultry at room temperature. Defrost in the refrigerator.
• Never place cooked food on the same plate the raw food was on.
• Wash all plates and cooking utensils which have come into contact with raw meats or
fi sh with hot, soapy water and rinse.
USE OF WEBER RECIPES
• All recipes in this book have been developed on the basis of 70˚F/21˚C weather and
little or no wind. Therefore, if you are cooking on a cold and/or windy day or at high
altitudes, it may be necessary to allow more time.
• The cooking times in this book should be used as guidelines, not exact cooking times,
as much depends upon the size and thickness of the food.
EASY GRILL CARE
Add years to the life of your Weber
®
grill by giving it a thorough cleaning at least once a
year. It’s easy to do:
• Make sure the grill is cool and coals are totally extinguished.
• Remove the cooking grates and charcoal boat.
• Remove ashes.
CLEANING
Excess drippings, ash and grease will collect in the Disposable Weber
®
drip pan in the
slide-out ash/grease tray (located on the underside of the grill). Disposable Weber
®
drip
pans are available that fi t the catch pan.
WARNING: Check the ash/grease tray and the bottom of the
grill for grease build-up before each use. Remove excess
grease to avoid a fi re in the bottom of the grill.
Use a warm soapy water solution to clean outside surfaces, then rinse with water.
CAUTION: Do not use oven cleaner, abrasive cleansers
(kitchen cleansers) cleaners that contain citrus products, or
abrasive cleaning pads on grill or cart surfaces. Do not use
cleaners that contain acid, mineral spirits or xylene.
Slide-out ash/grease tray (a) - Remove excess grease, wash with warm soapy water,
then rinse.
Cooking grates (b) - Clean with a suitable brass bristle brush. As needed, remove from
grill and wash with warm soapy water, then rinse with water.
Inside Lid (c)- While lid is warm, wipe inside with paper towel to prevent grease build-
up. Flaking built-up grease resembles paint fl akes.
• For additional smoke fl avor, consider adding hardwood chips or chunks (soaked in
water for at least 30 minutes and drained) or moistened fresh herbs such as rosemary,
thyme, or bay leaves. Place the wet wood or herbs directly on the coals just before
you begin cooking.
EASY STEPS TO GRILLING GREATNESS
Follow these tips and you won’t go wrong. And neither will your dinner.
• Direct, Indirect, or a little of both? Read the recipe and look for the instructions for
setting up your grill. There are two methods of cooking in a Weber
®
grill—Direct and
Indirect. See the following pages for specifi c instructions.
• Don’t try to save time by placing food on a grill that’s not quite ready. Let charcoal burn
until it has a light grey ash coating (keep the vents open so the fi re does not go out).
• Use a spatula and tongs but leave the fork. You’ve probably seen people poking their
meat with one, but it causes juices and fl avor to escape and that can dry out your
food.
• Make sure the food fi ts on the grill with the lid down. At least 1 in. (2.5 cm) clearance
between the food and the lid is ideal.
• Resist the urge to open the lid to check on your dinner every couple of minutes. Every
time you lift the lid heat escapes, which means it will take longer to get dinner on the
table.
• Unless the recipe calls for it, turn your food over only once.
• You will control fl are-ups, reduce cooking time, and get altogether better results if you
grill with the lid down.
• Resist the urge to use a spatula to press down on foods such as burgers. You’ll
squeeze out all that wonderful fl avor.
• A light coating of oil will help brown your food evenly and keep it from sticking to the
cooking grate. Always brush or spray oil on your food, not the cooking grate.
HELPFUL HINTS
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