One of the things I noticed on my first cook (chicken) on the drum was that cooking low/slow directly over hot coals with a fatty piece of meat over hours of time can result in a very heavy flavor overtone of what I call vaporized fat. I've read other posts that call it a "campfire" taste and have read comments on other forums about the same phenomena I experienced. People either hate it or love it.
I know BP, you said it's not the fat dripping on the coals but at this point I'm absolutely certain it is. It's the exact same taste I get when I grill over coals. Fat drips on coals, is vaporized then rises to flavor the meat only it's more muted when I grill. In my backyard grilling meats is done within 5 minutes whereas I cooked that chicken for over two hours over coals. More time over the fire, more fat drips down and vaporizes and ultimately I got a more intense fat flavor due to the extended amount of time over the fire.
Anyway, I set out to design something that will accomplish two things:
1) Divert most of the fat (but not all) away from the fire so I get a more subtle vaporization flavoring and keep that great direct cooking charm.
2) Deflect some of the heat away from the middle to the sides to lessen or remove the hotspot in the middle. More even heat across the entire cooking grate area.
This is what I came up with which I hope will accomplish both objectives. It cost me about $20 to fabricate. I cut, bent and welded everything in my garage. I borrowed an oxy/acetylene torch from a friend to do my welding. Watched some Youtube welding videos first to learn some of the basics of welding and safety. My welds are pretty ugly but should hold. Need more practice! I love welding now though! I hadn't touched a welding torch since metal shop in high school back in the mid 70's! Forgot how fun it was.
Tools I used: Bench vice, Sawzall with metal blade, drill gun, oxy/acetylene torch
Made it in two parts then assembled. A tripod base to sit in the upper Ubolts and the deflector/diverter that sits on top of the tripod. I think I may add another set of Ubolts about 3 or 4 inches further down the drum closer to the fire. I think it would function better being a little closer to the fire basket, but not too close. I don't want it so close that even the fat that gets caught in the channels vaporizes the same as the fat that makes it through to the coals below
Assembled but the deflector/diverter is not welded to the tripod yet. I can rotate the deflector around to observe the effect in the cooker then I'll either weld it into the best position or just leave it unwelded so it will swivel when/if I need it to.
It swivels for now but will probably get welded into place eventually.
It's more centered right over the coal basket than this pic indicates and yes, I do foil the bottom of my drum. Did you expect anything else??
I know BP, you said it's not the fat dripping on the coals but at this point I'm absolutely certain it is. It's the exact same taste I get when I grill over coals. Fat drips on coals, is vaporized then rises to flavor the meat only it's more muted when I grill. In my backyard grilling meats is done within 5 minutes whereas I cooked that chicken for over two hours over coals. More time over the fire, more fat drips down and vaporizes and ultimately I got a more intense fat flavor due to the extended amount of time over the fire.
Anyway, I set out to design something that will accomplish two things:
1) Divert most of the fat (but not all) away from the fire so I get a more subtle vaporization flavoring and keep that great direct cooking charm.
2) Deflect some of the heat away from the middle to the sides to lessen or remove the hotspot in the middle. More even heat across the entire cooking grate area.
This is what I came up with which I hope will accomplish both objectives. It cost me about $20 to fabricate. I cut, bent and welded everything in my garage. I borrowed an oxy/acetylene torch from a friend to do my welding. Watched some Youtube welding videos first to learn some of the basics of welding and safety. My welds are pretty ugly but should hold. Need more practice! I love welding now though! I hadn't touched a welding torch since metal shop in high school back in the mid 70's! Forgot how fun it was.
Tools I used: Bench vice, Sawzall with metal blade, drill gun, oxy/acetylene torch
Made it in two parts then assembled. A tripod base to sit in the upper Ubolts and the deflector/diverter that sits on top of the tripod. I think I may add another set of Ubolts about 3 or 4 inches further down the drum closer to the fire. I think it would function better being a little closer to the fire basket, but not too close. I don't want it so close that even the fat that gets caught in the channels vaporizes the same as the fat that makes it through to the coals below
Assembled but the deflector/diverter is not welded to the tripod yet. I can rotate the deflector around to observe the effect in the cooker then I'll either weld it into the best position or just leave it unwelded so it will swivel when/if I need it to.
It swivels for now but will probably get welded into place eventually.
It's more centered right over the coal basket than this pic indicates and yes, I do foil the bottom of my drum. Did you expect anything else??
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