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Raised Direct - Why Wouldn't You?

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tksmoke
tksmoke Posts: 776
in EggHead Forum
Just received the CGS Woo 2 for my new MBGE.  Ever since I started using the XL, all direct cooks have been raised direct with either the Woo2 or AR, except for searing on the lower ring of the Woo2.  So my question is: the BGE design has the cooking grid on top of the fire ring - when is it advantageous to cook with the grid there?  I would guess there is a reason behind the design (other than to open up a product niche for CGS).   
Santa Paula, CA
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  • r8rs4lf
    r8rs4lf Posts: 317
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    I'm not an expert on the history of the egg, but I would assume there were many years when eggers did not have products from the CGS or the CGW's. We are just spoiled.  :D 

    Back in the day those people made due without a raised grid and I'm sure things turned out great! Again, we are spoiled! \:D/

    As for using the grid on the fire ring, I would think a lower temp would need to be used to not burn the food.

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  • TexanOfTheNorth
    TexanOfTheNorth Posts: 3,951
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    I put the grid directly on the fire ring when my lump level has decreased back to the fire bowl level and don't want/need to add more lump. I also do it that way when I use my CI griddle for blackening.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Well, "spa-Peggy" is kind of like spaghetti. I'm not sure what Peggy does different, if anything. But it's the one dish she's kind of made her own.
    ____________________
    Aurora, Ontario, Canada
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  • tksmoke
    tksmoke Posts: 776
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    @r8rs4lf - I can understand how the egg may have started with the cooking grid position at it's current location.  But BGE does change the design (if minimally and not always in a positive direction - can you say plastic handles and shelves?).  But since it seems like it is almost always beneficial to do raised direct, why wouldn't they modify the design so that out of the box folks could be more successful?  Some of their competition offers different grill positions as a standard feature.  Sorry, just the Vulcan in me escaping...
    Santa Paula, CA
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    edited June 2014
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     That's a great question.  I find it puzzling that they haven't incorporated this into the design as well.  It seems to me that something like the Woo would be very cheap to mass produce and include with the egg.  I have a feeling that BGE might have to consider something like this now that Kamadoe Joe comes standard with the "divide and conquer" system. 

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • mark11
    mark11 Posts: 55
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    I make spatch chicken and bone in chicken breasts on the grid on top of the fire ring and it always comes out great. Admittedly I'm still learning and don't have a Woo 2 or an AR. What's the improvement gained from raising the grid higher?
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  • tksmoke
    tksmoke Posts: 776
    edited June 2014
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    For spatchcock chicken there are 2 immediate benefits.  First, you get the chicken further away from the direct heat source, so there is less "burning".  Second, you have more benefit from the reflected heat stored by the ceramic of the dome.  This provides a more even cooking of the chicken (or whatever you are cooking).

    There is no doubt the food you prepare on the egg is excellent - adding techniques (like raised direct) can turn it up a notch.  I've learned a huge amount from the discussions on this and other forums.  Elevating my Q-game is very satisfying.

    And, actually that is why I asked this question originally.  There is a huge amount of accumulated knowledge here.   

    Santa Paula, CA
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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    I do most of my grilling with the factory setup - grill grate on the fire-ring.  I guess it depends on what you're cooking and how you're cooking it.  And how much attention you want to pay to it.  Raised grid and moderate heat can be a shut it and forget it cook.

    And what north texan said - as your lump level can change like the tides in the Bay of Fundy, you can compensate for that by changing the height of the grill grate.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    tksmoke said:
    @r8rs4lf - I can understand how the egg may have started with the cooking grid position at it's current location.  But BGE does change the design (if minimally and not always in a positive direction - can you say plastic handles and shelves?).  But since it seems like it is almost always beneficial to do raised direct, why wouldn't they modify the design so that out of the box folks could be more successful?  Some of their competition offers different grill positions as a standard feature.  Sorry, just the Vulcan in me escaping...
    Personally, the plastic handles and shelves represent a low/no maintenance option, a convenience many clients like. Wood requires a clean/sand/preservative annual task if your egg is sitting outside and you want to maintain a pristine appearance. 

    As noted, grilling is done mostly with grid on the fire ring, roasting/baking with the setter and grid at the felt line. Raised direct used for wings and spatched yardbirds. 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • jhl192
    jhl192 Posts: 1,006
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    The WOO2 and AR provide a great number of additional options for cooking just about anything.  One thing you will find, when you ask a question on this forum,  There are a lot of clever folks and there is often numerous good ways to skin the pig!  
    XL BGE; Medium BGE; L BGE 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
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    I guess I never really gave it much thought, but now that you bring it up, I can't recall the last time I cooked anything with the grid on the fire ring. Always raised, either with a platesetter or with my homemade thingie for direct cooks. I really should get (or make) a Woo. :) Or better (cheaper) yet, learn to cook on the fire ring. My next spatch is gonna be there. After all... I like char!  :))

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • mark11
    mark11 Posts: 55
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    I've been going to order a Woo2 for a few weeks and haven't gotten around to it. I guess tonight is as good a time as any to get it ordered.
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  • KenfromMI
    KenfromMI Posts: 742
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    I use three bricks on the firebox and with the grate on the bricks that puts me at the felt line. Zero cost recommendation from someone on here. Had the bricks in the garage.
    Dearborn MI
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
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    Before my woo  and platesetter /that I got at  xmas this year/I cooked everything direct since 1985 with the grate on top of the ring. All was good. Do the new items make a difference??? Beats me. Maybe for pizza.
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • brimee
    brimee Posts: 127
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    Aimage
    All of mine are raised… Four stainless bolts some washers and nuts (what can I say, I'm cheap & have a lot of hardware in the garage). with the four bolts, the grid still fits over the plate setter.

    I never understood how you could get a spatula under anything if the grid was on the fire ring...
    Brian
    Fairview, Texas
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