New to the Forum

@smokesniffer welcome to the forum!  As a new Egg owner I 'll share what I have learned in the past few weeks with my Large Egg.  The following is what I have observed as far as temperature control and has worked for me cooking wings, tenderloins, beer can chickens and pizzas.

The trick is to be consistent each time you build a fire and cook so you are not trying to control what "appears" to be random events.

Temperature Control

There are three factors that control how much heat your Egg produces and your ability to control it.

• The amount of charcoal you light initially and total amount of charcoal in the grill.
• The amount of intake air from the lower vent
• The amount of air that can exit the upper vent

For the purpose of my discussion I classify heat into three ranges

• Low - 200-300
• Medium - 300-500
• High - > 600

Charcoal Lighting

The more charcoal that lights initially the hotter your fire will be.  If you light the fire and leave the the lid up until most/all the charcoal lights you will have a tremendous amount of heat that will be hard to regulate.  Closing the grill at this point and trying to lower the temp to cook at low/medium will be tricky because so much charcoal is burning and producing heat.  On the other hand, if you light the fire, wait until an amount of charcoal that will fit in your hand is lit and then close the top it will be easier to adjust the vents for low/medium cooking and maintain a constant temperature.

Air Flow (upper/Lower)

With the combination of lower and upper vents you can limit air flow to the point the coals go out or open the vents and get the grill going like a blacksmith's forge and every range in between.  The trick is to not let the grill heat run away but instead plan ahead for the type of heat and duration you want.  Also limit the number of variables each time you cook.

Preparation

Before lighting a fire I always stir the remaining charcoal in the firebox and knock all the ashes into the the lower reservoir.  I also make sure all the vent holes are clear.  Performing this step will insure consistent, predictable air flow each time you build a fire.  Once the ash and air holes are clean I fill up the firebox with charcoal.  I like to start with the same amount of charcoal (combination of new/used) each time I light the grill.  Now you are ready to light the charcoal. 

I have found that using the guidelines below I can set a desired temp and maintain it for severals hours.

Low Heat

Light the charcoal and leave the top up until you have several pieces of charcoal lit that is about the size of your palm.

Lower Vent - Open about 1/2 inch

Multi-function Top - Slide top closed and open rotating vent so holes are unobstructed.

Stay with grill and close lower vent as you approach tour desired low temp.  You can fine tune with rotating vent.

Medium Heat

Light the charcoal and leave the top up until you have several pieces of charcoal lit that is about the size of your palm.

Lower Vent - Open about 1/2 to 1 inch

Multi-function Top - Slide top halfway open and close rotating vent so holes are closed.

Stay with grill and close lower vent as you approach tour desired low temp. You can fine tune by sliding the top open/closed.

High Heat

Light the charcoal and leave the top up until you have approximately 1/2 the charcoal lit.

Lower Vent - Open about 1 inch to start

Multi-function Top - Remove and set aside

Stay with grill until temperature is stabilized.  If you walk away before temps are stabilized the grill can easily hit 1000 degrees and "freak you out" as the gasket catches fire (been there, done that)  Use lower vent to regulate temperature.

Keep in mind these are guidelines.  By insuring ash/ air vents are clear and using the same amount of charcoal each time you cook you have removed two potential areas that can cause inconsistent results.  After you try this a few times you will start to get a feel for how the grill reacts and you will feel comfortable controlling the temps.

Temperature Probe

A wireless temperature probe is a must have.  Once you get the hang of regulating your grill temp the wireless thermometer will allow you to relax and monitor the meat without having to constantly open grill (lose heat/smoke) to check the temperature.  A lot of people on the forum like the Maverick  ET 732 (see below).  I already own the Oregon Scientific and it works great.

Maverick ET732

Oregon Scientific

Hope this helps,

in addition to the info you will find here, check out www.greeneggers.com .  Get to the main forum page and on the left side you will see the following links:

Use the following links to view the Quick Reference for BGE resources.

BGE Quick Reference Part 1: CLICK HERE!

BGE Quick Reference Part 2: CLICK HERE!

Lots of good info across the board.  BTW-if you search here and can't find what you are looking for-check out the search on the above site-not much of a filter but lots of info from those who have years of eggsperience.  Used to be the affilitated BGE site but that all changed several months ago.

Enjoy-