Tyrus Posted November 2, 2019 Report Share Posted November 2, 2019 To imagine that the holy grail was in front of me all the time in the form of a sheet of aluminum (disguised) . The new car...simply a spin to exaggerate. I will follow the path laid out before me and amend my ways, I will get off the sofa and retrieve the shovel from the shed, bury the deflector in a corner of the yard while Alexa plays a somber taps. No kicking the can down the road...I'll bury it deep. Thanks 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcjudsten Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 I tried the deflectors one time (coming from a primo was used to using them and they helped with stability), and then started playing with other options on the KK. For most of what we do aluminum foil, food service pans, or lids end up being the most flexible / useful for deflectors. I will include pictures of the setup from this weekend (~36lbs for a block party). I have been really pleased with the stability of the kk even without the deflectors or water pans, etc. The kk chugged along overnight (no pit controller) as our local temp dropped from 60f to 35f - a good thing since I was asleep! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 And plenty of spare room in there McJudsten. Happy days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Great cook for the block party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 That’s a lotta meat bet the party guests were happy. Nice cook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Pearson Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Speaking about heat defectors, Hey Mac I have a couple of heat deflectors could you use a few more stepping stones? Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted November 4, 2019 Report Share Posted November 4, 2019 Bruce, how about if I send you mine that will say you a trip to the post office. 2 hours ago, Bruce Pearson said: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myself888 Posted July 13, 2020 Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 Thank you all for this conversation! We have always used our deflector, but my husband was just questioning its necessity tonight as he was preparing our KK for an overnight low and slow. I found this info just in time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted July 14, 2020 Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 Just don't let Doc (@mguerra) see this - ha, ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyS Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 I have used foil on the lower main grate when cooking indirect. What does everyone use for heat deflection when putting meat on both of the main grates? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman505 Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 Foil or an aluminum pan on the sear grate. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted July 16, 2020 Report Share Posted July 16, 2020 I use what I call the SS serving tray that came with the KK. Also bought some SS false bottoms for chafing dishes. They come different sizes. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.Drackett Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 Thank you all. As a newcomer, I am still struggling to learn what all these components do, how to configure them in layers for various kinds of cooks, how not to damage the elements and how to clean them. This experimentation has been a little tough on grates and pans. I will try using foil on the lower grate, this weekend, instead of warping another drip pan and some hi temperature oil spray on the grates. I have moved everything out to our covered “party pavilion” where my KK will not get covered by the impending snow storm in Idaho. There is a huge fireplace out there to keep me warm while I cook and I can use the BBQ Guru to monitor temperatures from in the house. DD 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted December 11, 2020 Report Share Posted December 11, 2020 2 hours ago, D.Drackett said: some hi temperature oil spray on the grates. A bit of overkill. If you have something, like fish, that tends to stick to the grates, dip a paper towel in some oil and use your tongs to oil the grate. The spray is going to go everywhere, including on the walls of the KK. While it shouldn't do any harm to the material, it will create soot as it burns up - not tasty! Otherwise, sounds like you're getting the hang of it! Keep on rockin' in the free world! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnymnemonic Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 (edited) Good info for someone coming from BGE land. My KK doesn't get here for another little bit but I will be ready thanks to all of you. It totally makes sense that you would burn more fuel with a ceramic deflector in, but I never thought about the airflow. What does resonate is that it's another piece of dry ceramic, which would be like a fire proof sponge inside the grill. Edited August 2, 2021 by johnnymnemonic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted August 2, 2021 Report Share Posted August 2, 2021 On 10/28/2019 at 1:29 PM, DennisLinkletter said: That being said I have not use the heat deflector in one of my grills for probably 10 years. Your results will be better using foil to create an indirect area. I'm on my second decade with a 23" KK. I often use the 23" ULTIMATE DOUBLE BOTTOM DRIP PAN as a heat deflector. My primary motivation for using a heat deflector is that a ceramic cooker heats from the bottom, and I often want my food exposed uniformly to heat. This happens naturally for low & slow cooks, where the generous insulation of the KK encourages a uniform equilibrium. For hotter cooks, the "heat from the bottom" effect is pronounced in every ceramic cooker, and the KK's build quality can only partially mitigate