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16 hour cook

cortguitarman
cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
edited April 2012 in EggHead Forum
I finished my first butts yesterday. 2 8 pounders at 250. Unfortunately when the meat was at 176 the temp started falling. Turns out all of the lump burned up. Fire box was full and egg was clean. I used royal oak. Would a different brand of lump have made a difference?

I even put the biggest pieces of lump on the bottom. The egg is an XL.
Mark Annville, PA
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Comments

  • Something about your cook sounds a little off. You should have had plenty of fuel for that cook, especially on an XL. I usually fill my firebox all the way up to the bottom of the plate setter when I do a long cook. I can go 20+ hours on my medium with a full load of Wicked Good Charcoal. If you can't find it locally, you can order it directly from the manufacturer at wickedgoodcharcoanl.com. It's extreamley dense and burns very slowly.

     "Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great, Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"

    Med & XL

  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    I only filled just past the top of the first fire ring. Should've added more fuel, I guess.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    in an XL that's a LOT of lump.

    i would fill to the underside of the fire ring in a large, and that'll go 16 hours easily.

    were you running a powered draft thing? they burn more fuel (it seems).

    i think, too, that lump burns down.  at least in my egg.  the XL is wider, but not vastly deeper , than a large.  did all your lump burn or did you have center burn?
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I have an XL and no gasket. Holding 250 dome temp, a full load of Royal Oak lasts 18 hrs or more every time. If you give me/us the details, we can help. 
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    Oh DANG. I didnt see it was you cort, you should know better. I blame it all on you. Whatever you did, you blew it. hahahahahah  =))
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    I agree with the gang. That is a **** ton of lump to burn through. Last time I filled my large up I got 19 hours out of it. And my gasket sucks.
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    Travis, if I blew it, I should do it more often. That was the best damn pulled pork I've ever had. Haha. The setup was as follows. XL egg, gasket in good shape. Sorted lump and put biggest pieces on the bottom. (Not very many big pieces in this bag compared to other bags of RO I've used). I filled the lump up to the bottom of the top fire ring. Plate setter was in with legs up. Thermometer was calibrated just before lighting. To light, I put a fire starter in the middle of the lump and lit it. Once the fire starter burned out, I closed the lid and let it come to temp & stabilize 40 minutes. Then I put in the plate setter and let it come back to temp and stabilize for another 20 minutes. I put drip pans on the plate setter, put the butts on he grate and let it rip. Temp stayed rock solid at 250 all night long. No digital temp controllers were used.

    Also, the egg was cleaned prior to loading the lump. At about 16 hours in I noticed the temp began to fall. The butts (2 8 pounders) were at 176. I opened the vents a little to revive the fire, but no luck. Finally I gave in and opened the egg. Low and behold, the lump was all gone except for 3 tennis ball sized pieces.

    I'm thinking the size of the lump in his bag didn't help. Also, I could have added a little more fuel.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    Sorry for the dissertation. Travis asked for it!
    Mark Annville, PA
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I'm working on a post bout the XL. Your info helped. (it wont be good)
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • uncledave
    uncledave Posts: 90
    I just did a 18 hr.burn for a pork butt on my xl at 225 grid with a temp controller. I had plenty of lump left. I filled the egg about 2" below the plate setter.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Dissertation? I can do three thousand words on the smome ring :))
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    'smoke'
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Jameson19
    Jameson19 Posts: 354
    On my large BGE, I've done two butts just under 19 pounds for 17 hours with BGE charcoal. Had enought left to grill direct at 350° for another 2 hours afterwards. No refill. Lump leftover.
    Large BGE, Adjustable Rig, Small BGE, 2 BBQ Guru's, 18" WSM, Rockwood, Stage 3 Roush Mustang and a hot wife... 

    Las Vegas, Nevada!
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    I'll just be forced to try again.
    @stike I typed it on my phone, so it seemed like 3000 words. :)
    Mark Annville, PA
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    i typed mine in the fone too... hence "smome", and even worse, you can no longer edit from the phone (mobile site).


    :-/
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Greygoose
    Greygoose Posts: 103
    You coal could certainly be the problem. i've been using royal oak and having the same issues. my first long cook was with BGE coal and it could have gone 30 hours without going out. I know that everyone is saying that royal oak makes BGE and so on and so forth, but i found the BGE lump to have larger pieces, burn much longer, and allow me to dial in a tempurature to hold much easier than the royal oak.

    With that said, i simply put up and shut up and continue to buy the Royal oak due to price. i get 18lb bags for 15 bucks and the BGE lump is 25 bucks. I certainly use the BGE lump if they were price competitive.

