Baikal Barbecue Hood. The charcoal grill becomes a cooking chamber.
The Baikal barbecue hood is a stainless steel hood with a thermometer for the Thüros Baikal, which enables indirect grilling, baking, and smoking. It is not a lid for covering, not a windbreak, and not a substitute for a smoker.
The Baikal barbecue hood measures 41 x 61 x 32 cm and fits exclusively the Baikal shashlik grill. A spit grill can actually only do one thing: provide direct heat from below. With a hood, a second mode of operation is added. The hood stores the heat of the embers and distributes it around the food, instead of letting it escape upwards.
What becomes possible with a hood
Under the closed hood, the heat no longer dissipates but circulates. The grill becomes a cooking chamber where temperatures are maintained instead of dissipating.
This adds three cooking methods. Indirect grilling for large pieces of meat that need to cook through on the inside without burning on the outside. Baking for pizza, tarte flambée, and bread. And smoking, when smoking chips are placed on the embers and the smoke remains in the enclosed space.
The thermometer is the real difference
Inside the hood is a thermometer with a scale up to 260 degrees. Without this display, indirect cooking would be a guessing game.
With it, it becomes plannable: 110 to 130 degrees for pulled pork over hours, 160 to 180 degrees for roasts and poultry, anything above that for pizza and tarte flambée. Regulation is done via the amount of charcoal and the position of the embers, not via a regulator.
Set on instead of assemble
The hood is placed on the grill head; nothing is screwed. It sits by its weight and shape.
It is made of non-magnetic V2A stainless steel, like the grill itself. Over the embers, discoloration in gold and blue will appear over time — this is normal for stainless steel, does not affect the function, and cannot be avoided.
When the hood is worthwhile for the Baikal
It is worthwhile for anyone who wants more than just steaks and sausages. Those who only grill directly do not need it.
It is not suitable for real cold smoking, as there is no separation between the embers and the cooking chamber. And a limitation in everyday use: With the hood on, you can no longer see the food. Those who like to check must get used to the thermometer instead of looking.
The difference between a grill and an outdoor kitchen is often just a hood.
