High-Que Fire Basket .... Impressions

Ozzie_Isaac

Full disclosure, Smokeware sent @Jeepster47 a High-Que Fire basket gratis.  @Jeepster47 was in the middle of his lump burn rate experiments and ran out of time to give it a whirl before he left on a trip.  So he gave it to me to try out.

First off, I am not the target audience for the fire basket.  I do not have a large and for multi-zone cooks I just use multiple eggs.  I decided to use it in my medium just to try out the multi-zone functionality.  It actually fit really well in my medium. When coupled with the Woo it functioned very well.

Conclusion:  Very well made.  Lots of options for controlling your heat zones.  If you have a Kick ash basket I do not think it offers enough benefits to drop a $100, however, if you have a large and no kick ash basket then I think it offers up something worth checking out.  The additional cost over the KAB is worth it if you want dual zone functionality.  I could definitely see some great ways to use it.  (I actually plan to see if @Jeepster47 will let me keep it for my medium )

The fire basket can be found on the Smokeware website.

Unpacking:

There are three parts.  The basket (by itself functions just like a KAB).  Then a piece to divide the fire box in half, and another piece to block airflow on one side of the basket.  The divider is pretty heavy gauge and is formed nicely.  The airflow shield piece is thinner gauge, but it shouldn't see heat like the divider so I don't see any issue with that design choice.







Setup: ****(Remember this is in a Medium.  it is designed for a Large, but I actually liked the fit in my Medium.  It sits up much higher in the medium than it will in a large)*****


I used it as a dual zone setup in my medium.  I cooked two steaks Sous Vide.  I just seared them on the hot side.  I checked temps and I could have done a reverse sear on the cool side if I had wished.  The basket flows a bunch of air and worked really well for searing.  I even had my woo so there was a decent amount of height between the the coals and the grate.





One issue I have is if you want to do dual zone you are pretty much stuck to only putting lump up to the height of the basket.  In this setup is is really meant to be used for grilling.  If you are used to a kettle then you will feel right at home using the divider.


Cooking:
It will still function great for low and slows.  Just fill it up to the top of the fire ring and it will function just like the Kick Ash Basket!  Really you get a KAB functionality with the option for multi-zone grilling.








Clean-Up:
After I snuffed the fire out here is the pick from the next morning:



Overall it worked great.  All the benefits of a kick ash basket with added flexibility for multi-zone cooking.

bigalsworth

great review, thank you.  BGE accessories are almost becoming like electronics, as soon as you buy one another model with more features comes out

Golfguy77

Nice review.  Pretty cool accessory.

blasting

Well done review @Ozzie_Isaac

RRP

Well written and well played!

lousubcap

Just one more thing for the toy box-Great documentation and review.  For that level of effort I'm sure @Jeepster47  will be more than willing to extract additional payment to enable you to keep  

pgprescott

Well done @Ozzie_Isaac! Did Tom leave you a flow chart on the proposed evaluation to follow???? Keep us posted of your continued evaluation during use.

I like it , but like the table nest they offer, ouch!

RRP

Just like the stainless cap this is another after market product that is allowing Matt aka SmokeWare to eat BGE's lunch.

johnmitchell

Awesome review.. Thanks..

lousubcap

@RRP - So right, the difference between the agility of a small company and a corporate entity.  That said, with the in-flux of ceramic cookers over the past few years along with the likes of cgs, smokeware, high-que and other accessory manufacturing companies I would have thought BGE would have moved much quicker to respond to the challenges.  
You cannot rest on your laurels or your competition will blow right by and enjoy eating your lunch.  FWIW-

Ozzie_Isaac

Btw, I want to clear up one thing.  Neither @Jeepster47 nor I have any stake in Smokeware.

Matt has been kind enough to occasionally send us things he wants feedback on. When I use something that I think is good or the board might be interested in I post a review.

Matt has never asked me to post a review, on the board,  I have never asked his permission either.  When I post a review Matt sees it the same time you guys do.

Also, one good thing about the hour lock on vanilla is no matter what I couldn't change my review.

Ozzie_Isaac

lousubcap said:

Just one more thing for the toy box-Great documentation and review.  For that level of effort I'm sure @Jeepster47  will be more than willing to extract additional payment to enable you to keep  

Before he left this time he emptied out his freezer!  Guess I shouldn't have posted me cooking his ribs.

Jeepster47

Good review, but you were supposed to try it in the XL ... that's the BIGGEST egg you own, not the MIDDLE egg.  Geez.

If any local eggers what to take it for a test drive, please get with Ozzie to borrow it.  Like most High-Que products, it looks well made ... you can't hurt it, so you might as well join in the fun.