Grid and Dome Temp Findings

Puj · March 2002

All,[p]Over the weekend I made a goulash soup in the large Egg. I wanted to maintain low heat for a prolonged period of time. So I put the ol¡¦ Polder probe through a tater to monitor the grid temp and here are my findings in the never ending Forum quest to understand the relationship between heat, grid temp, dome temp, and cook setup.[p]
The Cook
Goulash Soup Recipe from Penzeys Winter 2002 Catalog, page 27[p]The recipe calls for simmering the soup for 1 hour, adding potatoes to the mixture and raise the heat to medium and cook for another 45 minutes for a total heat time of approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.[p]
The Plan
My setup and game plan adapted for the large Egg was to:
1. Use a dutch oven, lid on,
2. Utilize a direct cook,
3. Cook at a grid temperature around 250¢XF,
4. Take 3 to 5 hours to cook the soup.[p]
Findings
1. Once stabilized the grid temp locked in around 260¢XF and the dome temp maintained 230¢XF,
2. Pulled the soup from the Egg at 4 hours,
3. Soup was good, but not great. The cook, me, had a misunderstanding with the recipe. The recipe called for Hungarian Sweet Paprika and the cook used Hungarian Hot Paprika. Let¡¦s just say that the soup was a little toasty. ƒº[p]Puj

Tim M · March 2002

Puj,[p]I have gotten backward temps like that too sometimes. There is much variation in grid temp readings because there is sooo many variables. [p]What is ¢XF ?? cents times fahrenheit ?[p]Tim

Puj · March 2002

Tim M,[p]I don't think I'd call them backwards temps. The grid temp should have been higher than the dome temp. It was a direct cook, and the DO was between the grid and the dome thermometer. The relationship between the grid and dome temps was basically what I expected - 20°F to 30°F difference with grid temp being higher.[p]As for the, uhmmmm secret code, I had written this post in Word earlier today and used copy/paste into the message box. The results of which we all see.[p]Puj

sdbelt · March 2002

Puj,[p]I've seen this quite often myself. Food can act like a heat sink, and the more moist the food, the more likely the dome temp is to be lower than the grill temp. There's a lot of energy spent in converting the moisture of the food into steam, and releasing that steam into the exhaust with the smoke, thus the dome temp is lower than the grill temp.[p]I first learned this on like my 3rd cook. I had set up two levels. The lower level had chicken breasts and the upper level had corn on the cob still in it's husks (but de-stringed). The corn significantly influenced the dome temp down (like 100 degrees), due to its high moisture content.[p]--sdb

Puj · March 2002

sdbelt,[p]Just to add to your thoughts, it is relatively easy (at this temperature range) to lower the dome temp during a cook like this. Early in the cook the dome temp registered 252°F with the corresponding grid temp of 284°F. Closing the vent by about 1/4" brought the dome temp and grid temp down by 20°F in no time (6 to 8 minutes).[p]Puj

Tim M · March 2002

Puj,[p]About 2 years ago this grid vs dome subject came up. Back then I was over eager to try all sorts of things and I took 6-7 probes and stuck them all over my Egg while I was cooking something to measure temps at dome, grid, 2" above, 4" above and along the side and the chimney. I wish I had taken pics so I could atleast recall what I was cooking at the time, but I recall it being direct and around 250-275 deg dome. My results, at under 300 deg dome, showed a 10°+- difference in a couple inches up from the grid vs dome temp -- IF there was a max restriction in the top (ie: the daisy was shut as much as possible to hold the dome temp). This made sense to me since the heat pools up in the dome waiting it chance to exit, as opposed to no top on top where the heat rushes out unopposed.[p]I have and will remain quiet on this subject - I have noticed some think there is always a 50° difference, with the grid being LOWER, and that is why I called it backwards. [p]Tim - happy grill'n to all

Grid and Dome Temp Findings

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