Grate temp for simmering?

[Rod]

I'm going to do some chili in a DO on my 26" kettle this weekend. Does anyone have a suggested grate temp to target for simmering in a DO? I'm trying to hone in my chili game and want to make note of exactly what I did for future cooks.

[Spinaker]

I always rip my BGE at 275 F. And then stir every 30 mins or so. Let that baby rip for about 4-5 hours.

[jfmorris]

Having used my Lodge DO on my Performer (22") before I will advice using the SNS to contain your coals, and don't worry about dome temperature so much. I just slid the DO more over the SNS or less over it to control the amount of direct/indirect heat. Bring it up to a boil directly over a chimney of coals in the SNS, and then slide it back off and put your lid on the kettle to simmer.

Fact is, your temperature of the chili will likely never exceed the boiling point of water, but when you move the DO to indirect heat, and not directly over the coals, as long as you stay in the 250-300 indirect range, you ought to maintain a simmer in the DO.

Just my thoughts on it anyway. I've only deep fried in the DO on the kettle (that is when sliding it over/away from the SNS helped a lot to reach an oil temp of 350ish), and simmered a pot of beans indirect.

[bbqLuv]

Ditto, What jfmorris said.
But I use a pellet grill, only indirect heat.

[Huskee]

I'd use an average from the grate to the top, which can be 100* difference or more, so for starters say 50* subtracted from the grate temp, and make that average match whatever you'd set your oven to for a similar cook. So say you'd set your home oven to 300, subtract 50 for starters and cook with your grate temp at 250. That, in theory, would make the top of your DO feel 350, bottom (grate) 250, and the average be 300.

[Rod]

Thanks fellas. Can always count on The Pit. BTW, I am using indirect with the SnS. Grate temp on the indirect side was the question.

[mnavarre]

Shoot for 350-ish. If you're cooking on the indirect side you're really more in an oven than on a stovetop. You might want to rotate the pot every once and a while, as the side towards the fire is likely to be significantly hotter than the side away from the fire.

[Draznnl]

I'd also stir the contents more frequently than on a stovetop to help alleviate the side heating issue.

[zinfella]

I'm going to do some chili in a DO on my 26" kettle this weekend. Does anyone have a suggested grate temp to target for simmering in a DO? I'm trying to hone in my chili game and want to make note of exactly what I did for future cooks.

Don't forget, you asked!

I don't wanna get into tell'in you how to cook your chili, but we can talk about a couple of things. First, if 'ya wanna pick nits, (and who doesn't love a well picked nit?) simmering is done at temps below the boiling point of water (212Ëš) so around 185Ëš-205Ëš. As Harry Soo says "BTU's are BTU's", so it doesn't matter uf you're simmering on your stove top, in your kitchen oven, or on your kettle.

Having said that, you might wanna pay attention to how close your DO is to the heat source in order to avoid hot spots in the DO. The height of the DO might force it-closer to the center of the kettle with the kettle lid in place, which, for example, might force one side of the DO directly over part of an SnS, creating the afore mentioned hot spot.

Good luck.