What are the three most significant issues that prevent people from smoking delicious meats in their backyard?
First, they don’t have a big enough yard for a smoker. Second, they don’t have a large enough budget for a smoker. Third, they don’t know how to smoke meat and wouldn’t know where to start.
The good news is, by the end of this Slow N Sear review, you’ll realize that all three of those points are invalid when you purchase this little but valuable accessory.
What Is the Weber Slow N Sear?
If you want to be able to sear and smoke restaurant-quality meats on your Weber grill, this is where the Slow N Sear comes in handy. Many backyard grillmasters even consider this the best accessory for the Weber Kettle ever made.
When your budget limits you, and you don’t have a ton of backyard space to house a grill and a smoker, you can turn your kettle into a multi-purpose tool for grilling, searing, smoking, and baking.
The Weber Slow N Sear contains two pieces of 304 stainless formed and polished into the shape of a charcoal basket with a water reservoir. The accessory weighs approximately five pounds, but it turns your kettle into a two-zone cooker.
If you’ve been grilling for any amount of time, you know that cooking in zones is the perfect way to ensure that your meat is both seared to perfection but slow-cooked enough to make it fall right off the bone.
So, to make things simple. You have a sear zone with high temperatures that creates the hottest sear we’ve ever seen on a grill. On the other side, you have an indirect convection zone that bakes or smokes food for a fraction of an expensive smoker’s cost.
Smoking on the Slow N Sear
First, let’s talk about the smoking aspect of the job. To get started, all you need to do is fit your Slow N Sear into one half of your charcoal grill and fit it almost up against the grill’s side. It should sit right on the charcoal grate, and you can start loading it up with your charcoal and smoking woods.
To light, put two sheets of crumpled up newspaper into the corner of the tray with your briquets on top and light them as if you were lighting a chimney.
When your coals are white-hot, fill the empty space with charcoal and wood chunks, and then fill your reservoir with water and close the lead. Open the vent all the way on top and crack the bottom one to about halfway.
Once the internal temperature passes 200 degrees, you’ll close the top vent until the temperature starts to regulate at around 250 for slow cooking. Once you’ve reached that point, you can toss your meat on the indirect side, grab a beer, and sit back while you enjoy the delicious aroma of smoked meats.
One thing that we noticed during our Slow N Sear review is that it’s easy to maintain the temperature within your desired zone as well because the water reservoir wall prevents the meat from getting directly exposed to the heat and flames.
Searing on the Slow N Sear
Now let’s talk about that high heat method of searing steaks and chops. The best thing about the Weber Slow N Sear is that you get the best of both worlds without even having to do any extra work. You’ve already put in the work when you created the smoking side, so now all you need to do is put the lid on and open the vents.
Let the internal temperature increase a little and then toss your steaks onto the direct heat and stay close because you’ll have to flip them frequently, or they’ll burn. You’ll want to give them a flip once every ten minutes until you’ve gone two rounds on each side for the perfect grill marks.
After that, take your steaks off and cover them with foil on a plate to rest for approximately 15 minutes. Take the foil off, cut into them, and enjoy your perfectly done medium-rare steak.
Who Should Use the Slow N Sear
There are a few examples of people who we would consider prime candidates for this accessory.
You Don’t Have a Ton of Space in Your Backyard
If you don’t have a lot of room, you can’t have a smoker and a grill back there, or it’ll get too crowded. The Slow N Sear is the perfect way to bring both devices into one. Now you don’t have to worry about telling your wife where you’ll put the smoker, and you’ll earn some brownie points when you serve up some delicious barbecue ribs.
You Don’t Have a Large Budget
If you don’t have a lot of money, you can’t go out and buy a brand new smoker. Some smokers can cost upwards of $1,000 or more, and by using the Slow N Sear, you can repurpose something you already have by simply buying a new accessory for it.
You’re New to Smoking and Grilling
Suppose you’re new to the backyard grilling game, no need to worry because this device is as simple to use as a basic charcoal grill. Smokers are complicated, and they can require multiple devices, ductwork, special wood and charcoal, and much more.
For you to craft delicious slow-cooked barbecue, all you need is the Slow N Sear, a charcoal grill, the briquets, wood, and the meat of your choosing.
What Can You Make with It?
It might sound corny, but we’ll say it anyway:
“What can’t you make with it?”
Now that we got that out of the way, you really can make anything with it. We’ve seen an instance where someone even baked brioche buns on their Weber kettle on the indirect heat side. You can do any type of meat that you can fit on the grill as well as vegetables, potatoes, kabobs, shrimp, fish, and much more.
There are no limitations as long as you know what you’re doing, and you’re following the steps we’ve outlined so far in this guide.
What About Accessories?
We’re glad you asked. Not only can you spice up your grill game with the Slow N Sear, but you can even spice up your slow-cooking grill game with a few cool accessories.
Stainless drip pan – You can purchase a moon-shaped stainless drip pan to put over the indirect heat side. Do this, and you’ll find yourself with the perfect outdoor griddle for cooking things like home fries, hash browns, bacon, sausage, eggs, grits, and more.
GrillGrates – Get a Slow N Sear GrillGrate for the perfect grill marks, and it’ll help prevent delicate items like fish or burgers from falling through the grates and getting messy.
Fire Starters – Stay away from that self-starting charcoal. No matter how long you let it burn out, you’re still going to get a little of that fluid taste in your food because the smoke gets on the inside of your charcoal grill and stays there until you clean it. Get an all-natural fire-starting bundle to help get everything burning nice and hot.
Smoker Thermometer – You’ll need a different thermometer if you plan to keep track of the internal temperature while also tracking the meat’s temp. We recommend using a smoker thermometer since you’re operating at a much lower heat, so the gauge on your grill might not be as accurate.
Tips and Tricks
Based on our research and some tips from the creator of the Slow N Sear, David Parrish, we compiled this list of expert grill master tips and tricks. Check it out!
- Charcoal grills use two sources of fuel, oxygen, and charcoal. Make sure you know how to vent the fuel source before using this accessory properly.
- Slow N Sear burns charcoal more efficiently than traditional grilling, so you can keep both vents closed more than you normally would.
- If you’re having a hard time controlling the temperature, make sure your lid fits snuggly. You could be losing air. If you are, purchase binder clips to keep the lid tight.
- If your temperature is constantly running high, fill a spray bottle with water and spray it on the hot coals to reduce the number of hot briquets.
- Make sure you don’t leave any ash in the beetle when using the Slow N Sear. The excess ash buildup will block your intake vent resulting in fluctuating temps.
- Do not use cheap lump charcoal because there’s too much dust. Once you find one that works, stick with it.
Final Thoughts
We put a lot of research into this Slow N Sear review in the hopes that amateur backyard grillers can see that smoking is possible no matter what your level of experience is. Weber makes it possible with a small accessory called the Slow N Sear, and now you too can sear, grill, smoke, and bake delicious meats and vegetables no matter how small your yard is.