foiling platesetter

DWFII · June 2018

Is there any point? I have a used platesetter and after cleaning it up I would still hesitate to cook pizza on it.

But I used to foil my ceramic heat sink in my old WSM and it stayed pretty clean. Just wondering--if I'm never gonna cook pizza on my platesetter is there any point in trying to keep it relatively clean?

Does the foil add or detract from the purpose of the platesetter? Does the foil change the thermal performance of the Egg?

RRP · June 2018

DWFII said:

Is there any point? I have a used platesetter and after cleaning it up I would still hesitate to cook pizza on it.

But I used to foil my ceramic heat sink in my old WSM and it stayed pretty clean. Just wondering--if I'm never gonna cook pizza on my platesetter is there any point in trying to keep it relatively clean?

Does the foil add or detract from the purpose of the platesetter? Does the foil change the thermal performance of the Egg?

You will get more hits for the pros and cons about foiling a PS than telling this forum who you voted for and WHY in 2016.

Personally I always foil mine. Reason? Foiling will allow you to clear off the burnt up drippings crap. Of course the more BBQ sauce and fat the meat has then the more the black build up.

BUT in the end - the call is yours!

DoubleEgger · June 2018

I’m in the foil camp. I don’t want to impart flavor on the next cook.

Thomasc18 · June 2018

I foil mine. Always have. Just trying to keep it somewhat cleaner.

booksw · June 2018

I foil only for chicken wings because it seem to make grease flare ups less likely

DWFII · June 2018

Good point about "off" flavours.

jtcBoynton · June 2018

I never foil the platesetter, but use a foiled drip pan to catch drippings.

SSQUAL612 · June 2018

Hard to get decent reception here so a little foil helps get a couple more channels.

DWFII · June 2018

jtcBoynton said:

I never foil the platesetter, but use a foiled drip pan to catch drippings.

So do I. In my old WSM I used a big terracotta plant saucer and always had it foiled and always just let the drippings cool overnight. At that point, it was easy peasy to pull the foil and the drippings off and throw 'em away.

Using the platesetter, I just use a disposable aluminum pan to catch drippings. But I foil it, as well...for the same reason as above.

bgebrent · June 2018

I wear a foil hat sometimes. Platesetter, as necessary.

Mattman3969 · June 2018

Use the correct size drip pan and there’s no need to waste foil on the PS.

Theophan · June 2018

I went for years without foiling, never noticed any off flavors. Drippings just turn to carbon, seems to me. But somehow, I think maybe just reading people on this forum saying how awful it was not to, I started using disposable drip pans. Then I decided that was throwing too much perfectly good aluminum in the landfill, so these days I usually sort of form a drip pan out of aluminum foil and put it on the plate setter. Cheaper, too.

bgebrent · June 2018

Air gapped drip pans are all you need unless your food exceeds the pan size.

Dobie · June 2018

I foil but leave it on there for 2-3 weeks before changing.

DMW · June 2018

bgebrent said:

Air gapped drip pans are all you need unless your food exceeds the pan size.

Agree, but I can't find a drip pan that fits the XXL plate setter, so I've been using foil.

bgebrent · June 2018

DMW said:

bgebrent said:

Air gapped drip pans are all you need unless your food exceeds the pan size.

Agree, but I can't find a drip pan that fits the XXL plate setter, so I've been using foil.

Makes sense Dwayne. Big surface area. And, yum.

jtcBoynton · June 2018

This is my setup on a large

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/zz/uxtyno4ss7s3.jpg

DWFII · June 2018

That's a very large drip pan. What is it? 16"? Is it disposable? Is it commonly available?

I can see why you wouldn't feel a need to foil the PS.

fishlessman · June 2018

ive never foiled a platesetter, but ive never cooked on one either

jtcBoynton · June 2018

large egg, 16" stainless steel pan. Not disposable. From CGS. They have an 18" for XL eggs. They are actually made for serving trays. You can find larger ones on the web that might do for XXL eggs, but they seem to be quite pricey in the larger sizes.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/im/7lwdm61jghf4.jpg

BobDanger · June 2018

Looks like a pizza pan with foil.

