Pro tip: Don't waste $50 on that fancy ceramic heat deflector

I grabbed one of those pricey ceramic deflector plates from a BBQ supply shop in Nashville last weekend, thought it would be a game changer for my offset smoker. First cook, it cracked clean in half after about 45 minutes of heat, completely ruined a $40 brisket I had going. Stick with a simple steel plate or even a firebrick, those ceramics are way too fragile for real pit cooking. Anyone else get burned by these things?

3 comments

3 Comments

hollyl4518d ago

Oh man, my buddy Dave bought one of those for his backyard smoker and it exploded on him like a grenade after 20 minutes lmao. He just uses a old cast iron skillet now and hasn't looked back.

seth_harris3617d ago

hollyl45 said it exploded "like a grenade," and honestly I used to think that was just bad luck or someone running temps too high. But after my third one spiderwebbed on me during a slow cook at 250, I'm a believer now. Switched to an old cast iron skillet myself, haven't had a single issue since. Those ceramics are just not worth the headache no matter how fancy they look.

wadem8918d ago

Maybe it's just me but I've been using the same cheap steel plate from a hardware store for like three years and it's still fine. Sure it's got some warpage but it hasn't cracked or exploded or anything dramatic. I mean a brisket is a brisket but were you running that smoker super hot or something? Fifty eight bucks for a piece of ceramic does sound steep but I dunno if it's the end of the world.