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A Platesetter with holes? Suggestions for smoking success.

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JazzmanK
JazzmanK Posts: 4
in EggHead Forum
I have been smoking turkeys, tri-tip, the occasional brisket, for about 8 years, but just got an XL BGE the day before Thanksgiving.  Thus far, I love it.  However I am having difficulty getting the smoke evenly around the meat.  My turkey tastes great on the top, nice and evenly smoked, but the bottom has almost no smoke on it.  You can easily see this by the nice brown color on top, and the much more pale color on the bottom.    I am using Applewood.  I have the platesetter legs up, one leg at 12:00, a 8x8 pan of water on top of the platesetter, then the grill grate, and finally the meat.  The heat seems to be generally even.  I think the platesetter is channeling all the smoke around the outside of the egg, and it is not getting to the underside of the meat.   Does BGE make a platesetter with small holes in it to allow the smoke to flow through it while still spreading the heat to avoid hotspots?  Have any of you creative types ever tried to drill holes in a platesetter? (my fear is that it would crack!)  Any  other ideas to allow the smoke to rise evenly off the coals and get to the meat while still keeping the majority of the heat diffused?  Any thoughts or suggestions would  be appreciated.  Thanks!  
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  • cook861
    cook861 Posts: 872
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    Welcome to the BGE we like pictures
    Trenton ON 1 mbge for now
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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,458
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    Welcome to the forum. +1 losing water.
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    What Cen-Tex said.The egg is a closed cooking environment. You really can't get your temp up past 212* with water in it.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Ladeback69
    Ladeback69 Posts: 4,482
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    I agree, you don't need the water. I've cooked my turkey in a V rack inside a pan to catch the juice and had no no problem with flavor. I don't believe they make a PS with holes.
    XL, WSM, Coleman Road Trip Gas Grill

    Kansas City, Mo.
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  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
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    @Little Steven‌ huh? I put drip pans with water in them all the time so my drippings don't burn and there's water in the pan the whole cook and its way over 212.
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  • sodigthisbigcrux
    sodigthisbigcrux Posts: 127
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    welcome......I'll leave advice to the experts, but nice to see another Jazz head around here. (unless you're just a Utah Bball fan)
    Battle Ground, WA
    Large BGE,  MiniMax  and a Vision Kub.
    Could you call on Lady Day, could you call on John Coltrane?
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  • Mattman3969
    Mattman3969 Posts: 10,457
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    Little Steven said:
    What Cen-Tex said.The egg is a closed cooking environment. You really can't get your temp up past 212* with water in it.

    Lit said:
    @Little Steven‌ huh? I put drip pans with water in them all the time so my drippings don't burn and there's water in the pan the whole cook and its way over 212.

    Could be way off here but I am guessing that the overall temp of the egg is higher than 212° but directly over the water pan before the steam was disapated would be closer to 212° because of the steam. I don't use water and am not saying it's right or wrong. @lit do you find any similarities in any of your cooks when smoking as the OP?

    -----------------------------------------

    analyze adapt overcome

    2008 -Large BGE. 2013- Small BGE and 2015 - Mini. Henderson, Ky.
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  • SMITTYtheSMOKER
    SMITTYtheSMOKER Posts: 2,668
    edited December 2014
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    Little Steven said:
    .... You really can't get your temp up past 212* with water in it.
    Okay, I'll bite.... why do you think you can't cook at 300° (or higher) with liquid in the Egg?

     

    -SMITTY     

    from SANTA CLARA, CA

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  • henapple
    henapple Posts: 16,025
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    Welcome. ...
    Green egg, dead animal and alcohol. The "Boro".. TN 
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  • DaveRichardson
    DaveRichardson Posts: 2,324
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    I'm with @henapple‌ and grabbing the popcorn...... Someone pass me a beer!

    Lose the water pan.

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

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  • Texasguppie
    Texasguppie Posts: 13
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    Ditch. The. Water. Swap the apple for hickory or pecan. You'll then find overall smokey happiness.
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  • FATC1TY
    FATC1TY Posts: 888
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    You have your meat next to a water pan.. there's your problem. Ditch the water pan, and get a raised grid. Problem solved. I've never had a problem getting "even" smoke. I think what you are looking at it, more cooking then smoking. The top will be more brown because it's higher in the dome, where the heat is at. No need for holes in anything to get even smoke, the smoke follows the draft, and it's straight up and around in the dome.
    -FATC1TY
    Grillin' and Brewing in Atlanta
    LBGE
    MiniMax
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  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,970
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    Texasguppie said:

    Ditch. The. Water.
    Swap the apple for hickory or pecan.
    You'll then find overall smokey happiness.

    Disagree about swapping Apple. One of my favorites on pork and chicken. If you aren't getting the flavor you want with any wood you choose, there is another issue.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
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  • UrbanForestTurnings
    UrbanForestTurnings Posts: 1,294
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    I have cooked on the cheap water smokers for years. On the lower rack that sits on the pan that would happen all the time. On your next cook raise your grid that should help. I wouldn't mess with drilling holes
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,378
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    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  If you get some distance between the cooking grid and the drip pan sitting on the platesetter the smoke environment for the bottom of your cooking meat will improve.  If you will a "raised indirect" setup.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    If the space between the grid and the top edge of the water pan is less than an inch or so, you are steaming the bottom of the bird and smoking the top. The water vapour will keep the smoke away from the food on the grid, the food on the dome side gets lots of smoke. 
    Suggest you try some ½" spacers (dollar store cooling rack, copper tees or small foil balls) on the setter and a dollar store pizza pan without water on the spacers. I wrap my pizza pan in foil to ease clean up. The low profile of the pizza pan allows much better smoke and air movement. As it is shallow, watch it does not overflow. This will give you almost 2" of non-steaming smoke space below the grid and above the setter/pan. 

    With your set-up a setter with holes wouldn't be much of an improvement IMO as any smoke coming through the setter still has to go around the water pan. Give dry a try!
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
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    I only do turkey raised direct. But if I did want to go indirect would this work? image
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

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  • TN2TX
    TN2TX Posts: 298
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    @mickey awesome grate. Where did you get that? Online or Texas retailer? 
    Dallas, TX
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  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,674
    edited December 2014
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    @TN2TX‌ Was given to me by Friends at the last Salado EggFest. Made in Texas. Texas BBQ & Catering in Willis. www.texansbbq.co. image
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

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  • JazzmanK
    JazzmanK Posts: 4
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    Thank you so very much to all who have chimmed in!  Honorable mention to Skiddymarker, whose comment made it very clear what the problem is.  I get the distinct impression that I should eliminate the water.  Done!  That is certainly an easy fix. 
    My wife has had enough of turkey for a while, so I probably won't do another one for at least a month or so.  I look forward to trying the new BGE way!  Thanks again!!
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  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,527
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    I wonder what that girl in green cap is thinking  8-|
    canuckland
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    First and foremost let me say welcome aboard. Now to your question of drilling holes in the plate setter. I have never tried it myself but I feel that it's not feasible. Ceramics do not lend themselves real well to vibration. However on a side note, I have improvised your suggested setup many times. I took the original cast iron lump grate out of my large BGE and use it for a semi indirect set up in my mini. Over all I have been very pleased with the results. In my opinion, this set up produces as good of country style ribs that you could ask for. Chicken leg quarters are also outstanding using this set up. It combines the best qualities of direct and indirect together. Again I would not recommend drilling into the ceramics. For reference, here is my improvised set up for my mini.

    imageimageimage

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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