Lighting Time

Unknown

The website says that you only need to wait 10 minutes after lighting the egg. Based on posts that I have seen my understanding is that you should wait about a half hour. For example if cooking a butt should you put it on right away? Celtic Wolf...trust me I will get all night cooks down soon! Ever since my fire burned out I am fixated on proper technique.

The Naked Whiz

Egger,
It depends on what you are cooking. If you are good, you can get the Egg up to searing temps in 10 to 15 minutes. However, for a low and slow cook, you want to 1) make sure you have a stable temp and 2) have a clean burning fire. So, you probably do want to wait 30-45 minutes before putting your butts on. For pizza, you probably want to preheat your cooker and pizza stone at 500ish degrees for 30 minutes before you put your first pie in the Egg. It just all depends.....[p]TNW

gdenby

Egger,[p]There is a way to cook in 10 minutes. Save your left-over lump. All the VOCs in it are gone, and it will burn directly to blue smoke. Clean the Egg, open bottom all the way, remove daisy, blast left-over lump with a MAPP torch, and in 10 minutes, you're quite likely be good to go.[p]However, VOCs or not, its better to wait awhile for the fire to settle in, let the ceramic heat up, if you're going for a lo-n-slo.[p]gdenby[p]

Celtic Wolf

Egger,[p] The more time between the fire lighting and the cooking the more the ceramic mass of your egg has to stabilize the heat.[p] The more stable the egg temp is the easier you can sleep and the faster it will come back to temp after putting your cold butts in the cooker.. (pun intended).[p][p]

Unknown

[p]Thanks fellas. I figured as much when startin off with a whole egg of fresh lump.

Unknown

Celtic Wolf,
That all makes sense. I ran with Elder wards fire and pulled recipe a few weeks ago. With his method you don't stabilize first for greater smoke penetration. Using your method when do you add the wood chunks?

Celtic Wolf

CDEN,[p] I mix whatever chunks I am going to use right in with the lump before I start the cook. I won't open the lid till my Mavericks say the meat is approaching 180 or so.[p]

icemncmth

Egger,[p]I'm no Egg pro but I get by...[p]When I am cooking on the egg I pretty much let it go to the temp I want and let it sit at that temp for 15 mins or so..[p]If I am doing a long low and slow...I do something a little different than most...I light the egg at 6 pm or earlier depending on how large a butt I am cooking...[p]Then when I go to bed I don't have to worry about anything because the egg has settled in and doing its thing...[p]When I am doing a low and slow I fill to the top of the fire ring and I light in several places so that I don't have to worry about the fire burning straight down and going out....[p]I have cooked a lot of low and slows...and I have found that getting the egg going earlier...keeps me from having to miss any sleep...[p]