Temperature Control- BGE Beginner

eggheadbrown · April 2011

Hi Everyone,
I am a BGE Beginner and am stilling learning the basics. I have cooked a few steaks on the egg and had my first smoking experience with ribs last weekend (they turned out great). I am looking for some advice on temperature control.

I was told once I light my charcoal to leave the wheel off and bottom vent open until i see white/colorless smoke. When I did this for my ribs (cooking temp-250), it took me a couple of hours to bring the temperature back down to 250 (I burbed the egg a number of time but it didn't help much). I believe once I starting controlling temp, my egg was around 350/375.

What is the best way to deal with this?

Can I start controlling my temperature right away?

Any other temperature tips/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Eggheadbrown

stike · April 2011

when you light it, after you are sure your starter materials are going, shut the dome and roughly adjust the vents.

if you want it low, don't let it get roaring.

for a low temp cook, you might leave vents open (top and bot) about less than half open, until the dome temp establishes itself. but keep the dome shut. when you first light it, and there are flames from whatever you used to start it, the dome thermometer will read those flames, even though the dome is really cold. they die fairly quickly, and at that point you want to eyeball the temp. catch it on its way up, don't let it overshoot for any good length of time, or the ceramic will heat up and take a while to drop back

Shiff · April 2011

Once the egg gets above your target temperature, it takes a long time to cool it off - lots of heat stored in all that ceramic (that's what makes the BGE so good).

Start your charcoal as you said and after about 20-25 minutes, the smoke should be clear. Then put the wheel on and set it for the right amount of air. Do the same for the bottom vent. This should all be done before the BGE reaches its target temperature. If the egg starts to approach the target temp too soon, go ahead and put on the top and set the bottom vent and wait a short while until the smoke is clear.

One thing you should consider buying or making is a wiggle rod. This is used to make sure the fire grate holes aren't plugged. A great one can be found at

http://thirdeyebbq.com/WiggleRods.aspx

Morro Bay Rich · April 2011

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=718915&catid=1

Jerzee · April 2011

I've only done a handful of cooks on my egg and I've used pretty much the same method stike described.

Dump in lump, get it going, then close dome and set vents approximately to where my target temp will be. I pretty much have the daisy wheel and vent setting for 350 degrees memorized now so when I close the dome, I approximate my vent settings according to where I want the temperature.

No idea if this is "right" or "wrong" but it seems to work for me.

Carolina Q · April 2011

Here's the way I do it...

Light the lump in 2-3 places, don't put the DFMT on yet, Open the bottom all the way. Add whatever accessories you're going to use (Platesetter, etc.). Close the dome after five minutes or so.

Pay attention.

When it gets to about 230° or so, put the DFMT on so that the petals are open about 1/16-1/8" and close the bottom to about 1/8". Let it come up to 250°.

That should get you close and with some minor tweaking once you're in the neighborhood, you'll be good to go.

Let it sit there at 250° for 45 minutes or so before you add the food. Don't let it get away from you or you'll be right back where you started.

Add the meat. The temp will drop, but don't touch anything as it will come back up by itself.

Hope this helps. It works for me.

Toaster_Head · April 2011

Newbie to newbie here, I do exactly the same way EXCEPT I watch that temp and don't worry about smoke! I'll watch with the lid open until the lump is actually burning, not just the starter. That can take around 10 minutes... go get a beverage right then.

Come back, close the lid, leave daisy wheel off and door open and closely watch for the temp to rise. Once I see a positive climb above 150, I should be staying right there and watching it come up to where I need it, (this also gets me out of housework for a bit of time)

. I have found that once I hit my target, put on the daisywheel, close it halfway and shut down the bottom door to 1" or so (this depends on where you're going temp-wise) and I'll see the temp stop rising, sometimes it will drop down a bit until the dome warms up. For low temps, same thing except I really close down that bottom door to a sliver and set the daisy wheel to use only the small openings. Again, the settings you need will have been memorized before you know it...and the smoke will take care of itself once the BGE has stabilized itself. As I've noticed, everyone seems to have thier own method..we all succeed! This one has worked for me. You'll get better at this each and every time you fire up your egg.
T_H

DLibby · April 2011

As you can see, I don't post much but I've been enjoying my BGE for a few years now (not as long as many on this forum) but I'll humbly submit what has been working well for me anyway...

Using a target temp of 400 as an example:

Once I get the fire lit, I'll add in the grill, platesetter or whatever I plan to use, and leave top and bottom vents wide open.

Then I'll check temp after about 10 minutes and again 5 minutes after that. Usually by 10 or 15 minutes the temp is getting to around 250 and it will tend to heat up quickly after that.

When I'm about 50 degrees lower than my target, I'll put on the DFMT but keep the holes open. I'll also slide the bottom closed till only about 1/4" is open.

When I hit target, I may tweak the vents a little. Usually have the bottom only about 1/8" open.

Might seem complicated but with use and experimentation, you'll find your own way and it will become second nature.

Be well

Temperature Control- BGE Beginner

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