Sanny Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Also, here is a little experiment I am toying with trying to achieve a slightly different cooking style on the KK. It is ugly and far from perfect but seems to be working so far; wish there were room for more holes. All the holes are drilled radially at 45 degrees to 3/8" diameter (except the two center ones which are drilled straight). We will see how it goes! Excellent, Deej! Is that a metal, or an other type of deflector? And are you making the heat a little more direct with the holes? What's the goal? Love learning from your cooks. Almost got a chuck roast from Costco, but decided it's way too cold to cook today. Even too cold INSIDE! Brrrr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Excellent, Deej! Is that a metal, or an other type of deflector? And are you making the heat a little more direct with the holes? What's the goal? Love learning from your cooks. Almost got a chuck roast from Costco, but decided it's way too cold to cook today. Even too cold INSIDE! Brrrr. It is actually the heat deflector that comes with a KK made from refractory type material (fun drilling). And yup, you guessed the reason. I like direct cooking, but just cannot get the food high enough away on the KK for a low and slow direct cook. Real outdoor pit cooking relies on the process being so very inefficient, that most of the heat does not reach the meat. The KK is just too darn efficient...hehe. But drilling the holes, I get some of the heat through the center. The 45 degree angle was to increase rotation of the hot air, helping keep the heat even. Jeez, I am so jealous of all ya'lls cold weather. These 70 degree Feb days are killing me. I am already having to start working in the yard. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Doesn't all that drilling weaken the deflector? I am afraid to even take it out of the steel pan it came in. By the way I "theoretically" cooked two butts Fri nite in -20 windchill,went to the auto show in Chicago on Sat and had some of the most satisfying pulled pork ever that nite(in theory-no pics,not too cold for the KK but it was for the camera)! Gonna try it next time with no rub,the Charcrust was only minimally effective. Jasen,maybe we could have a thread on every ones favorite rubs and where to find them.Or at least manufacturing addresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Doesn't all that drilling weaken the deflector? I am afraid to even take it out of the steel pan it came in. Doesn't appear to effect anything, though I would not want to drop it, drilled or not. They seem to be hardily made, so I would not worry to much about it. Besides, we know the manufacturer! Jasen' date='maybe we could have a thread on every ones favorite rubs and where to find them.Or at least manufacturing addresses. [/quote'] There is the rub topic of the Recipe section already for homemade. Also under Relevant Products, there is the link section for manufacturers links and a review section to discuss your opinions on them. See, ask and you shall receive....just don't ask for too damn much..hehe! -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majestik Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Well? How did it go, Mr. Scientist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 Re: Well? How did it go, Mr. Scientist? Well, it was late so I wrapped it in foil and dropped in fridge. I don't have a huge bank of thermocouples or RTDs to measure actual changes. So comparison is time to doneness given set temp and weight. Frankly it was only a small change, so a little disappointed. I was afraid in the first place that there was just simply not enough holes to make a large difference. So just a rough in set of stats here: direct verses indirect = approximately 40% decrease in time current heat diffuser verses solid heat deflector = approximately 10% decrease in time My goal was 25% without scorching or drying the outside meat. I guess 10% is a reasonable start since the meat looks perfect. Oh well, just means more experimenting. There were several more versions I wanted to try anyway. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 FYI, I did get around to chopping it up today and it was some of the best que to date. Got a couple more experiments up my sleeve before I settle in to accepting any results. Just need some more time off to do it!!! -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 What do you think caused it to be "best"? Seasoning? Quality of butt? Method of cook? Curiouser and curiouser... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 What do you think caused it to be "best"? Seasoning? Quality of butt? Method of cook? Curiouser and curiouser... Not positive without more experimenting; meat, season and temps were all consistent with past versions. But in my opinion, it is getting closer to my desired end product close to open pit style cooking. Meat is not mushy from too long of a cook time, but rather firm, yet still juicy and tender. Most of the smoke is also introduced via fat dripping back into fire verses raw wood. Hard to describe completely to anyone unfamiliar with the more old fashioned Southern BBQ joints (rapidly being replaced by smoke ovens...heresy I tell you). So maybe my 10% change was not as minute as I earlier thought. But still think I can get it closer to my desired result. Though nothing wrong with stock version, just want an additional option. