UDS and heat diffuser?

PorkQPine · Nov 25, 2012

I bought a really nice diffuser from a guy on the Arizona BBQ Assn. website. Works great!! Also, the new approved temps for meat have changed in the last few years so check that out because overcooking turkey is pretty common.

Just BS · Nov 25, 2012

Drh7003 said:
That is a good looking turkey. It looks like mine did. I only wish I had taken a photo
I used a big roasting pan under my bird as my heat diffuser the plus side is I got great gravy!

I don't use a diffuser, but this is how I do my turkey's. I also cover w/foil when the skin starts to get too dark.

swamprb · Nov 25, 2012

Blasphemers!!

Use a smaller diameter charcoal basket and offset it in the drum - no need for a diffuser.

GreenDrake · Nov 25, 2012

My diffuser is just the former lid from the barrel itself. The rim was cut off to attach to the Weber dome lid and the inner circle of the former lid has a rebar hoop on it so I can grab it out with a turkey hook. It sits directly on top of my charcoal basket, no holes in it, nothing. Seems perfect to me.

smokingj · Nov 25, 2012

Rich Parker said:
I use a terracotta pot base on a third rack to catch grease and diffuse the heat from the center.

I do something similar, but I use the water pan out of a ECB to diffuse the direst heat as well as catch any drippings to use at the end of the cook. Sit's on a 3rd rack @ 6-8 inches above the firebox.

HogFan · Nov 25, 2012

Diffusers will always be less efficient. On some cooks I use them and others I don't. I started out using a 16" perforated pizza pan but now I use a 14" solid pizza pan with 1/2" holes drilled in it. I used it on a 15lb brisket smoke for Thanksgiving. I don't yet have a 3rd rack to lay the diffuser on and haven't made any type of holder to keep the diffuser a couple of inches off the charcoal basket so I didn't quite fill the charcoal basket so the diffuser would lay flat on the basket. I opted for a low and slow overnight smoke after 16 hours, I ran out of fuel and the brisket wasn't quite done. I added fuel and the brisket still turned out fantastic.

So what was the difference using a diffuser? The temperature is more consistent from the center of the drum to the outside. The end of the flat seemed to get more heat and cooked more evenly with the point.

willbird · Nov 26, 2012

HogFan said:
Diffusers will always be less efficient. On some cooks I use them and others I don't. I started out using a 16" perforated pizza pan but now I use a 14" solid pizza pan with 1/2" holes drilled in it. I used it on a 15lb brisket smoke for Thanksgiving. I don't yet have a 3rd rack to lay the diffuser on and haven't made any type of holder to keep the diffuser a couple of inches off the charcoal basket so I didn't quite fill the charcoal basket so the diffuser would lay flat on the basket. I opted for a low and slow overnight smoke after 16 hours, I ran out of fuel and the brisket wasn't quite done. I added fuel and the brisket still turned out fantastic.

So what was the difference using a diffuser? The temperature is more consistent from the center of the drum to the outside. The end of the flat seemed to get more heat and cooked more evenly with the point.

I have never found it to be "less efficient"...I have never noticed my UDS using more fuel with one than without, although I have never weighed the charcoal before and the leftover, and calculated lbs per hour or anything like that.

......but it does remove a lot of radiant heating from the equation

Bill

cmwr · Nov 27, 2012

I bought a cheap perforated pizza pan today. I may take my 1/2 drill bit and open up every hole. I can see using a diffuser for certain smokes but maybe not for every one. That's why it will be removeable lol.

Nemo · Nov 27, 2012

I use the pizza pan covered in foil sitting right on my basket as a diffuser almost all the time now. For Thanksgiving did a 17lb brined bird with a couple chunks of applewood on the UDS for the first time. Temps kept at 375-400 with all vents open and the valve maybe 2/3rds open. Put stock, apples, carrots, celery, onion and fresh sage in the pan the rack / turkey was sitting on. Also put same aromatics in the bird. About 2.5hrs in I checked the breast temp and it was at 160 already! I was expecting the pan below full of liquid / stuff to stretch the cooking time but it certainly didn't. Bird was done a full hour before I expected it to be.

So for me and whatever little differences my UDS has (it's pretty standard though I think), a diffuser doesn't seem to make temp variations etc. I think I understand why some like to have the drippings add a flavor dimension but when I went without a diffuser, I got flare up pretty damn quick but with that said, it was usually when I left the lid open too long so it was my fault :doh:

Anyway here are some before and after pics.

J-Rod · Nov 27, 2012

ahhh the many mysteries of que'ing....

cmwr · Nov 28, 2012

Nemo said:
I use the pizza pan covered in foil sitting right on my basket as a diffuser almost all the time now. For Thanksgiving did a 17lb brined bird with a couple chunks of applewood on the UDS for the first time. Temps kept at 375-400 with all vents open and the valve maybe 2/3rds open. Put stock, apples, carrots, celery, onion and fresh sage in the pan the rack / turkey was sitting on. Also put same aromatics in the bird. About 2.5hrs in I checked the breast temp and it was at 160 already! I was expecting the pan below full of liquid / stuff to stretch the cooking time but it certainly didn't. Bird was done a full hour before I expected it to be.

So for me and whatever little differences my UDS has (it's pretty standard though I think), a diffuser doesn't seem to make temp variations etc. I think I understand why some like to have the drippings add a flavor dimension but when I went without a diffuser, I got flare up pretty damn quick but with that said, it was usually when I left the lid open too long so it was my fault :doh:

Anyway here are some before and after pics.

So you set your bird directly in a pan? That seems to me like it would block any heat at all from getting to the bottom of the bird preventing the bottom from getting browned? Although my family doesn't eat the back anyways. Just wondering?

Nemo · Dec 4, 2012

cmwr said:
So you set your bird directly in a pan? That seems to me like it would block any heat at all from getting to the bottom of the bird preventing the bottom from getting browned? Although my family doesn't eat the back anyways. Just wondering?

Sorry for the very tardy response. No it was a standard roasting pan rack which has enough height to keep the bid from actually sitting in the liquid. That said, the bottom probably wasn't browned but I didn't check

UDS and heat diffuser?

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