this. With a perfect understanding of one's fire and perfect control of one's schedule, one can cook at high heats on a KK after the fire has died down, cooking on uniform radiant heat that the KK does a better job of preserving. At this stage, it's much harder to taste the choice of charcoal. It's much easier to use good charcoal and a heat deflector, and to cook as convenient after the cooker temperature stabilizes. I make pizza and Focaccia di Recco on my KK. My neighbor makes pizza in his wood-fired pizza oven. We both screw up sometimes, but his wood-fired fire control is another level of complexity. Of course one can learn, but an honest appraisal beyond bravado would warn others that it takes attention and practice. At its best the wood-fired pizza looks more authentic than any picture I've seen here in decades. No surprise, that's what they do in Napoli. Anyone who thinks they can simulate a restaurant Salamander with their $5,000 home oven's broiler is delusional. One should still learn how to make the best of one's home broiler, or ceramic cooker. We can reliably make pizza we're very happy with, in our KK. The crux issue is getting the KK hot enough without burning the damn crust. There's an easy fix for when this goes wrong: Move the pizza onto a round pizza screen, so it can finish without direct contact with the pizza stone. Some people may have figured out pizza without a heat deflector. Can they explain what they're doing right? Remember that we regularly see posts from people who still struggle to just get their KK to pizza temperature, even as others can't imagine having this issue. Having a gift is useless unless one can understand it and explain it to others. I'm eager to put away my heat deflector for pizza, if someone can clearly teach me what to do. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted August 5, 2021 Report Share Posted August 5, 2021 On 8/2/2021 at 5:25 PM, Syzygies said: Some people may have figured out pizza without a heat deflector. Can they explain what they're doing right? Remember that we regularly see posts from people who still struggle to just get their KK to pizza temperature, even as others can't imagine having this issue. Having a gift is useless unless one can understand it and explain it to others. I'm eager to put away my heat deflector for pizza, if someone can clearly teach me what to do. Not going to pretend that I yet know what I am doing wrong or right. I am struggling with my bread making at the moment. Someone posted recently asking whether you needed a full basket to get to high temps with the 32. I had achieved it without any trouble with a half basket but thought I would try out with a full basket this last weekend. Woah. Managed to get the KK so hot and heat soaked that I burned my bread from the radiant heat from the dome way before the bread was properly baked. So my next trial will see me lowering my bread cook to the main grate. I am using a KK baking stone with an aluminium pan with aluminium billet in for creating steam and so heat deflection from the bottom is not an issue. Good luck with finding the answer to your question @S. Give us the gift of your explanation when you do! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troble Posted August 7, 2021 Report Share Posted August 7, 2021 (edited) @Syzygies i posted this for Forrest on page 382 of the Everyday Misc thread but here is what I do. i think my pizzas are pretty good, crust never burned and has that "burnt/speckled" look on the bottom. I post a lot of my pizza cooks on that thread so you can check it out and see for yourself if my results look up to your standards (which i deeply respect), but i do use the drip pan for a heat deflector so not sure this is helpful. i've never tried it without it now that I think about it, but perhaps I will give it a try next time. I got this recipe from @MacKenzie so credit goes to her but it’s pretty easy to make in a food processor. https://www.seriouseats.com/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough Some of the things I’ve learned as I’ve gotten better at the crust is the following 1. weigh your dough ingredients, be exact 2. try to focus on getting even dough ball once removed from food processor, then slice that dough ball into 3 smaller ones 3. take your time trying to get the three smaller balls even, the better I do at this stage the more even the crust comes out when I cook it 4. Refrigerate dough minimum of 24 hours up to 72 5. Take dough out 3-4 hours before cooking 6. once removed smash down on ball with hand a few times to flatten 7. Then carry edges of dough in hands, let dough stretch as you turn it 8. roll with rolling pin to get it nice and thin and evenly spread 9. twist crust 10. brush crust with olive oil 11. sprinkle sea salt on crust 12. add sauce and spread thinly 13. Leave pizza stone in KK (at cooking temp) for at least 60 minutes prior to cooking 14. place pizza on parchment paper on KK 15. I cook my pizzas at 500-515 16. cook approximately 10 minutes each, rotating the pizza every 2-3 minutes as there’s always a hotter part of the Kk, remove parchment paper last 1-3 minutes 17. I use the double drip pan for indirect heat pizza sauce recipe here (I double the amount of garlic) https://www.budgetbytes.com/thick-rich-pizza-sauce/ Edited August 7, 2021 by Troble 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 [mention]Troble [/mention] gearing up for this recipe, what do you mean by: “9. Twist crust” ???Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troble Posted August 8, 2021 Report Share Posted August 8, 2021 @Forrest of you roll out the dough it’s flat. You have to roll it over on the edges to form the crust. “Fold over” might be a better description but basically take the outside and fold/twist it so there’s it forms a crust along the edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
