Extinguishing Egg!!

JFK · June 2000

I have had this happen several times, I am curious as to why.[p]I get the egg, I have both a large and a medium and it has only happened on the medium, up to @400 put on a few pieces of chicken then I close the lid. I keep the bottem vent open @1 inch and the top on but open. Within a few minutes the fire will begin to extinguish itself so I need to open the lid and get oxygen back on lump. To be clear, a black smoke begins and the soot covers the food. Not pleasant.[p]This are the facts;
-the grill is clean, airflow holes, and bottem of egg are completely clear.
-I am not covering the entire cooking surface, just two quartes of chix.
-This will also occur when I attemp to "dwell".[p]These are the questions;
1)Is this a reflection of the marinade? It will drip but not excessively.[p]2)Should I not allow any "liquid" on the food until the very end? And what else could I be doing wrong.[p]
If it happens again someone in Atlanta can have a med and large for their collection.[p]Thanks gang,[p]JFK[p]

Char-Woody · June 2000

JFK, what are you using for fuel? I would have to see that one up front. If your getting a black smoke after a clean white smoke burn from hot coals..and at 400F I would assume they are hot from lump charcoal, then its only drippings that are killing the fire. Try your chicken with just olive oil and rubs..no heavy gobs of marinate..In fact, paper towel off any access marinate if you use it, to avoid access moisture and see if that helps. If your using a drip pan, that should be no problem either.
Need more to go on here..BTW..how does the temperature hold after you put in the birds..maybe you should leave the bottom vent open and no top till the heat rises again.
Just thoughts..
I have the small and the large, and no problems so far as you describe.
Cheers..and good luck..C~W[p]

Smokey · June 2000

JFK,[p]I own a medium and have never had a problem. You situation sounds strange. Can you offer more details? Are you marinadeing the HECK out of you meat/chicken before putting it oin the grill?[p]I'm in Atlanta and cook quite often, you're welcome to stop by and I'll show you what and how I do it (nothing special though)![p]drop me an e-mail[p]Smokey

JimW · June 2000

JFK,
If you're using lump charcoal, I'm not sure where the black smoke comes from. If you're not then you should definitely switch to it. The soot may be the result of prolonged use at relatively low temps. If that is your case, then take the Egg up to 600F plus or minus for a while and let it burn out some of the stuff that will collect inside over time.
JimW

AndyR · June 2000

JFK,[p]I believe it is probably the design of your house, your deck or something else too expensive to change to justify keeping those Eggs. Personally, I'd find someone who needs a large or medium Egg. BTW, did I tell you I live in the Atlanta area?[p]On a serious note, where did you get your lump? It may have been tainted before or after you opened it.

Unknown · June 2000

JFK,[p]The key to this mystery is your statement that "within a few minutes the fire will begin to extinguish itself so I need to open the lid and get oxygen back on lump". This is odd and should not be happening with 1" on the bottom and a open chimney.[p]Here's my guess as to what's happening - you're choking the fire, starving it of oxygen. This produces the creosote. You let the fire get too big to begin with, then constrain it with the bottom vent, and bingo, you get the creosote. You need a 400* fire, not a 600* fire that's been choked down to hit 400*. Try inching up on that 400*, starting the lump on top and let it stabilize at your temp for awhile. Then put the chicken on and don't change the settings.[p]Of course - if you're not approaching your fire this way, then as Roseanne Rosannadanna might say, "nevermind".

Unknown · June 2000

JFK,[p]Just a thought: Do you have the firebox installed so that the opening at the bottom is in line with the draft door at the bottom of the Egg? If you have the firebox opening facing the side or back of the Egg you may be preventing proper airflow. Also make sure to clean out the ashes under the fire grate. I remove the firebox after several cooks to clean the ash around the outside of the firebox.[p]Larry

JFK · June 2000

Thank you everyone for your input.[p]To answer a few questions; I have been using both Cowboy Charcoal 100% Lump and BGE Brand, I do have the airflow chamber lined up with the vent, and the chicken is always brined first then marinaded for few hours.[p]My quess is that it is a combination of factors; I have attempted to bring the heat down too quickly and I have also left a little too much marinade remain on the chix when placing them on the egg.[p]How much can you cover the cooking surface before an "extinguishing event" can occur?[p]Thank you again, and for those of you in the Atlanta area hoping I create another "Creosote Chicken Special" keep your fingers crossed![p]Cheers,
JFK

RhumAndJerk · June 2000

JFK,
The airflow would have to be totally blocked to extinguish the fire. [p]A while ago when I was experimenting with pizza stone setups on small BGE, I experienced an extremely high temperature. The airflow was not completely cut off, but the heat was baffled into the lower chamber that I had created. The dome temperature read only 500, but below the pizza stones the fire was white hot. Hot enough in fact to burn the wood handle.[p]Hope this helps,
RhumAndJerk

Zip · June 2000

JFK,[p]I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and cannot remember black smoke coming out of my egg, but it did happen to a buddy of mine(which will remain nameless). [p]
He we out to fire up the egg as usual and waited for it to come up to temp for some steaks. He went back in for a few minutes and the phone rang. His neighbors wanted to know why he was burning plastic or whatever was producing all the black smoke. He went to the window and looked and was taken back. He thought that the house was on fire until he got outside. He shut it down and went back in very confused about what was happening. Checked the lump and it seemed ok. When the fire was completly out, he looked in the bottom vent and was very surprised. His little boy was called out to give a statement. It appears that his little boy placed several(all) of his little plastic cars and soldiers in the air inlet on the bottom of the egg and closed the door. You guessed it, they burned and it took several high temp burns and a set of gaskets to get rid of the smell.[p]So in closing, if you have children, make sure they don't put anything in the egg. [p]Ashley

Extinguishing Egg!!

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