Plate Setter ?

You may hear from the real experts here. But, in my experience, the answer is yes...and...no. The place setter is a large ceramic mass and sucks up lots of heat when put in, and maintains heat after it gets up to temperature. It's great for indirect cooking, but anything on it directly will get a full dose of heat. You may want to have some air circulation space between the place setter and the material that holds what you are cooking.

I agree with Fidel…Plate setter legs up, a drip pan with the grid atop the legs.
I always set up the Egg for indirect with a drip pan (with a little juice in it) when doing a chicken or a turkey.
If I want to smoke the chick I use a pretty low (300 F.) temp. with smoke-wood for the first hour, then kick it up to 375-400 F. for another hour. The key is to check the temp. and pull when its there. Don’t just rely on the clock…It’s never right!! Too many variables…
Here, however, I differ with Fidel a bit. I like my chicken “falling apart” and therefore take the temp. of the breast to the 170 even 180 F. mark. I haven’t experienced an “overdone” at these temps. so far… Just way juicy and falling apart tender.
BTW, a 1999 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service, Serve Safe memo states that a whole chicken should temp. out at 180 F. For what ever that may be worth.

BTW, a 1999 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service, Serve Safe memo states that a whole chicken should temp. out at 180 F.

couple years ago, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) changed to 165 degrees for poultry.

Safe Cooking
FSIS recommends cooking whole chicken to a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F as measured using a food thermometer. Check the internal temperature in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook poultry to higher temperatures.

Pink Meat
The color of cooked chicken is not a sign of its safety. Only by using a food thermometer can one accurately determine that chicken has reached a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F throughout. The pink color in safely cooked chicken may be due to the hemoglobin in tissues which can form a heat-stable color. Smoking or grilling may also cause this reaction, which occurs more in young birds.


http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Chicken_Food_Safety_Focus/index.asp

Further support for the Maverick ET-73. I have twoof them and love'em. Kep track of the instructions - you'll eventually want to know how to contact them to buy replacement probes. As with all probes - don't want to kink the wires, no immerse in water - eventually they will break.

Thermapen is great - I have borrowed one a couple times - but personally I'm saving that money for a Digi-Q.

Spatchcock works great - I do that for Jamaican Jerked chicken, but the 'ole beer can chicken still impresses the natives more than a spatchcocked chicken!

buy the adjustable rig; use top ring and spatchcock 400F one hour - Done! and can't be beaten direct or indirect.

i have found using the rig combined with 13" pizza stone for indirect cooking gives me much finer temp control far beyong that of the placesetter...