wilburpan Posted June 15, 2015 Report Posted June 15, 2015 Yesterday I cooked some wings. I set up Smaug with the deflector, cooking indirect at 400ºF. I usually set up the deflector so that it is centered, and sits on the charcoal basket. Most of the cooks I’ve done with indirect cooking have the meat sitting in the middle of the grate. I loaded up the grill with wings, and needed every square inch of the main and upper grates for the amount of wings that I had. The wings that were at the back of the main and upper grates were more well done than the others. Some of them I had to toss because they were way overcooked. I know that the back of the grill tends to be hotter than the front part due to the vent being set towards the back. I was wondering if I should have pushed the heat deflector more towards the back to compensate for this. Do you set up the heat deflector on your grills more towards the back to compensate for the hot spot, or do you center it and keep the back of the grate clear of food that you don’t want overcooked?
Cookie Posted June 15, 2015 Report Posted June 15, 2015 Was your basket full of fuel, and did you only light it in the center? I find starting this way gives me a more uniform airflow, it just takes a little longer to come up to a temp like 400F vs. lighting in several spots. I find when I light in several spots, some take, some don't. That can give you different results around the perimeter. That said, anything near the edges at 400F with a heat deflector in is going to cook in a hurry vs the stuff that is centered. Doesn't matter what you do.
DaveyR Posted June 15, 2015 Report Posted June 15, 2015 Most of the time for the heat deflector i do what dennis suggested of just put in the lower rack and huge sheet of foil over that. Then i can pretty much control where you want any gaps and how close to the edges you want it. 1
tony b Posted June 15, 2015 Report Posted June 15, 2015 I generally don't use the ceramic heat deflector if I'm cooking indirect anymore; just use the drip pan. So I always have the perimeter hotter than the center. I rarely have that much food on the grate to worry about it.
DennisLinkletter Posted June 16, 2015 Report Posted June 16, 2015 Anytime you have food close to or in that stream of hot air coming off the heat deflector it's going to be much hotter regardless of how you light it.. That air is basically direct..
mk1 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Anytime you have food close to or in that stream of hot air coming off the heat deflector it's going to be much hotter regardless of how you light it.. That air is basically direct.. I agree. The effect is minimized by being fully heat soaked. At that point your sidewall and lid contributions are maximized.
