Shirley Fab 24"x50" advise..

[Bosox1901]

Yeah, i totally get it now. I think its because I've been smoking on a WSM 14.5 and a Yoder YS640 pellet . No chance of any pan going on the WSM. And on the Yoder I've been freaked out about blocking or restricting airflow and messing up the controller that I've never considered pans. But on a real Pit....I see why you guys do it that way now. I mean if the smoke adhesion isn't an issue, why wouldn't anybody want the convenience of moving stuff around in a pan, and keeping the pit cleaner. Ive never been a fan of cleaning expanded metal after a butt or brisket cook. thx for the pics, it has cleared up a lot of things i didn't quite understand.

I forgot to ask, are you adding h20 in the pan, and doubling it as a water pan? or do you just go dry and collect whatever the drippings may be?

 

[pjtexas1]

Water is a personal preference. I never use water.

 

[Bosox1901]

Water is a personal preference. I never use water.

View attachment 137458

PJ, that last pic pretty well sums it all up. Splitting hairs on roughly $200 upgrade?. Should i get it, will i need it, ill never fill it up, OMG its too big. Those questions or doubts seem like a silly, no brainer now.
Thanx for being an enabler! thx to everybody else as well, you've all done a great job on helping spending my money $$$

 

[2stroke250]

My 24/42 cooked over 20 racks of spareribs with racks in main chamber. In the warmer pan of cabbage some stuffed peppers, trimmings from ribs, pan of beans and cornbread no problem turned out awesome. A family size baked bean can works mint for drain I point front down hill heat cooker up about 350 take big putty knife scrape towards drain if it plugs use a chop stick no problem just get it

 

[Bosox1901]

My 24/42 cooked over 20 racks of spareribs with racks in main chamber. In the warmer pan of cabbage some stuffed peppers, trimmings from ribs, pan of beans and cornbread no problem turned out awesome. A family size baked bean can works mint for drain I point front down hill heat cooker up about 350 take big putty knife scrape towards drain if it plugs use a chop stick no problem just get it

How did you manage to get so many on, did you use a standing rib racks?
Do you have the elevated cabinet?

 

[mattmountz94]

Yeah, i totally get it now. I think its because I've been smoking on a WSM 14.5 and a Yoder YS640 pellet . No chance of any pan going on the WSM. And on the Yoder I've been freaked out about blocking or restricting airflow and messing up the controller that I've never considered pans. But on a real Pit....I see why you guys do it that way now. I mean if the smoke adhesion isn't an issue, why wouldn't anybody want the convenience of moving stuff around in a pan, and keeping the pit cleaner. Ive never been a fan of cleaning expanded metal after a butt or brisket cook. thx for the pics, it has cleared up a lot of things i didn't quite understand.

I cook on a yoder and i pan all my butts. I have had it pretty loaded and never an issue. I think the final product is better panned then not. Cleanup is also a breeze

 

[Shagdog]

I don't usually pan any meat, but that's just personal. I'd be curious to try some cooked both ways and see.

Either way, clean up on a shirley is not bad at all. It will be much easier than your yoder. That reverse flow plate is sealed. everything stays there until you drain the grease. Its like having one giant pan in the bottom of your grill..

 

[2stroke250]

I was talked into a charity rib cook area restaurants would compete for best ribs. We had to cook 22 racks of ribs so friend Matt that talked me into this had a couple different types of racks along with my racks it worked fine . It was my fault we lost by one vote I was giving more than one stick to friends well we ran out of ribs with 20 people still in line that weren't able to vote. My cooker gets lots of use so shelves stay really seasoned if you always cook in pan then rust will always be a issue and you will go thru lots of cooking oil spray

 

[Bosox1901]

I cook on a yoder and i pan all my butts. I have had it pretty loaded and never an issue. I think the final product is better panned then not. Cleanup is also a breeze

thanx for the heads up Matt. I just cleaned the hell out of my YS last week, top to bottom spotless, cause i have it for sale. But, i think ill fire it back up this weekend and try panning a 16lb brisket i have sitting in the fridge, and see how that goes.

