Introducing BBQKaeding and Nimoy

[BBQKaeding]

10 hours ago, Jon B. said:

Okay.................I didn't ask what POSK meant but I will ask............what difference the "meat hanger" makes compared to having turkey (or other meat)  sit vertical on the cooking grate?????

I'm soooo confused 

 

That's a good question. I've done both the beer can style with a vertical roaster and the hanger and the advantages I've seen with the hanger are:

1. Orientation of the bird. Most vertical roasters have you place the bird feet-down with the cone-shaped rack in the main cavity of the bird. When I use a hanger, I truss the bird and hang it with the cavity facing up. I have carefully measured temps and the breast and thigh meat get done much closer to the same time than when using the vertical roaster.
2. Plumpness. I can't prove this, but I believe the head-down orientation on the meat hanger also contributes to the plumpness as gravity is causing the meat to relax toward the thicker parts of the bird as it cooks. This could be conceptualized and/or tested by taking 2 turkey legs and cooking each with an opposite vertical orientation and seeing if one gets plumper than the other (i.e. sag toward the foot or sag toward the thigh or not at all). Having the cavity facing up also makes it easier to stuff the cavity compared to a vertical roasting stand. I typically add a quartered orange, onions, apples, etc. (depending on the recipe) and very lightly pack them rather than using dressing. This too may contribute to the even cooking but I do it primarily for added moisture and seasoning.
3. Consistent browning. Using the same cooker, although not a KK yet, I've achieved better consistency in the 360 degree browning of the bird on a hanger than I do with a vertical roaster. I hang a wok under the bird and meat hanger to serve as a the heat deflector and invert the lid of the wok into the wok base to catch drippings for gravy. The air gap between the inverted lid and the wok prevents scorching of the juices. So there are no grills or other flat surfaces in the cooker - just the bird and the curved wok hanging below. In my old #7 Kamado, this provided more even temperatures all around the bird throughout the cooking cycle much like you'd get with a horizontal motorized spit. If I did want to rotate the bird for pictures or to even up the browning, it was effortless because the hanger is installed on a swivel.  It's a single naked finger operation rather than two-handed gloved operation, even for a 23 pound bird.
4. It's simple. The apparatus is really simple and collapses for easy storage. The only things to clean are the vertical rod, the star-shaped retainer upon which the bird rests, and the wok lid. I also find it much easier to transport the finished product than when using a vertical roaster. You don't have to worry about it falling over and don't need to even touch the bird.
5. It looks super cool. Aside from the practical advantages, there's something about opening the grill and seeing no grill at all. Just a beautiful piece of meat suspended in mid-air.

I'm not sensing much excitement about the idea so far and that's ok. I don't want Dennis to put efforts into this if there's such limited interest from owners.  I'll have decide if it's something I'll take on myself. If I could get Dennis to sell me a main grill frame without the grilling bars, it's a pretty simple project. Bending the hanger's base to the unique shape of the grill seat is the only challenge that would drive up the cost if I were to use a local fabricator.

[ckreef]

I've seen some after market hangers that attach to a grate frame.

.

Couldn't you make something that clamped on the lower grate and arched up to the middle up in the dome where the hanger would hang off of. The wok with lid could then sit on the lower grate with the bird hanging above. I can picture it in my mind just not sure if I explained it adequately.

Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

[MacKenzie]

I wish you had a pix to post so that I could see exactly what it looks like.:)

[BBQKaeding]

Here you go. This pick was taken shortly after the start of the cook (obviously).

The wok drip pan is something that I came up with because I needed something a bit lower than where the lower rack was because this bird was so big, but I found it helped convection much better than the heat deflector plus pan. I fashioned my own hanger with the turnbuckle because the included ones weren't long enough for this bird either. The swivel anchors holding the wok were intended to be used as hangers too and are height/latitude adjustable so you could hang 2 or 3 chickens or 4-6 game hens (stacked) or whatever. A third wok support wire was added for stability in subsequent cooks so it's not pictured. I hung a 14 lb. pork butt once for fun, but it's much better for fowl. I'm still anxious to hang tandoori style legs of lamb. Sorry I don't have a pic of the finished turkey - you'll just have to believe me that it looked like it would pop if stuck with a temperature probe . It's a high resolution picture so you can zoom in and see a lot of detail

 

Edited March 19, 2016 by BBQKaeding

[MacKenzie]

Now, I understand, looks like a really neat idea .:) Thanks for posting the pix.:) 

Edited March 19, 2016 by MacKenzie

[ckreef]

That's what I was thinking buy why not extend it down to the lower grate, something you already have (it would have to be taller to go down to the lower grate). I think the 3rd position idea would be ideal. A side to side half loop (oblong) then a 3rd brace going to the back.

Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

[BBQKaeding]

2 minutes ago, MacKenzie said:

Now, I understand, looks like a really neat idea .:) Thanks for posting the pix.:) 

Thanks. I should have posted the pic first and probably under another topic, egh? If there's any interest, I'll post in the right place on the forum. A KK-quality version of this would be spectacular, in my (not so) humble opinion.

[MacKenzie]

Why not do that BBQK, and then maybe ckreef can move the posts to the new location?

[BBQKaeding]

2 minutes ago, ckreef said:

That's what I was thinking buy why not extend it down to the lower grate, something you already have (it would have to be taller to go down to the lower grate). I think the 3rd position idea would be ideal. A side to side half loop (oblong) then a 3rd brace going to the back.

Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

The taller the half-moon support is, the more stout it'll need to be.  Using the upper grill seat will minimize the elevation required and improve stability. The idea of building onto the lower grill is great, but I don't think that will provide as much vertical space as having no grill at all because the meat can extend below the seat of the apparatus if there are no grill rods. The #7 I had seems to have considerably more vertical space in the dome than the KK, which is also a relative reduction in the vertical real estate. Building off the lower grill can certainly work though, it just may not accommodate as big of bird.

Also, the spherical heat deflector (wok) provided more vertical space by design, and improved thermodynamics by luck . It would be great to preserve that if it's practical.

[slbb]

I like this meat hanger idea as well.  It's practical and looks cool.

[wilburpan]

9 hours ago, BBQKaeding said:

 

This looks really cool. You had mentioned cooking a pork butt this way. Were there any other meats that you've cooked using the meat hanger?

[tinyfish]

Neat meat hanger.

[ColoradoRick]

Stunning colors. Congratulations on your KK. Admittedly, I never even considered that color but WOW, impressive. I showed my wife, she reminded me that ours is pretty too. lol.. I think she saw dollar signs in my eyes.

Great job on the ribs. I love those rib racks. So far they are my favorite accessory.

And... very cool idea on the hanger. I have never tried that sort of thing, but I bet with the high tops that could be done without to much trouble.

Again.. congrats.

--

Rick

[BBQKaeding]

On 3/19/2016 at 6:07 PM, ckreef said:

That's what I was thinking buy why not extend it down to the lower grate, something you already have (it would have to be taller to go down to the lower grate). I think the 3rd position idea would be ideal. A side to side half loop (oblong) then a 3rd brace going to the back.

Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT

I can jury-rig something and will if I have to. It wouldn't be the first time . My motivation for the post is to see if there's enough interest for Dennis to engineer and offer a new accessory that's both KK quality and just (or more) functional. I figure I've got to until Nov. 2016 - one way or the other.

[BBQKaeding]

15 hours ago, ColoradoRick said:

Stunning colors. Congratulations on your KK. Admittedly, I never even considered that color but WOW, impressive. I showed my wife, she reminded me that ours is pretty too. lol.. I think she saw dollar signs in my eyes.

Great job on the ribs. I love those rib racks. So far they are my favorite accessory.

And... very cool idea on the hanger. I have never tried that sort of thing, but I bet with the high tops that could be done without to much trouble.

Again.. congrats.

--

Rick

Thanks! The tiles actually change like a chameleon with the sunlight (and camera flashes) so it stays interesting. 

[BBQKaeding]

22 hours ago, wilburpan said:

This looks really cool. You had mentioned cooking a pork butt this way. Were there any other meats that you've cooked using the meat hanger?

It's most typically any fowl but it also hangs a dutch oven nicely. I didn't do that with my #7 though because I had a mushi-kamado grill (grill with hole in the middle) in which the dutch over would sit closer to the fire. It was awesome for cooking soup, stew, etc. The dutch oven sat in the middle, recessed, and I'd grill the veges and protein around the edges and then chop and add when ready. Smoked soup can be sooooooo good

Edited March 20, 2016 by BBQKaeding

[CeramicChef]

Congrats!  

Congrats on a beautiful KK (aren't they all?)!

Comgrats on those gorgeous cooks! 

 

Kudos all over the place to ha!