E6 food to coal distance and elevated food grate thoughts


 
Called the Ceramic Grill Store. They said their Expander for the Kamado Joe Big Joe fits the WSK and raises the cooking grate 5 inches without crowding the lid. The cooking grate would actually rise 4 inches into the lid because the WSK's lip on which it would rest seems to be about one inch below the rim of the cooker similar to what is seen in the pic below of the BJ. So I've got a possible bailout if the WSK can't do what I want out of the box. There's a half-moon grid permanently welded to the rack and another half-moon grid that is removable. It's a little less real estate than a 20 inch grid because the removable half-moon has one wire removed on the side facing out toward the front of the cooker. You may be able to see that in the pic. One thing I like about this is that the rack is one solid structure on a ring that bears along the entire lip where the WSK cooking grid would bear. That's seems more rigid than many expanders that bear on legs. The CGS Expander adds $118 to the cost of the WSK.

My preference is still to operate with the WSK out-of-the-box config if it can handle my peculiarities.

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SteveEd said:
I took a look at the Ceramic Grill Store's BGE XL adjustable rig. It's 6 inches tall so its highest point would be 16 inches above the coal grate. That's good but since Weber's expansion rack is 5.1 inches tall I'm concerned that the XL rig may be too tall. Like you said, Dan, I should call them and ask if they know the WSK well enough to help me. If it would work then I can put their 20" round grate on it and that should be enough for my cooks. 20 inch grates are what they recommend but I'd like to see if I can get away with a 22. I wouldn't know how the lid dimensions of the Weber compare to the BGE XL's lid.

But before I spend the money on this rig I need to cook with the WSK as is. Brett says I can get what I want without raising the cooking grate. That would be ideal since it would give me the whole 452 square inches of space.
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i just bought mine from the pics and video reviews. worst case, i was going to sell it as slightly used and still get all my money out of it. i could have had it at $949 and then the price jumped to $1049 so i just decided to enjoy Father's Day and buy my present to myself. if you like coal cooking, grilling, searing, slow roasting and smoking, this is THE grill in the market. it does EVERYTHING i have thrown at it. EVERYTHING.
 
SteveEd said:
Brett says I can build a smaller fire since I'm only doing an hour and a half or two hour cook and that I can control the temps so that they are comparable to the Pit Barrel which varies from 275-325 for me. I don't doubt that though I have to admit that I'm still concerned that fat dripping on the coals will produce flareups. Fat dripping on the coals is essential to this style cook so I'm hoping to have my cake and eat it, too.
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i'll make a bet here and other E6 owners can chime in, you can cook a single spatchcocked bird over a single charcoal basket of briqs or lump and still have coal leftover on this cook. you'll get that moderate temp you seek, over direct heat, dial down your lower vent to below fire icon/position and you should be fine.
 
Brett-EDH said:
i'll make a bet here and other E6 owners can chime in, you can cook a single spatchcocked bird over a single charcoal basket of briqs or lump and still have coal leftover on this cook. you'll get that moderate temp you seek, over direct heat, dial down your lower vent to below fire icon/position and you should be fine.
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Much appreciate your confidence, Brett. Thanks. After going through your pics there's no way I'd bet against you!
 
@SteveEd
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Old school yard bird, mashed pots, gravy and roasted beets

Some comfort food that we haven’t had in a long time. Bare brand natural bird, homemade mashed pots with homemade mushroom gravy and some sliced oven roasted beets. On the E6, 400°F for 60 mins, pulled at 155° Perfection.
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Dry brined roast chicken with magic dust

Dry salted the chicken and left uncovered in the fridge since 9A. Added some of my magic dust rub and roasting indirect at 375° over JD XL lump. Oven roasted butternut squash and will steam some baby bok choy all served with chicken flavored rice with vermicelli and mustard seeds.
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Bbq roast chicken 400° cook

Wanted a light and healthy dinner. Dry rub roast chicken, indirect at 400°. With some crisped sprouts and a local red zin. Life is good. And the lime tree is looking good too.
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Steve-

Since the Kamado doesn’t have gas ignition like the Summit had (unless getting it with the cart), would it be possible to drop a smaller grate down below the lower level and achieve your goals? Down instead of up. My Summit is currently in storage (😭) or I’d go measure and see if a Smokey Joe grate would do although I do have gas ignition...
 
That's beyond my knowledge of the WSK. Don't own one yet. Looking at photos online I'd say that there's no difference in the dimensions of the bowl with or without an igniter. Looks like lowering the charcoal grate would interfere with the blades of the ash cleanout system.
 
Steve I would say if you plan on cooking chickens here and there on your new bbq with no drip pans below you will be doing more cleaning than cooking on that thing.......:LOL:. Seriously though, I cook over the coals and flames myself but not for a couple hours at a time......Check out a drip pan after a rotisserie chicken has been cooked, there is a lot of grease in there. I did a full cook over a drip pan spatch style last time, it worked out perfect. I will check for pics.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
Steve I would say if you plan on cooking chickens here and there on your new bbq with no drip pans below you will be doing more cleaning than cooking on that thing.......:LOL:. Seriously though, I cook over the coals and flames myself but not for a couple hours at a time......Check out a drip pan after a rotisserie chicken has been cooked, there is a lot of grease in there. I did a full cook over a drip pan spatch style last time, it worked out perfect. I will check for pics.
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if you're doing a bird over direct coals, most of that chicken grease will cook off as it hits the hot coals. yeah, you'll have a small amount of drip through but the cleanup isn't too bad (using lump, but using briq creates this chunks of gross ash). on my indirect hot birds, 400F, i have moved to placing heavy duty aluminum foil under the indirect bird to catch the drip offs and then just discard the foil when it's gross (usually after two cooks).

any cooks over the force field deflector plate are cooked with the deflector plate fully wrapped in heavy foil which gets discarded each cook. it's usually in messy and burnt condition and i've found this to be the easiest way to keep a clean E6 (ribs, butts, briskets, pastrami, etc).
 
