Weber’s kettle grill is one of the most popular grills in the world. So much so that there’s a ton of accessories out there that expand on its functions, allowing you to use it as much more than a standard charcoal grill. Something we haven’t quite seen is a product that turns it into a pellet-burning smoker. Well, that changes now with the Original Spider-22.
Designed for the standard 22-inch kettle grill, the adapter hooks up to the side and bottom sections of the popular backyard cooker, instantly turning it into a wood pellet smoker that can cook low-and-slow as capably as any dedicated appliance. If you’ve ever thought about getting one of those newfangled backyard grills with a built-in hopper for pellet grilling, you may want to stick to your old reliable and just reinforce it with one of these things.
The Original Spider-22 consists of a freestanding housing that’s shaped to rest flush on the side of a Weber kettle grill, with a section of it sliding right below the air holes at the base of the grill, as well as a drip tray that routes any grease or juices falling off your food straight out of the grill that you place inside the grill (right under the grates). Just place any container below that and catch all the drippings there, so it won’t interfere with any part of your cooking. Basically, you won’t need to do any actual modifications on the grill, allowing you to set everything up in short order, all while letting you go back to standard charcoal grilling by simply taking off the adapter and the drip tray.
A 12-pound hopper right on the device allows you to load up to 12 pounds of your favorite wood pellets, which, the outfit claims, should be plentiful enough to hold as much fuel as needed to cook for up to 12 hours of low-and-slow grilling and up to four hours of high-heat cooking. The temperature can be adjusted anywhere from a low of 175 degrees Fahrenheit to a high of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, with a built-in fan keeping the temperature within a few degrees of the heat setting automatically. It’s able to detect the current temperature, by the way, using a probe that clips to the cooking surface near your food, which constantly sends its real-time reading directly to the device.
The Original Spider-22 stands 28 inches tall and weighs 30 pounds, making it compact and light enough to easily move around in the backyard. In case you like loading your Weber in the back of the truck for a tailgates, this should be just the right size to throw in the bed along with it, making this perfectly viable for taking out of the house, so you can enjoy wood-infused flavors wherever you go. Do note, it won’t work with all Weber kettle grills. Instead, it’s designed to work strictly with Original Kettle 22, Original Kettle Premium 22, and the Master Touch 22.
The Original Spider-22 is currently on preorder, priced at $279.