Paella pan kettle heat deflector

[AmirMortal]

So I haven't seen this specifically anywhere, but it seems to work ok so far. Anyone else tried this?

I ordered a 20" steel paella pan and when it arrived the handle had been bashed in just a little during shipping. No biggie though as I didn't plan on using it for it's intended purpose. I bought some stainless 1/4x20 hardware that happened to be sold in packs of 3 locally, for another few bucks. Using bolt cutters I removed the installed handles from the pan, rounded those edges with a hand file, then drilled 3 roughly equidistant holes.

The bolts have a nicely tapered head for countersinking, and with a washer on the outside there's just enough wedging action to make a pretty stable connection with moderate seal, without bottoming out on the bolt's shoulder. I used 2 nuts on each as locking nuts, with an acorn nut on the end to protect the kettle. Cut the bolt to length so it sits just a hair below the grate.

I seasoned it recently, then used it to cook last night for the first time, and it is interesting. Definitely good for maintaining lower temps. As you can see from the pics, it was able to hold a water tray nicely, but one might just use the larger pan itself.

I used the snake method, and while it worked well enough, I noticed it definitely consumed fuel a lot faster to maintain the temps, but things seemed a lot more even overall. A snake that would normally last 6-8hrs only lasted 4 (with the bottom vents at 1/3 and top wide open) before I had to extend it. Now it's entirely possible that that was my fault as the method is new to me. Either way, i think I'll try minion method next time, as my 4lb brisket took 9hrs, which again may be a flaw in my execution.

It was slow to come up to temp, but once it stabilized, it was pretty, well stable. It does sit down pretty low over the coals even with the rim just below the grates. Charcoal layer was 2-3 briquettes deep because of the clearance of the pan, when I dumped a bunch in to extend the burnt up snake.

I'm curious to combine this now with the stacker/rotisserie setup.



Was in a hurry to get the 4lb mini brisket rested, sliced and served, so no joy regarding pics on that front. Sorry, I'll try to do better.

Definitely open to feedback, especially if it's an obviously really bad idea and that's why nobody else uses it... Lol