Bottom Rack

[Richard Garcia]

I bought my WSM 18.5" "Classic" in the year 2008 and I have done many major cooks, however, I have never had the need to use the bottom cooking Rack. However, I plan on using it on this Memorial Day due to feeding a larger crowd. So, what is basically the difference (if any) between the bottom and top Rack when cooking chicken and Beef, i.e, temperature control, etc.??

 

[JBooker]

Bottom rack is cooler when using water, and it's hotter when not using water.

 

[timothy]

Bottom rack is cooler when using water, and it's hotter when not using water.

Yea it could be but I dunno. I run waterless and when doing multiple racks I always get a better darker color on the top rack, so I rotate mid way thru the cook.

Tim

 

[Jerry N.]

I use the bottom rack if I'm doing a lot of ribs or 4 pork butts. With ribs, I rotate them mid-way through the cook. Not sure if it matters, but that's what I do. With butts, I put the larger ones on the bottom so that I can take the smaller ones off first and then move the bottom ones to the top. Just makes it easier to manage. I don't think it does anything special for the cook.

As far as I can tell (without using any instrumentation), there's not much difference in temps between using the top versus the bottom rack. Especially with a low as slow cook. Basically, you still just have to check it throughout the cook and pull it when it's done.

 

[WB Zipf]

I have used both racks multipule times.

With ribs, I will rotate the food between racks 1/2 way through the cook. If I am cooking pork shoulders I might do the same thing. If I am cooking different items at the same time (like during a compitition), I will always put the one that is farther away from finishing on the bottom rack, so I can pull the top item without disrupting the bottom item. At the point in time when there is only one item left on the smoker's bottom rack, I will move it to finish on the top, as that is where I usually control the pit temperature at.