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Direct raised vs. not raised

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Ozzie_Isaac
Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 19,168
edited March 2015 in EggHead Forum
When cooking direct I always go raised.  The only time I lower is when searing.

How do you guys decide raised vs. not raised?
They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That's against their interests. - George Carlin
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,448
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    Direct raised is my default for direct cooks-a couple of benefits, closer to the dome and more distance from the lump.  I am cooking direct only when it is a sear type cook as mentioned by @Ozzie_Issac. 
    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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  • nolaegghead
    nolaegghead Posts: 42,102
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    The level of you lump/fire can vary by more than the distance between the top  of the fire ring and the base of the egg.  What matters is achieving the temp you want that's right for the job you're doing.  Raising/lowering the grid and the controlling the height of the lit coals (and how hot the fire is) are variables that you can control to dial in your direct heat.  Not to mention the vents.
    ______________________________________________
    I love lamp..
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    Burgers, Fish, Steak - Not raised

    Spatch, Wings - raised
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • Golfergirl
    Golfergirl Posts: 15
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    Newbie question....how do you raise the grid for direct cooking?
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    You can go to home depot and buy  three bricks, sit them sideways on the fire grate and poof, raised grid. Or, you can buy a PSWoo2 from Ceramic Grill Store.

     http://shop.ceramicgrillstore.com/pswoo2/

    There are other home made rigs you can find in the Forum too. 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    @Golfergirl
    The PSWoo2 device is good for things like reverse sears when you have to remove the platesetter during the cook. It's easier to remove than 3 bricks! 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • Golfergirl
    Golfergirl Posts: 15
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    Thank you, @THEBuckeye!  We are trying to learn as many helpful tips as we can
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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 19,168
    edited March 2015
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    I love the Woo.  I have one for my medium and my XL.  I don't have any plate setters.  I use pizza stones from CGS.

    The woo2 for the medium and large is very nice because the handles.  The XL does not have handles.
    They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. That's against their interests. - George Carlin
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  • Ragtop99
    Ragtop99 Posts: 1,570
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    Rarely do I cook at regular height.  I generally do raised in the medium because it is easier than reaching down into the grill.  As NOLA pointed out, I'll vary the lump fill height depending upon my cooking strategy.  There are times when I want all the coals glowing for a uniform searing across the entire grid.  If the coals are too close to the grid, the grill gets too hot, so then I use a smaller load of lump.  For a spatch yardbird, I might use a larger load of coals since it doesn't take much of a fire to hold 375* and the fire can be closer to the grid.

    If I'm doing wings direct, I like using the XL because raised direct gives a lot of room between the coals and wings.  Because the fire will be in small area, I have to rotate the wings over the area with the fire.  If I sear on the XL, I use a spider with a CI grid and get close to the coals. 
    Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
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  • johnkitchens
    johnkitchens Posts: 5,227
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    I don't do raised direct any longer. I either cook direct or use my platesetter. 

    Louisville, GA - 2 Large BGE's
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  • JonWesson
    JonWesson Posts: 161
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    bump
    large small and mini all in legal proceedings but i can use them for now no more, all gone                                                                                                                        usa somewhere on the road
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