Help! New egg owner

Unknown

Hi! Just got my new small green egg yesterday, and am trying to figure out how to use it. I'm used to my 400 pound steel smoker, so I'm pretty lost how to control the temp on this thing!
I only have the ceramic top (so far). Is this supposed to be on, or off while cooking? I'm trying both on and off, and can't seem to keep the temp around 250...any suggestions?..thanx

Nature Boy

Dan McCanlies,
Hi Dan, and welcome to the forum. Fill up the firebox with lump, open the bottom vent wide open, start a small firestarter cube in the middle of your lump pile. Leave the lid open until your firestarter goes out, and a group of coals are glowing. Close up the lid, and leave the cap off. When your dome temp passes 150, close the bottom vent to maybe a half inch, and put the ceramic cap on so it is tilted...allowing limited airflow. As your temp approaches 250, step the bottom vent closed (little by little) until your temp is stabilized. After your adjustments, temp changes take a little time....so be patient, and don't make any large adjustments.[p]After some practice, low temps can even be maintained with no cap at all....just by adjusting your bottom vent. Remember that it is always easier to get temps up, than it is to bring them back down. Resist opening the lid too much, as it allows much more oxygen, and the fire gets hotter the longer the lid is open.[p]Have fun, and stop back often!
NB

Gfw

<p />Dan McCanlies, many contributers to the forum control the temperature by using on the bottom vent - the lower the desired temp, the smaller the opening. [p]The ceramic cap blocks too much air to be used for tem control - look into getting a daisy or slide top - I prefer the daisy.[p]If the bottom vent doesn't offer enough control, try using a firebrick (or other brick) to block off part of the opening on the top of the dome. In the picture, you can just see the firebrick covering about 1/2 opening. BTW - the picture was taken making pizza with the bottom vent 100% open - temp level - an easily maintained 550 degrees.[p]Welcome to the world of ceramic cooking, the forum and Good luck! :~}
[ul][li]Gfw's BBQ[/ul]

Tim M

<p />Dan McCanlies,[p]I am lucky to have a large and a small. I use my small for mostly grilling (375-700 deg) and the large for slow cooking butts, ribs, etc and large stuff. I do have the slide/daisy top for both and they work very well. Since I don't normally hold temps under 350 in the small, the top gets little use on Jr. I find a big difference in slow cooking on the large compared to the small. The medium is very close to the large but the small is different in many ways. I assume it has something to do with the fire being so close to the grid and the lesser area in the small Egg itself. IE: the recipes often need to be adjusted somewhat in the small. [p]Its always helpful to know what size Egg you have when asking for help, so be sure to mention that in future posts. Welcome to the Egg family and let us know if we can help your learning curve flatten out a little. Lots of folks here that can help.[p]Tim
[ul][li]Tim's world of BGE[/ul]