The charcoal snake method is a charcoal arrangement used for smoking inside a kettle grill.
In the Weber kettle, charcoal briquettes are arranged around the perimeter of the grill.
The most common arrangement is in a 2:1 layer (2 rows on the bottom and 1 row on top).
2:2 or 2 rows on the bottom and 2 rows on top can add a longer cook time and burns hotter.
After you’ve arranged your charcoal, you light the first 10-12 briquettes to start the fuse.
You then place either wood chips or chunks along the un-lit perimeter. As the fuse continues to light, the wood chunks and/or chips will smolder and produce smoke.
You then adjust your intake and exhaust vents to work towards smoking temperatures of 225 – 275 F.
Note: Depending on the size of your kettle, you can also place a water pan in the middle of the snake.
The water pan will help to maintain lower air temperatures and also add humidity. It also works as a heat deflector.
I personally use my vortex as a heat deflector:
A Better Way to Do The Snake, Use More Charcoal
A big issue I have with this method is that the fire often isn’t burning hot enough to smolder wood to produce thin blue smoke.
All I do is add more charcoal so it’s a 1:2:2 arrangement – so a row of 2 on bottom, another row of 2, and then 1 row on top.
I also start with around 15-25 lit coals, leave the lid off for 15 minutes to get the heat up, put your wood on the fire and around the perimeter, and then close the lid.
Once you hit 200F, close the exhaust half way and you’ll get 225-250F @ grate level.
This results in “thin blue smoke” meaning a hot, clean burning fire.
How Long Will a Charcoal Snake Last?
Roughly 4-8 hours in my 22″ Weber kettle with Kingsford Original briquettes.
Some articles report run-times as long as 12-14 hours but I’ve never had a snake last this long.
There are a number of factors at play though:
- Ambient temperature
- Elevation
- Type of charcoal
- Your smoker
- etc.
If you’re burning a hot fire like my method, in the middle of winter, it won’t last nearly as long.
How Much Charcoal to Use for the Snake Method
Roughly 75 – 100 briquettes on a 22″ kettle grill in a 2:1 or 2:2 arrangement respectively.
You should always start with a base of two rows arranged along the perimeter of the grill.
This will usually result in ~50 briquettes.
You then can do one row on top or two; Assuming you do one row, that’s another ~25 briquettes, if you do two, it’s ~50 briquettes.
Does the Charcoal Snake Method Work With Lump Charcoal?
Yes.
The main reason briquettes are used for snakes is because they’re uniform and predictable. Where-as lump charcoal will come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Smaller pieces may ignite and combust faster causing the temperature to spike.
Other “Ways” to Do the Snake Method
All the snake is, is a strategic “minion” method.
You’re taking unlit charcoal and arranging it so that lit charcoal can passively self-ignite the unlit charcoal.
Below is the minion method in my Weber kettle with the Slow N’ Sear.
The lit lump charcoal will slowly but surely ignite the unlit lump charcoal.