My favorite bird cooking setup (I have an S6) is SnS style - the coals banked up on side of the upper charcoal grate, and the spatchcocked chicken (or two) on the indirect side. Foil underneath catches all the drippings. Cook at 450 on the dome thermometer. Does an amazing job - super crispy skin and super moist every time.
 
Believe it or not I've never cooked chicken indirect, always over the coals but always about 14-16" above them. I've tasted indirect chicken and to me it lacked a smokiness that I'm told is from the fat burning on the coals and creating a smoke that some like me find flavorful. Many here in the south just call it BBQed chicken though I know that's not very sophisticated and doesn't mean the same elsewhere. I'm more than willing to learn something new, however.

As for fat messing up the inside, I deal with that somewhat in the PBC whenever I empty the ashes which form clumps on the ash pan. Scraping required but not too bad. I may go back to simply putting foil under the charcoal basket and eliminating the ash pan.

For what I want I can always continue with the PBC but I don't like cleaning the hooks--just too durn lazy. I find grates easier to deal with. I can use the grate instead of the hooks for up to about 10 thighs without crowding them. I would prefer a little more space occasionally and 24" sounds about right. I've considered a Hasty Bake but I'm convinced the WSK is a better smoker--better temp control, more efficient.
 
SteveEd said:
Believe it or not I've never cooked chicken indirect, always over the coals but always about 14-16" above them. I've tasted indirect chicken and to me it lacked a smokiness that I'm told is from the fat burning on the coals and creating a smoke that some like me find flavorful. Many here in the south just call it BBQed chicken though I know that's not very sophisticated and doesn't mean the same elsewhere. I'm more than willing to learn something new, however.

As for fat messing up the inside, I deal with that somewhat in the PBC whenever I empty the ashes which form clumps on the ash pan. Scraping required but not too bad. I may go back to simply putting foil under the charcoal basket and eliminating the ash pan.

For what I want I can always continue with the PBC but I don't like cleaning the hooks--just too durn lazy. I find grates easier to deal with. I can use the grate instead of the hooks for up to about 10 thighs without crowding them. I would prefer a little more space occasionally and 24" sounds about right. I've considered a Hasty Bake but I'm convinced the WSK is a better smoker--better temp control, more efficient.
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for that smoke flavor, without overdoing it, i highly recco Jealous Devil XL lump in the WSC. MUCH tastier than Kingsford products with substantially less leftover ash. i've cooked with I think are the major brands/products out there and have come to love the JD product; lump, not briqs. going direct as you seek with this fuel will get you to your desired finished bird. good luck. waiting to see your new pics!
 
Brett-EDH said:
for that smoke flavor, without overdoing it, i highly recco Jealous Devil XL lump in the WSC. MUCH tastier than Kingsford products with substantially less leftover ash. i've cooked with I think are the major brands/products out there and have come to love the JD product; lump, not briqs. going direct as you seek with this fuel will get you to your desired finished bird. good luck. waiting to see your new pics!
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Harry Soo swears by it apparently for the same reasons you mention. At twice the price I'm sure it's worth it but that's a wait and see thing for me after spending a few bucks on the cooker. Well, times a wastin' and the price is going up in 8 days. Anyone heard yet what the price increase will be?
 
SteveEd said:
Harry Soo swears by it apparently for the same reasons you mention. At twice the price I'm sure it's worth it but that's a wait and see thing for me after spending a few bucks on the cooker. Well, times a wastin' and the price is going up in 8 days. Anyone heard yet what the price increase will be?
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They’ve all been $100 each time.
 
I know this thread is on its last thread but here's a potentially cheap way to raise the food grate higher above the coals or to add cook space. This is Baby Back Maniac's video showing an outrageous 8 pork butts at once on the WSK. The Rutland fire bricks add 4.5 inches of height. That's a Weber 22 inch SS hinged grate. BBM put 4 more butts on top to make it 8 total. He didn't mention any stability issues during the video and I couldn't see any.

Like I said, I don't need the expanded cook area but maybe (still unknown except for Brett's confidence) a little more distance between the coals and the chicken I so love. I have until Thursday night to make up my mind to pull the trigger on a WSK or lose $100 to the price increase. By the way, the most elegant solution to raising the grill with a respectable amount of surface is probably still the Ceramic Grill Store's XL Expander with a truncated 20 inch grate permanently attached that's referenced earlier in this thread. Its price is $118. The fire bricks are $35 and the Weber 22 inch grate is $35 so $48 cheaper than the Expander. It's even cheaper is you already own a grate:
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I saw that video too. Thats a good setup for a huge cook OR what you’re wanting to do. I say pull the trigger so we can your cooks…..Yes, that may be a little selfish on my part😀.
I haven’t been disappointed with the WSK in any way. Its better than I thought it would be and I also bought mine a week before a price hike.
 
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