Arlin_MacRae said:
Awesome results right there, thirdeye. Can you clarify what he meant by "a direct setup on a raised grate"? Is he advocating something other than indirect heat?
Thanks.
Yes he is, Fishlessman is another Egghead...they are sort of like a WSM in that the coals are directly below the grates. For barbecuing
indirect a ceramic plate sits between the coals and the grate which acts as a heat barrier. There are several levels for
direct cooking, here the grate is about 5" from the coals in the standard position. This is okay for regular high temp grilling of steaks or burgers.
For barbecuing direct at 225° to 250°, you can use a spacer ring, there is one in the first picture, and the grate is raised 4" higher; best for chicken, sausage or pork steaks. Clipping on another grate, called an extender gives you another 4" or so. (now you can cook 13" above the bed of coals) This is good for chicken, roasts, ribs etc. I do my buckboard up this high. (You can also do two level cooking with the extender, it is hinged to deal with the meat on the lower grate) The best thing about using the raised direct set up is that the fats drip into the coals without any flare ups and give off an amazing smell and add flavors to the meat. It's just like the old style pit barbecue.
In this picture, the lower grate is sitting on the 4" spacer ring and the extender is clipped to it. This is about as high as you can go in an Egg or you run out of head room.
I like this style of cooking so much, I own BDS which is a direct style vertical drum cooker, only the grates are 24" and 30" above the coals. It has way more capacity than my large Egg, and it is big enough in diameter I can fit whole shoulders on it. Cook times are shorter when cooking direct than when cooking indirect too. BigMista has this style of cooker in his arsenal. ThomEmery has two of 'em.
looks good.
