Can the WSK cook chicken in a more traditional bbq pit way with the coals down low and no diffuser? Is the cooking grate too close to the coals this way? I have a lot of questions but I don't want to hijack my own thread.
Steve
edit: Please forgive me if I don't get back to this until Saturday night or Sunday.
I wasn't very clear with my question. I enjoy cooking chicken over the coals at about 275-300 so that the fat drips on the coals. I guess I'm describing what a Pit Barrel does and I like the taste which for me is different than smoking over a diffuser. I've seen in another thread that in the WSK the distance from the food grate to the coal grate at its lowest position is 9.5 inches. I'm wondering if that measurement's accurate and whether or not more experienced cooks find that to be too close to the fire to cook without the diffuser? In my Pit Barrel chicken thighs look to be hanging about 16 inches above the coals. I guess I could also ask if fat dripping and burning on the diffuser will create the same flavor as fat dripping directly on the coals.
What I f you bank the coals to create an indirect setup, add an additional cooking grate that would give you the height you desire. I think the chicken your wanting could work that way. If the chicken gets too hot, move it to the "cool" side.
What I f you bank the coals to create an indirect setup, add an additional cooking grate that would give you the height you desire. I think the chicken your wanting could work that way. If the chicken gets too hot, move it to the "cool" side.
Thanks, au4stree, for your response. What I'm looking for is to cook over the coals so that the fat drips into the coals.An indirect setup might not accomplish this and I think that if the greatest distance doable between the food and the coals is 9.5 inches then that's likely too close to the coals to do anything but grilling at higher temps. I have seen a hanging rack for the WSK on Hunsaker's site and that might give hanging thighs a little more room but I'm not convinced it's enough to do what I want.
I'm not getting too many responses here so I must not have been clear and viewers are not sure how to respond. I'm going to let go of this one and move on.
Can you get an elevated grate for the WSK to increase the height? I use something called the Hovergrill as a raised grate, as well as the SNS elevated grate. It would add 3-4 more inches of distance to the coals.
I say set up 2 zones and try it over the coals. If it's too hot move it to the indirect side.
Now I get it! Finally. Thanks. I haven't pulled the trigger on the WSK yet. Still investigating. I'm close however. If I buy it I'll definitely give your idea a try. My worst case scenario would be to get the WSK and continue to use the PBC for chicken. OTOH, I may end up liking smoked chicken enough to leave my sentimental love of "BBQ chicken" behind. I love the flavor of low and slow brisket, pork butt, and ribs but I also love chicken the way my dad used to do it. Maybe I'm too sentimental but to me there's something different about chicken cooked over the coals at about 300-325* vs. chicken cooked at smoking temps. And it takes less time to cook, too! Thanks again to both Attjack and aus4stree.
I almost always do whole chickens hot and fast rotisserie style on my Blaze gas grill. Once in a while I'll go lower and slower on the Kamado though just to change it up or if the rub or paste I use is more likely to burn going hot and fast.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
I cook in this manner a lot with my SNS Kamado, with the charcoal in the bottom, and food on the main grate or even an elevated grate, and sometimes that upper charcoal grate gets used for searing down closer to the coals.
I think of it as being similar to cooking on one of those Santa Maria grills where you can crank it up high above the fire
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You just need to control the temps with airflow like you do on any charcoal cooker (don’t you PBC guys jam foil in holes when it gets too hot. There’s all kinds of riser grates you can get that will work on the WSK. Weber used to sell one themselves, but I cannot seem to find a link for you.
Hard to say if it will be as effective as the PBC though. The reason I wonder is because of how insulated the WSK vs the PBC, so the fire is going to be held back more on the WSK to hold 275.
I think people are saying use a riser rack to give you more height off the coals. Put the WSK fire grate at lowest point then add the riser rack (this one is from Ceramic Grill Store) on top of cooking rack to add 4 more inches or so. I have this and will see if it fits in my WSCG and measure from raised rack to fire rack later when it is light out.
SteveEd That rig fits. It gives you 16 inches from the top rack to the bottom fire grate. Not much dome space but you could spatchcock a whole chicken or cook pieces.
@Old Glory,the CGS Big Joe Expander fits the WSK and raises it 5 inches and has a truncated 20" grate on top. That rig looks pretty nice and very stable. I took a different approach to save money. I got a box of Rutland fire bricks and a Weber 22" grate. The fire bricks set on their 1.25" sides provide a 4.5" lift for the grate. It's not as stable as the CGS Expander but it ain't bad and cost $70 instead of $118. Plus it gives me a 22" grate instead of a truncated 20".
By the way, the fire brick/Weber grate idea was from a Baby Back Maniac Youtube video where just for fun he smoked 8 pork butts at once on the WSK. The butts were huge but the lid closed and the cook went very well. I'm sure with spatchcocked bird or parts it will work just fine.
That Hunsaker hanger looks interesting. I didn't know they made that for the WSK, so thanks for the tip! I had the one for the WSM 18, and thought about keeping it to try with the WSK, but at only 5" tall I didn't think it helped all that much. So I ended up selling it when I sold the WSM. The one they advertise for the WSK is twice that height though, so that'd give you the 19" to the top hanger, which would be close to what you are used to with the PBC.
It'd also depend on how you arrange your coals. When I use the Vortex for searing it is on the bottom charcoal rack and I still get a good sear on the top cooking grate. So if you pile all your coals together in a similar manner you may get too hot, even without the Vortex. But if you spread them out in a single or double layer and control the temps it might work. I've never tried it, but will be interested to hear the results if you do!
Either way, I sold my kettle and WSM for the WSK and haven't regretted it for one minute!
Last edited by MillerTime; April 6, 2022, 08:34 AM.
Looks like this thread's been given new life. Thanks to all of you. I've got a WSK on my patio as of yesterday. I'll do first cook, ribs or chicken (undecided) on Sunday. I've added comments above to show what I've done to "solve" my issue but it's still untested by me. I'll soon find out if it works.
Edit: And man, did I ever come close, oh so close, to getting a Hasty Bake. No regrets, however.
Quick follow-up: I cooked chicken over the coals. Half chimney of Kingsford Original somewhat spread on lower grate; 10 thighs on food grate; about 1.5 hours cook time.
I felt in complete control over temp and cook rate. Flare-ups not a factor. Distance from coals to food about 8.5 inches including briquette height. Chicken appearance and flavor superb, just the way I like it. Did not elevate the grate in any way.
Before saucing (bright yellow spots are sunlight):
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