Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
New to BGE-lots of prior meat smoking experience
Options
lousubcap
Posts: 32,393
Been learning the BGE for about 4 months (after water smoker failure...) and have used lots of info here. My observations:
a. Understanding that each piece of meat is unique and I have always cooked to temperature, why does the BGE take more time (as in a few hours) to finish than a typical water smoker? This is based on the grid temperature on each being about the same and roughly constant.
For example: 6# brisket flat-13 hours BGE-water smoker 10-11 Hours. 8# pork shoulder-17 hours BGE-water smoker 13-14 hours.
Does the smoker steam environment influence the cook time?
This delta in time resulted in a few late dinners til I figured it out. Anyone else have similar experiences???
And I really enjoy the versatility-Weber gasser of 19 years service now collecting dust.
In advance, thanks for your insights-
lousubcap
a. Understanding that each piece of meat is unique and I have always cooked to temperature, why does the BGE take more time (as in a few hours) to finish than a typical water smoker? This is based on the grid temperature on each being about the same and roughly constant.
For example: 6# brisket flat-13 hours BGE-water smoker 10-11 Hours. 8# pork shoulder-17 hours BGE-water smoker 13-14 hours.
Does the smoker steam environment influence the cook time?
This delta in time resulted in a few late dinners til I figured it out. Anyone else have similar experiences???
And I really enjoy the versatility-Weber gasser of 19 years service now collecting dust.
In advance, thanks for your insights-
lousubcap
Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
Comments
-
Well since you don't mention any temperatures it's hard to say. Anyway my 8 lb butts only go 12-13 hours at 250 degrees so it's faster.
-
I can't say, I haven't used a water smoker. I came from a Brinkmann SnP offset and everything I cook on the Egg is faster than that. Ribs went from 6 to 4.5 hours. Chickens 3.5 vs 4. Butts are about the same maybe a little shorter.
Silly question, have you checked the calibration of your thermometer on the Egg? My butts almost always hit exactly 1.5 hours per pound or less at a 250f dome temperature. 18 hours for an 8 lb but seems way out of range so I'm guessing something is off, as you suspect.Knoxville, TN
Nibble Me This -
I can only make a general comment, because my experience with a water smoker was so different from the Egg, that I can't really compare. I recollect that even with the water bath, I had a hard time keeping meat moist. I agree with your supposition that the higher humidity may make the cook go faster. But I am very inclined to think that the way the metal body of the smoker radiated heat away, that it pulled moisture out of the meat faster. I didn't get the sort of collagen break down I wanted before the meats dried out.
-
Even though the temperatures are the same, steam contains a LOT more heat energy than dry air; that's why a steam burn is so dangerous yet you can stick your hand into a 500-degree oven without injury (for awhile, anyway).
I knew those two engineering degrees would be good for something, someday! :laugh:_____________Tin soldiers and Johnson's coming...
-
With regard to thermometer calibration- gotta have good tools to do the job so I calibrate every time I'm doing a long cook and then recheck after. It's not that-the nature of the equipment and I'm fine with that-just a learning curve.
BTW-BGE should let newbies know of the dome to grid temperature off-set. Would have made the first cook a bit easier to explain to the better half.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. -
You can do fast cooks too. whole chicken 500° 45 minutes. Breast was extremely moist.
8# Boston Butt 6.5 hours to pull.
With my water smokers, gas grills and such, I never came close to the tasty, good texture of food that came off the egg. No comparison and would never go back.
GG
Categories
- All Categories
- 182.7K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 163 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 35 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 313 Health
- 293 Weight Loss Forum