xl egg heating

I have an XL, and from what I gather, they heat the same as any other size egg.

For low and slow, I take 2 starter cubes, break them in half, put them into the lump pile at 12, 3, 6, 9 (as if the lump pile was the face of a clock), light them with the top cap off and bottom vent wide open. wait about ten minutes, the cubes will disappear and you'll start to see 4 pockets of glowing lump. Put in the platesetter and watch the dome temp gauge (make sure it is calibrated). When the temps start hitting 200 degrees or so, put the daisy wheel on top and close it up about half way, and close the bottom vent too about half way. when it gets to 225 or so, close the daisy wheel almost completely, leave it about a 1/4 of the small holes open - the bottom vent close to about 1/8'' or so. These are general ideas, each egg has its own sweet spots you'll learn soon enough. The temps should gradually coast into the 250-260 range or so and stabilize. Wait til the temp hits 250 or 260 and stays there without moving for 45 minutes or so. At that point, you can rest assured you can put on the meat, temp will drop but dont touch any vents, temp will come back up to your 250ish reading. Depending on how much meat you put in, it may take an hour to get back to temps, but just leave the vents!!

For a hotter cook, same thing. But instead of breaking the cubes, I may use 3 whole cubes or heck even 4 if I want it blazing hot in a quick period of time. Leave dome open about 10 mins, cubes disappear, glowing lump pockets, close dome, wait for temps to shoot up and start to close vents. If you are using platesetter put in from the start, if not using plate setter just leave it out (duh). For any cooks over about 350 degrees or so I do not bother using the daisy wheel on top, I leave the top wide open.

If you want it real hot, make sure the egg was somewhat cleaned out before so you have good air flow.

And remember - what makes the egg great is its ability to hold temperatures. So never heat up the egg above your targeted temp, could potentially take a while to cool it back down. Ease into your targeted temps and start to close the vents before you hit your temp.

Buy a digiQ from bbqguru.com.

wyoming4400: Spend more time on the forum, seriously. No need to be frustrated with temp control. Not to add insult to injury, but seriously, the Egg is probably about the most efficient and stable cooker on the market. It keeps more accurate temps than my indoor oven. You need to practice, as there is definately a learning curve, but once you get it, you get it!! Practice, and you will get it! Do some inexpensive cooks first, so if it gets messed up, it doesn't cost you. Chicken parts, some sausages, etc... (notice I did not say burgers...they are actually challenging for a beginner due to the fat dripping on the coals). Keep it simple, and you will get it in no time. Again, visit the forum often, use the search engine, or just ask! There are always people here more than willing to assist! Just don't be discouraged.

A guru is a device that monitors the internal temperature of the meat you are cooking; while simultaneously monitoring the temp of your dome/grate. It fans the lump as necessary to maintain whatever target temperature you set. Great device for low/slow cooks.

http://www.thebbqguru.com/