Bull Missing the Drip Pan

[Sm4astan]

New 700 owner here. Last weekend I cooked 6 racks of baby back ribs. Everything turned out great. Meat was beyond falling off the bone.

My question is, some of the ends of my rib racks were extending past the drip pan. Is that a problem? Do I need to be overly concerned cooking food if it's not entirely over the pan? Will grease dripping down into the belly of the grill (down into the ashes) be a problem?

Thanks for the insight.

 

[Mastertech59]

The cooking area on these grills is only the size of the drip pan, not the full grates surface's. You don't want meat drippings to get down in the lower part of the barrel, this may cause grease fires. The food can also burn, that area is where the heat is coming from.

 

[ccmjr77]

Cleaning will be more difficult if you get grease down in with the ash. As said it could also cut down air flow.

 

[mooncusser2k]

In general, you want to keep food over the drip pan as much as possible. It's not a huge problem per se, but you'll want to clean it out once it cools. I'd be cautious about it smoking or a grease fire, and some folks have had grease dripping from the barrel.

 

[bfletcher]

Congrats on your Bull! You raise an excellent question; fat drippings extending beyond the drip pan can indeed pose risk of flareups or, worse, a grease fire and [probably] all manufacturers warn against placing meat beyond the drip pan. Baby back ribs are lean, though; and, therefore, the risk would be minimized. But if you were to place fatty meats beyond that perimeter you risk certain unwanted issues.

 

[Sm4astan]

Thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it.