Questions about dome heat and raised direct

JohnfromKentucky

Was reading a thread on pork loin and 2 things were mentioned that i wasn't familiar with:
 Dome heat - is this that the thermometer on the dome reads?

Raised direct - to me it sounds like it's cooking directly over coals, but raised up higher than the grate normally sits? Is that right and if so, how much higher and how do you get it that high?
The pics I have seen do not look that much higher than normal.

WeberWho

Yes and yes. Raised is usually above the gasket. All kinds of ways to get it raised. If you type in "raised grid" you should see all kinds of examples for raising the grid. 

danhoo

Direct is a grate on the fire ring

Raised direct is a grate at the felt line and needs something to raise the grate.

I have a PS woo. From ceramic grill store that raises the grate to the felt line with or without a platesetter. 

danhoo

Dome temp is used in most BGE recipes.

Grate temp in my large is about 20 degrees lower than dome temp. Just an FYI. 

kl8ton

Once I started cooking at gasket level,  I never went back down below unless quantity of food dictated.  It is far easier to work with the food at that height.  No "digging down" to flip protien.  

bbracey21

I too have the PSWoo from Ceramic Grill Store to raise the grid. I find cooking at the felt line is a must for certain proteins. It’s my 2nd favorite accessory to my thermoworks thermapen. 

As mentioned different ways to get it raised but the PSWoo is perfect for me. Bonus it holds the platesetter for indirect cooking as well. 

danhoo

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/products/large-pswoo-bge-expander

RyanStl

Or you can get the cheaper Spider from Ceramic Grill Store to raise the grate.  I use it for that, holds my drip pan, and holds a wok 

Langner91

Three beer cans equally spaced and set on your fire ring, will raise your grid to felt level.  Try cooking chicken or pork there.  Brats are another thing that I wouldn't cook any other way.  It slows the direct cooking down enough to get the meat done in the middle without charring the outside so much.

Then, if you like it, you can spend as much as you would like to raise it up.  Firebricks, rigs from CGS or BGE, soda cans, bolts and washers, there are a million ways to get the grid up higher.

Powak

Raised direct’s great for larger cuts of meat like
spatchcocked birds and pork tenderloins. It does make juicy burgers but I find you lose some
of the mallaird effect you get when closer to the fire especially with chicken and pork.

On the other hand if you cook at the felt you can load more coal in, up to and above the fire ring snd with the dome open/bottom vent closed you get a pretty nice setup for grilling.

1voyager

I built my own rig for raised direct/indirect cooking. This is a 17" Weber grate plus 4" stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers for my Large. Grate sits about 3" above the felt. (OK, @RRP Rutland.) This configuration is indirect, but my intention is to show you what "raised" looks like.

MasterC

Eggspander and thefirebox eggstention gets the grid up to thermometer level.

danhoo

There's lots of options for raised direct.   @JohnfromKentucky
since you have the platesetter, the PSWoo is a good option for raised direct and raising indirect.

Last weekend I found I had one piece of fruitwood that was smoking badly and needed to move it, and it was really convenient to pickup the entire setup including the ribs on the grate and move it aside to get to the coals.

And my pellet grill is a nice heat proof side table 😉

fishlessman

never owned a platesetter, just used firebricks and a second grid

put a grid on top of this and its raised indirect, pull the ones out that are laying flat and its raised direct. did this for years til the ceramic grill store made the adjustable rig, makes things easier. tom at the store has a few options and its probably better to cook on the egg for a while before deciding whats best for you. thats a cheap weber 18 inch grid bought at homedepot under the setup which makes this solution easy and affordable