 

[Bosox1901]

I was talked into a charity rib cook area restaurants would compete for best ribs. We had to cook 22 racks of ribs so friend Matt that talked me into this had a couple different types of racks along with my racks it worked fine . It was my fault we lost by one vote I was giving more than one stick to friends well we ran out of ribs with 20 people still in line that weren't able to vote. My cooker gets lots of use so shelves stay really seasoned if you always cook in pan then rust will always be a issue and you will go thru lots of cooking oil spray

Ok, i figured as much. seems like only way you could do that is to fit them all in vertically.

 

[Bosox1901]

I don't usually pan any meat, but that's just personal. I'd be curious to try some cooked both ways and see.

Either way, clean up on a shirley is not bad at all. It will be much easier than your yoder. That reverse flow plate is sealed. everything stays there until you drain the grease. Its like having one giant pan in the bottom of your grill..

You are right Matt. For all of its pro's. The Yoder is kind of a pain to clean. It does have a drain and thats good, but the removable diffuser is awkward to clean.

At 30'' long, I can barely fit it into a giant mortar tub to soak and scrub it down, Not that its the end of the world, but there is no doubt in my mind that the sealed one like the Shirleys and others should be much easier.

But then again 24x50 would have a 40'' long cooking grate, just about 10'' longer than the YS.

How are you guys cleaning your grates?

 

[Shagdog]

Just a piece of foil usually, or the scraper side of the grill brush. I try not to use bristles anymore though.. For a nice deep clean, a weed burner works wonders..

 

[Bosox1901]

Just a piece of foil usually, or the scraper side of the grill brush. I try not to use bristles anymore though.. For a nice deep clean, a weed burner works wonders..

i meant when u soak and scrub. but i guess the weed burner makes its a moot point.

 

[pjtexas1]

i scrape with a flat blade and wipe with paper towels but it takes a lot of paper towels to get all 4 grates semi-clean. i have never tried my weed burner. 2Stroke is correct on the rust. at first i was seasoning the grates every few cooks but after a big cook where briskets dripped all over everything i no longer have that issue. it's almost like a permanent seasoning now. only issue now is that the bottom of my pans leave a black greasy mess where ever i set them down. still easier than cleaning the racks and rf plate.:heh:

 

[Shagdog]

I rarely do a deep clean. It really doesn't need that kind of attention. Once the grates are good and seasoned, its like carbon or cast iron cookware.. Better off without being completely cleaned all the time. I keep the grates clean and debris free with a hunk of foil, but do not scrub with water. Once or twice a year I will do a steam clean on the whole thing and use a scraper to get the plate tip top again.

 

[AZRaptor]

Paul Shirley called me this afternoon, regarding my quote on my 24x50. He must have been cruising this thread, cause one of the 1st things he blurted out was something like this, and I'm paraphrasing..." Hey Paul, this is Paul, man i don't know... if was you i would be elevating this cabinet, Now don't get me wrong now, ill build it any wich way you like, But i gotta tell you brother, it aint gonna cost you much, and its so much nicer."

I never met the man, but I can tell he's a sweetheart. Its gonna be pleasure doing business with him.

Yeah when I was looking to spec mine out I was looking at a 24x60 2-shelf and realized I'd gain a lot more space by going with a 24x50 3-shelf. It was a much better choice on the "Bang for Your Buck" meter too.

This is the main chamber on my elevated straightback 24x50 and my inaugural cook of six racks of babybacks and five racks of beefback ribs.

 

[AZRaptor]

I rarely do a deep clean. It really doesn't need that kind of attention. Once the grates are good and seasoned, its like carbon or cast iron cookware.. Better off without being completely cleaned all the time. I keep the grates clean and debris free with a hunk of foil, but do not scrub with water. Once or twice a year I will do a steam clean on the whole thing and use a scraper to get the plate tip top again.

So I haven't really been doing a whole lot of cleaning on my SF and was marveling at how clean it was staying on the plate. Every time I looked in there I saw this nice smooth black surface. The last time I cooked on it I decided to go ahead and give the plate a scrape anyways because I figured there had to be some stuff there.

...when the scraper sunk in a half-inch I realized that smooth black plate was actually a smooth shiny layer of drippings. Yeah that was fun to clean up. :mmph:

 

[pjtexas1]

ound:

 

[JimmyR1Rider]

1/2"?!?!?! Damn it boy!!! Lol

 

[Westx]

AZ what is the temp difference between the top and bottom shelf?