handing food on bottom rack with atc


 
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PaulBz

TVWBB Fan
So with my automatic temp control hooked to the top rack I would imagine it's a little cumbersome handling food on the bottom rack. I haven't yet made more than one brisket or more than two rack of ribs. I am thinking of two briskets for St. Patty's day. I live in dogtown in St. Louis. So when I feel like the bottom brisket is done but the top isn't I have to remove the top brisket and then atc probe to get the meat off the bottom section. I'll obviously put the bigger brisket on the bottom and I guess that would solve it. And I guess ribs can just come out of the window not over the top. Any thoughts?
 
Going to be very difficult pulling anything out of the door. With the rack in place, you've only got an ~ 8x10 window (and I'm being generous) with the rack in the way.

Plus you gotta know that the ribs wlll be sticking to the rack you're trying to remove it from.

Practice pulling out a rib rack first (this assumes it's laying flat--use a frozen one if u have one. If it's going to be coiled, I'd recommend against it) before trying to rely on that as an exit strategy.
 
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I'm confused; is it that cumbersome to temporarily detach the thermo wires from the top rack and letting them hang over the WSM base while removing the top grate? I'm probably not comprehending the dilemma.
 
I guess it’s not a big dilemma. And I won’t bet able to fit the ribs through the window. It is a little cumbersome having to take the probe off then food then grate while I tend to the food below. All the wile the temp of the pit going down. I haven’t used top and bottom greats yet as I don’t have that many people to cook for. But with my new project I am going to be cooking a lot more bbq for the public so I’ll need both grates. On a side note please donate to my go fund me for my new bbq project for some new wsm’s and atc’s. Haha. I know that won’t happen. But wish me luck that I am able to make it happen.
 
If your ATC has a low temp alarm I would turn it off. My lo temp alarm is annoying and doesn't shut off. Lift the top grate off with the food on it and set aside. Deal with the food on the lower grate. If you haven't done the handle mod for the lower grate I recommend doing that. Do a dry run with a cold wsm and you'll see any pitfalls to this procedure.
 
I have the bbq iq 110. The lid off feature never goes off so I have to unplug and plug back. Not a huge deal. It goes right back up. Thanks lew I'll try that.
 
I take it you have a newer WSM W/ the grommet? I don't use probes any more, but alot of members have better luck using the slot method.
OBTW top should cook faster than bottom and if you add handles on your midsection you can lift it off and place it on something ( like a mat ) then put the lid back on the charcoal bowl to avoid heat spikes.
And then you can flip or flop or baste with no worries.:wsm:

Tim
 
Good question. I spilled an entire rack of chicken wings in the water pan one time. Because you have to angle the great to get it in and out. I was trying to get wings a little crispier by following the Bill Gillespie method of removing the water pan. It just became a pain and I can't believe the bottom rack of wings don't get burnt. Anyway they're crispy enough just using it with the water pan. But yes I just bought my 18.5 inch on black friday. What is the slot method? And obtw? Sorry a newbie on here. When I make the two briskets, I'll just move as fast as i can. I can check doneness easily through the window. With ribs I use the bend test. That may not be so easy to check on bottom grate. I don't have a problem with food sticking to the rack though. I spray the rack before cooking. And use the veggie oil paper towel trick that america's test kitchen originally taught me.
 
Ah that is a great idea! So then I can pick up the grate making sure not to pinch the wire in the slot of course but that's easy. And then I can easily take off the top grate and setit on a table or metal chair. Or just move my kettle close when I'm doing that.
 
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