heat deflector or not?

sparky

New member
been cooking on my drum and was wondering if ya'll use heat deflectors w/ your drums? when i cooked some ribs they did turn out a little dark. i was wondering if a heat deflector would help break up some of the direct heat? plan on cooking some butts and briskets on Ursula. heat deflector might help. also do you guys use a little water pan off the the side for some moister?
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
sparky...if your ribs are coming out darker it means that they are cooking faster on the drum....Each style of cooker has its sweet spot...also the cooker is still new and as you know the cooker is the hottest when new....when it gets seasoning everything calms down. I am cooking on the new Stainless ones and swear it cooks a hot temp.

Johnny Trigg just called me...he got a stainless one and was raving about it but commented that he will cook at a lower thermometer temp on it...he said he hadnt had ribs that juicy in years...he was very happy and he tells you the truth even if it hurts.
 

sparky

New member
wonder what temp he was using? did he foil? lol...... ya, i know it needs more seasonings. but do you use a heat deflector? or anyone else?
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
Staff member
Sparky something to try is using a 20 quart stainless mixing bowl (about $10 at restaurant stores) and put in it a 16 quart stainless mixing bowl. foil with a depression in it and it will make the drum like a indirect smoker and still keep a lot of the smoke flavor from the drum. It then works like a WSM minus the air leaks. You can fab something so it hangs below the second fire basket mount or add a few mounts for it ,which i did. Like Big Poppa mentioned above they cook faster at the same temps. The fact that I can cook a chicken on the drum at 300º and have one on the MAK Pellet grill at 400º. Cook both for one hour and the internal temp of the meat is close to the same. The fun thing I am finding are the different ways to use the drum.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Jim I dont get it can you show us a pic? Johnny cooked at 250....said he would try 225 next time but was way impressed
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
Staff member
I will try to get photos tomorrow . Understand you loose the flavor you get from the juices hitting the coals. It just shows how many ways you can use a BPS drum cooker. here are some photos
DSC02207-M.jpg


I do foil this when using , not shown in photo, it makes the drum act like a WSM. No water sand or anything else in the pans. The air gaps do it all. I have only used this when I have both racks in the drum loaded with ribs for a large feast.
DSC02208-M.jpg


I would not call this a deflector, more like a hot plate. It is 3/8 inch and when juices fall on it they sizzle and a lot get to the fire. I like that spots where the fire may not be hot I still get the sizzle from the thick hot steel, and I had it hanging around not using it anywhere.

DSC02204-M.jpg


If I want to even the center hot spot I put this on top.I still think if you use anything it needs to let the juices on the fire.

DSC02205-M.jpg


No surprise, this is what we are cooking on the drum. I try and make sure all the meat is over the basket to get that flavor from the fire.

DSC02212-M.jpg


Good planning had me light the drum and the 30 minutes or so to get to temp , I was able to do this

DSC02211-M.jpg


The iPhone shows about 10º more and dinner will be ready. One last thing. I use Kingsford only , never got the success with lump. The Kingsford comp is sold at the membership store not owned by the Walton family. Not always available in the winter. regular Blue bag should be on sale Labor Day , which only happens a few times a year
 
Last edited:

cowgirl

New member
On my old drum, the temperature is 25 degrees hotter in the center than around the sides where the thermo probe is. I just adjust for that and cook at a lower temp.
What ever my thermometer says, I add 25 degrees to it for the true temp in the center. :)
I've used it so much, I know what the temp is going to run with one, two or three air intakes open. After you get an idea of what your drum will do, it really is a set it and forget it unit. (IMO) :)
 

cowgirl

New member
do you use a heat deflector jeanie in your drum?

No.. I don't use one Sparky. Never have. I just let the drippings vaporize on the hot coals. I do use briquettes instead of lump, I just have better luck with it. Lump burns hotter and faster for me. I know everyone has different experiences with lump and they have no problem at all with it. I just go with what works for me. :)
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Sparky you see jeanie is saying get to know your cooker! Great point about the center being 25 hotter....Thats why I said that 225 could be your magic rib temp!
 

Steviez269

New member
I use two 9x12 foil pans full of water or apple cider on a 2nd rack I installed just for that reason . Keeps the heat very consistent , I can keep 225 degrees for as long as 18 hours . I built a 30lb briquette holder ! also deflects the direct searing heat around the food , haven't had any food come out too dark or dry yet . I cook my ribs 4 hours out of foil an 1-2 hours in . Just enough bite without falling completely off the bone .
 

BigDummy

New member
I use one in mine. Haven't done any cooks without it. I used the lid of the drum after the rim of it was cut off and welded to the Weber lid I had a hoop put on the remaining circle so I can lift it out of the drum without much effort, and place it on the charcoal basket using a turkey fryer hook. Seems to work great so far.
 

Rangerj

New member
I only use one for ribs in competition.

Everything else is over the coals and I don't even worry about what the thermometer reads, toss the meat on and let her rip! Now, I'm a hot and fast guy so what works for me, may not work for you.
 

southga

New member
I've only had my drum about 6 months, but have tried different methods to find what works best for me. First of all, my wife does not like the flavor from the grease dripping on the fire, so I had to do something different. I first used a water pan & it worked OK. (I have a rack below the two cooking racks that the water pan sits on) I did burn more fuel & my lower cooking rack had a significant cool spot in the middle. What I cooked with the water pan turned out very good, tender & moist, but I had to work at moving meat around to get it to cook evenly. The last few cooks, I have just used a double layer of HD foil as a deflector. I get much more even temps from top to bottoom & edge to center. The drippings will still burn off on the foil but it seems to give a much milder flavor than hitting the fire directly. I will admit that I use a lot less wood than I did the first few cooks with no water pan or deflector, so that may have as much to do with the flavor difference as the burning drippings. Anyway, after experimenting I have found what seems to work best for my drum & my wife's & my tastebuds. The best part about these type experiments is that even the bad ones still taste pretty good.
 

sparky

New member
this is what i'm using.

chickendinner001.jpg


it breaks up the direct heat but i still get the drippings on the coal. i like it. it works for me. i use it all the time now. i did use a water pan but i have found that using Ursula is a pretty moist environment.

drum on ppl.
 
Top Bottom