DMW · June 2018

BobDanger said:

Looks like a pizza pan with foil.

Slightly deeper. And the 24" ones I've found online are really expensive.

SonVolt · June 2018

I just use one of those enameled steel broiler pans that come with every oven ever made. It goes right in the dishwasher, no foil wasted. I've also got a couple heavy gauge 17" aluminum deep dish pizza pans that would work perfectly as drip pans. They're pretty cheap too.

jonnymack · June 2018

I've always foiled to keep the PS clean and then I don't have to scrap off drippings and whatnot afterwards.

SonVolt · June 2018

You guys just leave the foil on permanently? Or replace it every cook?

DWFII · June 2018

SonVolt said:

You guys just leave the foil on permanently? Or replace it every cook?

Eventually, the side toward the fire...and so very close to the fire...gets "burnt" and it needs to be replaced. Which raises its own set of questions, I suppose...

It's one of the reasons I asked the question in the OP.

The other is that foiling the PS makes getting a plate setter lifter on the dern thing, difficult.

That said, over the years I have run across a number of folks who seem so indifferent to the build up of what can only called "gunk", that they literally don't (and don't see a need) clean their cooking grids...ever. I guess the thought...which is similar to some of what has been expressed here...is that the next cook will burn off, or at least sterilize, the residue from the previous cook.

But, for better or worse, I'm a little horrified by that notion. I need a little cleanliness.

jtcBoynton · June 2018

Heat the platesetter up to around 600 or more (which is easy to due being directly over the fire). All the organics that can cause problems will be burnt up - it is clean. Don't confuse cleanliness with color stains.

It is harder to handle the grease that flows off the plate setter onto the unburnt lump. It can stay there until those pieces get hot enough during a subsequent cook and then give off a nasty grease smoke.

CSH · June 2018

I went to my local home improvement store and bought a water heater drip pan in the right size, covered it with foil, then rolled some foil "snakes" to give the pan an air gap from my platesetter. I change the foil when it gets gunky.

fishlessman · June 2018

if you want to make things easier use a raised grid over a foil lined pan and skip the platesetter. its cheaper than disposable foil pans and the carbon steel pan can either be washed in the sink or allowed to patina. save the platesetter and the heat retention you get from it for bread making, its practically useless for low and slow and roasting temps

DWFII · June 2018

fishlessman said:

its practically useless for low and slow and roasting temps

How do you mean?

I just did a small butt (first cook in my completed EGG) ...I wanted to be at 260° to shorten the cook a bit. As with my WSM, I wanted a thermal sink to stabilize and hold the temp.

I used the platesetter (foiled) and a drip pan. I held 265° for 5+ hours and the temp didn't vary from that by any noticeable amount--if the thermometer is correct, if didn't deviate more than a degree or two during the whole cook.

I don't know if that was due to the platesetter or not but it is my understanding that that's precisely what the PS was designed for.

Pretty useful, if so.

fishlessman · June 2018

DWFII said:

fishlessman said:

its practically useless for low and slow and roasting temps

How do you mean?

I just did a small butt (first cook in my completed EGG) ...I wanted to be at 260° to shorten the cook a bit. As with my WSM, I wanted a thermal sink to stabilize and hold the temp.

I used the platesetter (foiled) and a drip pan. I held 265° for 5+ hours and the temp didn't vary from that by any noticeable amount--if the thermometer is correct, if didn't deviate more than a degree or two during the whole cook.

I don't know if that was due to the platesetter or not but it is my understanding that that's precisely what the PS was designed for.

Pretty useful, if so.

the ceramic in the egg has enough thermal sink to hold low and slow temps. the only time you really need more is with high temp cooks like bread cooking where you continuously drop loafs in over and over, i actually do the old weber trick with a deep wok full of sand in the egg for the really hot pizza cooks 900 degrees plus, it helps the egg come back to high temps quicker than a platesetter.

for low and slows ive done butts direct, no indirect setup at 225 for about 12 hours, not the best way to cook them but temp control is not an issue once you figure out how to stabilize and not chase temps.

foiling platesetter

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