19lb bird - 5 hr cook

Apple brined, air dried, stuffed the cavity with apples, oranges, rosmary and sage, iced the breast per usual. Apple smoke wood.

Usually I place the bird on the top rack (18.5WSM) with a pan on the bottom rack to catch juices for gravy. This time I used a disposable roasting pan under the bird on the top rack. The pan was a oval shaped 16x13.5x3 and i had to fold down the flat lip at the top all the way around to get it to fit under the dome without touching.

The ET-732 pit probe was on the upper grate but outside the pan. I put the bird in at 2pm and roasted 325-350. At 5:30 the meat probe was reading 140. Nine guests showed up at 6 but they had to wait on the bird. I cranked up the pit temp to 375 ended up at 400 for the remaining 30 minutes or so. When the grate temp was 335 the lid temp gauge read 250. It reads low but not that low. When the temp at the grate was 400 it read 325. I pulled the bird off at 7:15 when thermapen readings showed was done.

I'm wondering though if the pan somehow kept the temps in dome from getting as high as I had intended. Did I really cook the bird for the first 3.5 hrs at say, 275 instead of 335. Would a better probe location be somehow in the top of the dome lid rather than at the grate. All the turkey recipes call out the temp at the top of the dome. OTOH, the five hour wait was worth it - that was a very juicy and flavorful bird!

I know that if i foil the the rack my temps go way down...I actually have 2 levels of foil now so the heat can pass through the middle...probably the same issue. The pan might have trapped the heat below.

The pan interfered with heat transfer between the fire and bird. With it under and around the bird it completely blocks any radiative heat transfer and convection will be reduced because hot air rises and would tend to flow right past the bird with out actually contacting it.

I am cooking a 16 # brined bird right now, my 2d. Using foiled pan no water just like the first bird. after 1/2 hr I had 303 degrees at lid, temp checked with a digital thermopen, at 1 hr. had 319 degrees at the lid. All the vents are 100% open and I gave the coals a stir. I have two charcoal rings, large ring that came with the 22.5 WSM and a smaller ring that holds 2.5 chimneys of charcoal, I am using the smaller ring, I do not know if that affects the heat output or not, I should have taken better notes on the first bird. At 1.5 hrs lid temp 313

This is my setup...

water pan 1/4 full...bottom rack...2 bricks, foil drip pan, top rack on the bricks and then the bird in a beer can chicken rack (12lb bird here)....If I don't lower the rack it won't fit under the lid...It's an 8x12" pan so there are 3.5" on each long side and 4" on the brick sides to let the heat through...It allows for a big heated area to build up before it vents out the top. I am going to cook this for at least probably 6hrs. I could never do a 19Lb in 5 hours. It wouldn't be hot enough...I do prop the door about 1/2" with a pair of tongs..

I've thought about this method - hold the bird vertical with a pan underneath. How to do it though? How to keep it upright?

Here is a really good vertical rack. It is sold by the BGE people.[/IMG] The infuser is a separate item I bought. I do not always use it.

Brian I cooked a 17 lb turkey this way in 3 1/2 hours. I used only a clay saucer foiled and I have a second dome vent to help me get higher heat. I think those two bricks you have in there are robbing you of the higher temps you need. Too much heat sink.
I prefer to cook turkey's and chickens upright.

This photo is not the 17lb but a smaller one I did earlier. I modified my grill straps so I could lower the top grate 4 inches for the same reasons. It gives me the clearance for bigger birds.[/IMG]