Accessing the Bottom Cooking Grate


 
M

Matt Y

TVWBB Member
I just got my 22 WSM and assembled it last night. While admiring my handy-work i noticed that it would be rather difficult to access the meat cooking on the bottom grate through the access door.

During a cooking session how do people access the bottom grate? Do you put the low-maintenance stuff down there? If you have to baste do you remove the top cooking grate?
 
I usually have my wife take the top grate off while I take care of things on the bottom grate. If she is not around, I have a small folding table that I put foil on and I just set the top grate on there.
 
For removing thick or vertical items you'll need to remove the top grate, but you can reach in with a grate lifter or something and spin the grate around to reach meats on the opposite side if needed.
 
Matt, once the meat goes on the bottom grate it usually stays there til its' done. I never baste anyway but it could be a real hassle especially if you have a full grate on top.I put the temp probe on the biggest of the meats on the bottom grate and leave it till its tender.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paul h:
Matt, once the meat goes on the bottom grate it usually stays there til its' done. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I should've mentioned above that the bottom rack meat is usually not done any sooner than the top rack unless using something like sand or a clay pot base in the pan. However, using water in the pan I find that quite often the bottom rack meat can be done at about the same time if filling up the grates, ie. four butts at a time.
 
and if you're cooking something on the top grate it's going to baste whatever is on the bottom grate, so there really is no need for you to baste.
 
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