Deck Protection and High Altitude Cooking

Dabears

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Pro 575
New to the forum and will be purchasing a Pro 575 soon. A couple of questions:

1) Do I need a metal tray of some kind on the surface of my composite deck to prevent drippings/hot things from falling to the deck? Fire is a huge concern these days.
2) I live at an elevation of 9,000 ft. Does that affect cooking times or pellet consumption?

Many thanks!!!
 
New to the forum and will be purchasing a Pro 575 soon. A couple of questions:

1) Do I need a metal tray of some kind on the surface of my composite deck to prevent drippings/hot things from falling to the deck? Fire is a huge concern these days.
2) I live at an elevation of 9,000 ft. Does that affect cooking times or pellet consumption?

Many thanks!!!
For your elevation, your cook times may change a bit due to the temperature water boils at. There is moisture in meat, and it stands to reason that if you get water to boil at a lower temperature than 212°, the moisture in your meat will be effected the same way. Evaporation and stall may happen sooner at a lower temperature.
This guy does a brisket test at elevation as a test. Might give you some things to consider

As for the mat, I have rubber mats down to keep any spills off my deck. It is for cleanliness and not fire suppression.
 
Thank you, Rusty Jake, for the video and info on rubber mats. As the vid says, longer cook times and counteract drying out the meat with foil and liquid. I'm looking forward to the experimenting!
 
As noted above, I would certainly use a grill mat to make sure you keep spills, etc off the deck.

There was a thread here awhile back talking about wrapping or not wrapping pork shoulder. I had always wrapped but the consensus was pretty much "no wrap". I tried it and that shoulder wasn't as juicy as previous cooks.

I live @ 5600 and we thought that maybe the elevation has something to do with it, FWIW.
 
Thank you, Rusty Jake, for the video and info on rubber mats. As the vid says, longer cook times and counteract drying out the meat with foil and liquid. I'm looking forward to the experimenting!
Keep in mind what temperature your water boils at. Rule of thumb it is said to cook a brisket or Pork butt to 205, you're evaporating moisture earlier and drying out the meat well before you ever get to that temperature. You will need to be cooking by feel, looking for that Buttery probe feel on your meats. At sea level the 'finished' temp of 205 isn't at the boiling point yet, but at 9000 feet you probably hit that at 198
They talk about it a bit here
 
Keep in mind what temperature your water boils at. Rule of thumb it is said to cook a brisket or Pork butt to 205, you're evaporating moisture earlier and drying out the meat well before you ever get to that temperature. You will need to be cooking by feel, looking for that Buttery probe feel on your meats. At sea level the 'finished' temp of 205 isn't at the boiling point yet, but at 9000 feet you probably hit that at 198
They talk about it a bit here
Great - thanks and just reinforces that living at altitude means adjustments for a lot things.
 
As noted above, I would certainly use a grill mat to make sure you keep spills, etc off the deck.

There was a thread here awhile back talking about wrapping or not wrapping pork shoulder. I had always wrapped but the consensus was pretty much "no wrap". I tried it and that shoulder wasn't as juicy as previous cooks.

I live @ 5600 and we thought that maybe the elevation has something to do with it, FWIW.
Thanks Murphy...I'll just have to do some experimenting when we get the grill. I think I'm leaning towards wrapping though.
 
We've done wrapped and un-wrapped, never noticed much of a difference. We will wrap if we are short on time when butt temp gets to about 165 and you hit "the stall". Wrapping then speeds up overall cook time. After cook, we do wrap in tin foil with some butter on it and let it sit a while. 30 minutes or so.
 
We've done wrapped and un-wrapped, never noticed much of a difference. We will wrap if we are short on time when butt temp gets to about 165 and you hit "the stall". Wrapping then speeds up overall cook time. After cook, we do wrap in tin foil with some butter on it and let it sit a while. 30 minutes or so.
Great...thank you for the insight. Looking forward to trying it.
 
For your elevation, your cook times may change a bit due to the temperature water boils at. There is moisture in meat, and it stands to reason that if you get water to boil at a lower temperature than 212°, the moisture in your meat will be effected the same way. Evaporation and stall may happen sooner at a lower temperature.
This guy does a brisket test at elevation as a test. Might give you some things to consider

As for the mat, I have rubber mats down to keep any spills off my deck. It is for cleanliness and not fire suppression.
I use an under-tray just to even out the ground. Where I have my Timberline 850 means that the chassis is subject to a light twist unless I smooth out the ground.

I wouldn’t worry about anything coming from the Traeger during the cook but would use a mat if you feel precious about your decking when removing your cook.
 
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