Q's and Roasting Pans


 
J

Jeff F

TVWBB Super Fan
On all the Aussie Q videos, and in about every post I've read of Captain Cook's there is a recommendation against using a roasting pan, in favor of aluminum foil with holes poked in it or the pre-punched roasting shields. I've used both, and it works great. Is the point here that capturing the drippings can be a fire hazard? I get that...but those drippings are also the basis for some wonderful sauces and gravies.

Has anyone here actually had a fire in a roasting pan on a Q? Is there another issue besides fire safety that I am missing?

I did a whole chicken in a little enamel roaster I have used in the house oven for years. No incidents and amazing sauce.
 
Here's my set up from last night. I used a Q roasting shield on the grate, a generic half size aluminum pan on the shield, the Q trivet on the pan.

roastchicken1.jpg


I mixed butter, dijon mustard, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper together. Smushed some of it under the skin and then slathered the rest all over the chicken. I put a couple hands full of apple pellets in the smoking tube and ran the temperature up to 475. Gave the chicken a 15 minute head start then added potatoes, carrots, onions and white wine to the aluminum pan. I lowered the temperature to 375 when I put in the veggies. Here it is about 20 minutes before I pulled it off.

roastchicken2.jpg


I got pretty much exactly what I wanted. The veggies, white wine, herbed butter and chicken juices came together beautifully. The pan was shielded enough that it didn't scorch. The chicken got a nice crispy skin and was juicy throughout, though perfectly done. The only thing I will change next time is that the chicken didn't need a head start on the veggies. They could have cooked the extra 15 minutes and been even better than they were. This is slightly different from the roaster I used last week, in that the chicken is spatchcocked and not actually sitting in the juices. But, in both cases, retaining the juice from the chicken added something to the meal.

I'm doing this with a turkey breast next.
 
I would imagine that allowing drippings to hit the heat source is for flavor. When the fat vaporizes it adheres to the surface of meat just as smoke from wood does.
 
Yeah, Dave, I get that, but it doesn't happen that much with a Q. A little bit gets close enough to the burner tubes to ignite, but the cooking grate is designed keep most of it off the burner tubes, so it falls into the bowl and runs down to the catch pan. I'm willing to sacrifice the tiny bit of grease flare for some gravy.
 
G'day
I have used a shallow pan filled with water, roast on the trivet on top. On the lowest setting your then able to take the time for a roast out to 4 to 5 hours. The water must be filled every 1/2 hour or so. Worth the effort and you have drippings for gravy
Regards Dave
 
Jeff I like the way you've got your chicken there and intend on doing that in my Q320 but i'm not sure if I'd like juice from a raw chicken (not yet cooked) to be dripping on y veggies....I dunno...maybe i'm over cautious.

You'll find why the chicken has cooked quicker than you thought is because you have it raised up higher in the lid area where all the heat is....a great way to do pizza by the way...so therefore you don't need to head start the chicken.

Cheers

Davo
 
Davo,

The chicken drippings cook thoroughly in the pan. You can see it boiling. It's no different from roasting a chicken and vegetables in an inside oven.

I really like the Q for roast chicken. I have a lot of different cooking vessels to use, and convenience aside, the Q produces the best tasting roast chicken.
 
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