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Also, here is a little experiment I am toying with trying to achieve a slightly different cooking style on the KK. It is ugly and far from perfect but seems to be working so far; wish there were room for more holes. All the holes are drilled radially at 45 degrees to 3/8" diameter (except the two center ones which are drilled straight). We will see how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Well damn, my forum merge tool will not allow posts out of chronological order, so I cannot re-order this thread. Guess I gotta look for a new mod to do that. Adding it as a quote in Sanny's post for now. Anyway, still working on this project. Bored out all my diffuser holes to 1/2" inch now. The 3/8" did get plugged with grease while cooking. Not too bad though, and I think the 1/2" will allow enough heat through to burn it off. Also increased the hole count by around 10. Have not had time to test with a boston butt, but quick heat check seems like a huge increase in heat through the diffuser verses the old. So I am hoping this gets the efficiency closer to my desired. If I could cast my own, it would be possible to greatly increase the hole count. But I am now close to the max via drilling, or otherwise start breaking through to adjoining holes. If is does not get too expensive, I may try to cast my own. Have to call the local refractory supply and see what they will charge me for castable materials. We will see how the next test goes first. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Kinda reminds me of a manhole cover(father in law is a sewer/water main contractor) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Kinda reminds me of a manhole cover(father in law is a sewer/water main contractor) Wish I could get one of those machined down to size and with the 1/2" 45 degree holes drilled! -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Next Test! Well, here is a metal diffuser I made up today to test straight holes. Both damn stores I went to yesterday were out of Boston Butts, so hope to get one Monday or Tuesday for the next experiment. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Added More Holes! Ok, added even more holes. Marked improvement in heat flow. Cooked some chicken to test and it turned out really good. I know, no pics so it did not happen. Be a week or two before I can try another butt to see how much it helped. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 OK, Heat Diffuser Verson 5.0 Well, I think this will be my final version (and I am out of ceramic deflectors to experiment on). Straight through vertical holes seem to work good, though the 45 degree ones also worked good. The ceramic diffuser seemed to work better than the metal. I guess that the extra mass heating heating up along with the holes help make this the most efficient diffuser. Cool part, if you want a solid deflector, just drop it back in the SS pan. Got a Boston Butt to test with in the next day or so. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicer Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Re:OK, Heat Diffuser Verson 5.0 Where are you getting the ceramic heat deflectors? I tried other materials like flower pot clay liners, but they become brittle and crack. I also tried a pizza stone with no luck. I also like the direct cooking method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidS Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Kiln shelfs work very well. You can get different sizes and half shelfs. I have been using them for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDJ16 Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Re:OK, Heat Diffuser Verson 5.0 Where are you getting the ceramic heat deflectors? I tried other materials like flower pot clay liners' date=' but they become brittle and crack. I also tried a pizza stone with no luck. I also like the direct cooking method.[/quote'] By mistake I received two with my grill. BTW, don't know any Lowe's type items that are going to hold up. The pizza stone is fine for low temps, but will crack if it gets too high and grease drips on it. Plus it would be very hard to drill. Dennis' deflector is the easiest choice to drill. Plus, if you want it solid, just slip it back in the pan it comes with. Like the kiln shelve idea too; can you get those round or at least wide enough to cut into a similar shape for the grill? FYI, got a pork butt on cooking right now to test. Lookin' and smellin' great so far. Think this will be a winner. -=Jasen=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidS Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 The kiln shelfs I use a round 15" they will take very high heat. Look the same size that came with my KK. Have used the same 2 since 2001. I Wish that I had saved a couple of the half shelfs where we stopped doing pottery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
