Ranch Temperature Control

[LPcreation]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a small gathering this Sunday and I'd like to use my ranch to do all the cooking.  Here's the hot food menu;

ABT's
Pepper Stout Beef
Trip Tip
Hot Dogs

I'm perfectly fine keeping temps somewhere in the 275-325ish range but I'm unsure where to even start.  From what I've gathered reading various threads, I think I need start with 1 unlit chimney on both sides.  Dump a lit chimney on top (both sides) and adjust bottom vents to about 1/4, and keep the top vent around 1/2.

Does anyone a pretty solid plan for hitting and maintaining my temp range?

Thanks!

[Old Dave]

Your plan looks good although I usually only control the cooker with just one of the bottom vents for your temperature range. Anyway, I think your plan will work fine. Good luck with your cook.

[Jon]

I'm commenting way late too help create a plan - but your intended setup should create an oven in the middle that runs about 350 - 375 (your mileage may vary), with two sear areas. Which is a good plan. Wrap the pepper stout beef in a pan with the veg early in the cook, just after you get a crust on the beef. The tri-tip will be the most difficult cook, but just pay attention to the internal temp and it will be ok.

On the other hand - if you are really loading the Ranch up you have to consider radiant heat. Food next to the hot coals will cook much faster - so rotate the food with the next behind or plan the cook so that what is next to the coals comes off first. Like hot dogs.

The Ranch is a blast to cook on. You will have fun.

[LPcreation]

Today's the day.  Thanks for the help guys, I appreciate it!

[demosthenes9]

FWIW, it looks like you are doing different styles of cooks, with the PSB being a slow, indirect cook, the ABTs being a mix of direct and indirect and the dogs and the Tri Tip being direct. 


First, the indirect long cook.  Set it up just like you mentioned.   Put a probe in the middle, close to the meat and adjust top vent to dial in the temp.      Have a full chimney on standby.   When the PSB starts getting close to where you want it, fire up the standby chimney.    When it's fully lit, flip up one side of the grate and dump the chimney trying to spread the coals evenly.   Close the grate and this will be the direct zone for grilling.   Move items from the direct zone towards the middle (indirect) as they get the color/look that you want.    For example, the dogs will burn up if you leave them over the direct heat for too long.   Start them there, rotate them a couple of times to get the casings how you like them, then move them over to indirect.   The Tri Tip can take direct heat for longer, but you still want to watch it.    Also, exactly how you do the tri tip depends on your tastes.  Some people like to kind of slow cook then finish off with a reverse sear at the end.  Others sear and cook the entire time over direct heat, yet others like to sear then move to indirect.   All up to you.

[LPcreation]

Thanks for the replies everyone.  The day was a success!

I set up the Ranch as I described about, and I was pretty consistently around 300 for the majority of the time.  I cooked all meat at that temp, and everything turned out pretty good.  Dogs went on the coals when I pulled the meat off, and by the time the meat was done resting, the dogs were ready.

I could get used to cooking on the Ranch!