new egg question

huevos verde

I just got my BGE and have used it three times this week. steaks and chicken were excellent. Did a pork loin the other night and I seem to detect an odor in the egg and also was slight on the meat. Not sure what is causing it. Can't explain smell but I am a little concerned about my next adventure which is going to be chicken wings this weekend. Any ideas or could it have something to do with it being a new egg?

Little Chef

huevos: There shouldn't be anything about the Egg giving an off odor. It is likely your lump. What brand lump are you using? It could also be fat drippings in the lump burning off. Perhaps drippings from the chicken on the lump? Did you cook direct, indirect?

Grandpas Grub

 
Unless something foreign got into the egg, like a rodent or something (possible gasket adhesive) I am with LC.

Just let the lump burn a little longer before cooking. That heat should burn out anything that is in there.

If the smell remains let us know and we will go to the next best guesses.

huevos verde

The lump was also a consideration. It is not BGE lump but is what they sold at the dealer and they indicated this what most were using that have purchased eggs at this store. I did not notice anything with the first two grillings. I cooked both the chicken and the pork indirect with a drip pan.

huevos verde

I did do a burn for two hours last night without anything on the grill and let the temp go to 550-600 to see if that would do anything but I still smell this faint odor. The pork was in a marinade with tequila and I am wondering if that could be what is causing the odor. I guess I should stick with having the cook use the tequila outside of the grill. What would you think if I lit another fire and did a smoke. I have an electric smoker and it cured very well.

Little Chef

huevos: You didn't mention the brand lump, and no worries, there is nothing wrong with using lump that is not BGE (which I believe is made by Royal Oak). Since the first few burns were fine, that still makes me think there are drippings in the coals, but not being there, I could of course be wrong.
Here is a fascinating data base done by our very own Naked Whiz....Look for your lump here, and see what TNW has to say about it.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumpindexpage.htm?bag

Grandpas Grub

 
LC would know much better than I but I wouldn't think there would be any after aroma when cooking with alcohol.

550°-600° for 2 hours should eliminate all residue.

What you could do is remove the used lump, clean out the pit and put in new lump for then next cook. If the same odor is still there, my guess would be something with the gasket or adhesive.

You could just smell close to the gasket and see if the same aroma is stronger in those areas. If not then smell down in the egg to see if you can locate it.

GG

Little Chef

huevos: I completely concur with GG here. There will be no residuals from using tequila (or any other alcohol for that matter) in your marinade. The gasket would be my only other guess as well. Have you tried the dollar bill test to make sure your dome is seated properly? (Take a bill, lay it across your gasket, close the lid, pull the bill out. Repeat all the way around. The resistance to pull the bill out should be the same all the way around. And it is advised to do on a cold egg unless you want to burn your money... :laugh: ) Easy test, but can reveal future problems with the gasket.

huevos verde

It is Fire King Lump. I will remove all of the ash and what few unburnt coals are left and hopefully this will take care of it. Both the chicken and pork had a drip pan so there was no drippings making its way down to the lump.

huevos verde

It was Fire King lump. The chicken and pork both had a drip pan and there would have been no drippings making their way down to the coals. I will clean out the ash and what few coals are not burned and see if that makes any difference.

KenHawk

When do you guys (and gals, I mean it inclusively) recommend using a drip pan.
Should I always put a little water in it if I use one?

TBQue

I use a drip pan for anything cooking indirect unless it is cooking in a pan (ie. lazagna). Ribs, pork butt, prime rib, etc. always use a drip pan. It just keeps the inside cleaner. As for liquid I got back and forth. I am cooking two 6 1/2 lbs pork butts overnight right now and I put about 4 cups of water in the drip pan for moisture. I only do that for longer cooks. You need to try it both ways. Through some beer or apple juice in there. I don't think you need to put any liquid if you didn't want to.

Little Chef

Ken: There are multiple opinions on the drip pan and liquid. I rarely ever use any. One thing I make sure of however is if I am using a drip pan during a high temp cook, I make sure there is an air gap between my drip pan and the platesetter to reduce the burn factor (even if it is a few balls of aluminum foil). No need for the gap on a low n slow. I haven't found any benefit from liquid in the pan, though I have done so if I want wine reduced for a sauce. (doesn't add any flavor to the meat though, imo) But I can use the egg to reduce wine just as well as the stove top. Just my two cents.
If you are in the midst of a cook, and something starts to burn in the drip pan, you can always add some water, but those have been few and far between for us.

Grandpas Grub

 
I usually don't use a drip pan. When I do I make sure the drippings don't burn. I use liquid only to keep stuff for burning.

I have had water cookers for a long time. The egg without water produces more moist meat than the water cookers ever did.

There are many many ways to do things and most of them work out well. That is just my 2¢.

GG

Mickey

If a problem with alcohol could be found (inside the egg) you would find 97.6% of the eggers here would be gone :woohoo:

Frank from Houma

What LC said - No need for liquid but the gap is important

Frank from Houma

I think it is likely the gasket.

If the smell is more like rubber burning or plastic melting rather than a off food smell, its either gasket or you may have some foreign material (insulation, a piece of plastic, etc.) in your lump

huevos verde

Thanks for all of the opinions. I did not think about the material in the drip pan burning and that may have been the reason for the smell. I am going to proceed with the next grilling and will see what happens. I will definitely work harder on utilizing the alcohol more diligently on the outside.

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

did you add fresh lump for each cook? it may be that you added lump for the third cook, and you were smelling a faint ammonia smell from the fresh lump. that, and the VOCs, need a little time to blow off before you get to cooking.

if the smoke smells good, it'll taste good. don't put the meat on until the smoke smells good.

thechief96

I really like you handle...so in your case you may want to do the "peso" bill test. :P