Out of the ashes...

OK maybe it wasn't a Phoenix, but there were some signicant discoveries this past weekend. 

I've been having problems generating and maintaining desired temps on my grill. After watching a couple of YouTube videos I made some modifications to hopefully improve consistency.  I added two thermometers at grill level; one on the left and one on the right. I added some flex pipe to bring the smokestack down to grill level, some expanded metal to the firebox as a grate and rails down both sides of the lid to reduce smoke and heat leakage. I also added firebricks and some baking pans to the grill chamber to create baffles and give me a place to set a water pan.

After the first run through I discovered that the briquettes would not generate the heat I wanted so I added more briquettes. I added such a pile of briquettes that the expanded metal actually collapsed! I know that firebox was cranking, yet my temps were only hovering around the 210-220 mark. I want more...I NEED more heat!

For round two I went with lump charcoal, as it burns hotter than briquettes.  I got hotter temps, but not as hot as I wanted. I know what you're thinking, " why, Rick? BBQ is low and slow,why do you want so much heat?"  My answer? PIZZA ( and a few other things).  I won't need high temp all the time. In fact, I only need them every once in a while. Sadly, the wife says I can't eat grilled pizza for every meal.  My pizza,though, requires temps around 500f. That's HOT! Roughly 2+ times higher than my normal cooking temps.

In northern New Hampshire, lots of people heat with firewood so there's plenty  of places to get it. I found myself a "wood guy" who would sort for a few dollars more.  I was able to get a 1/4 cord of Maple & Oak delivered Saturday night and planned for a third test Sunday. The goal was " wood fired pizza" by dinner time.

Frustrated with my two previous burns (briquettes & lump charcoal), I surmised maybe the some of the modifications I had done were actually hurting rather than helping.  I decided to pull the smokestack extension and the fire bricks/ baffles and fired her up with hardwood.

EUREKA!! An hour after I started my fire I had temps north of 450f!! Woo hoo! Now I just need to fine tune temp control, which was fairly easy once I had temps that actually needed regulating.

It looks like I'll have to save the briquettes for normal grilling and direct heat cooking and run with hardwood for smoking. Now I can really concentrate on cooking skills and techniques, rather than constantly fiddling with the firebox to get the heat I need.

In my last post I complained about a bad weekend at the pit, but the fact is I came out of the weekend with some pretty decent food and a solution to the heat issues. Looking back now, I'm actually rather pleased with how things turned out. The food was not our best effort ( taste was excellent, appearance was a bit lacking ), but the knowledge I gained with my trials and errors, I think, is going to be a game changer for me and my grill!

Back to the grill I go!