    GreyGoose
  • Squeezy
    Squeezy Posts: 1,102
    I would too ... $30 here!
    Never eat anything passed through a window unless you're a seagull ... BGE Lg.
  • You coal could certainly be the problem. i've been using royal oak and having the same issues. my first long cook was with BGE coal and it could have gone 30 hours without going out. I know that everyone is saying that royal oak makes BGE and so on and so forth, but i found the BGE lump to have larger pieces, burn much longer, and allow me to dial in a tempurature to hold much easier than the royal oak.

    With that said, i simply put up and shut up and continue to buy the Royal oak due to price. i get 18lb bags for 15 bucks and the BGE lump is 25 bucks. I certainly use the BGE lump if they were price competitive.

    GreyGoose
    If you live in an area that they carry it: 100% mesquite lump at Sams = 40lb's for $15. It's awesome too. Costco has a hardwood lump that's $16 fir 35 lbs. Cooked on it this past weekend and it was good too. I've been through 20 bags of the Sam's stuff and I love it. it does have really big chunks though- I like that but just know that they are much larger than the normal lump I've see out there. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    40 lb's for $15 bucks? Is that right? That is super cheap.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
    OK, my Costco only has kings Ford occasionally. :(
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
  • 40 lb's for $15 bucks? Is that right? That is super cheap.
    I'm not kidding Travis. It's awesome and super cheap. Loaded with big pieces too (which I like). I buy it 5 bags at a time. Highly recommended from a guy who has used BGE, B&B, Wicked good, Cowboy,  and all the other recommended brands out there. it does have a lot of shake after you get through the lump but not much more than any of the other brands I've used
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • 40 lb's for $15 bucks? Is that right? That is super cheap.
    I'm not kidding Travis. It's awesome and super cheap. Loaded with big pieces too (which I like). I buy it 5 bags at a time. Highly recommended from a guy who has used BGE, B&B, Wicked good, Cowboy,  and all the other recommended brands out there. it does have a lot of shake after you get through the lump but not much more than any of the other brands I've used
    http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=181568&_requestid=131439&_requestid=131646

    $14.98 for 40 lbs
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    It could suck pretty bad and I would still go for it. That's half price of RO.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • It could suck pretty bad and I would still go for it. That's half price of RO.
    That's what I figured when I bought it: How bad could it be? I have never found a foreign object or anything other than mesquite. burns great, does not pop and lasts forever. For 40lb @ $15, I can overlook a lot of ills. Fortunately, I don't have to with this stuff. It's good. It does have huge pieces (some the size of a loaf of bread) but that does not bother me. i've had to hit a few of the huge ones with a hammer but they broke down to 4-5 large pieces. If you can get it where you live, I say give it a rip. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    I'm working on a post bout the XL. Your info helped. (it wont be good)
    I'm still waiting.
    (:|

    Seriously though, You guys should also check out Humphrey Charcoal. I'm making an order this week for a pallet. They will ship it to my door and the cost is less than Royal Oak. If they send it to a hub where I pick it up, they will charge $40 less for shipping. They've been a bit slow to get back to me on different occasions, but when I finally did talk to someone, it was none other than Mike Humphrey himself. Not often that you call a company and actually get to speak to the owner. I've heard good things about their product so I decided to give them a try.

    Shipping cost does vary depending where you are in the country. They are based out of PA and that is where I live, so it may be cheaper than a shipment to Texas.
    Mark Annville, PA
  • A2Z
    A2Z Posts: 99
    I am new to cooking on the egg.  My wife does not like the heavy smoked flavor.  Will the mesquite lump from costco give you that super smoky flavor?  I cook primarily pork and use fruitwood like cherry for a faint smokiness.  The price really wants to make me try it.  Thanks in advance for the advice 
  • I use cowboy brand and I have run my xl for 24 hours  between 225 and 250
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    a2z; you may be putting the food on too soon  how soon after lighting do you toss it on? if you get going the minute the BGE is at your desired temp, there's th e culprit right there.  you need to let the smoke clear (when using fresh/new charcoal)
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • a2z; you may be putting the food on too soon  how soon after lighting do you toss it on? if you get going the minute the BGE is at your desired temp, there's th e culprit right there.  you need to let the smoke clear (when using fresh/new charcoal)
    Agreed. also, I've not found the mesquite lump is any smokier than any other charcoal. Mesquite wood can be off-putting to some but the charcoal does not carry that same smoke profile. If you use fruit wood over mesquite charcoal, you'll get the flavor of the wood

    To be clear, The lump I used form Costco last week was "Hardwood Charcoal" (not mesquite). They may have both but the mesquite I use every day is from Sam's. The Costco was good stuff and for 35lb @$16 it's a sweet deal. I recommend it if you are a costco guy and can get it in your area.
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • R2Egg2Q
    R2Egg2Q Posts: 2,136
    I find Wicked Good burns significantly longer than Royal Oak. It's my go-to lump for long cooks.
    XL, Large, Small, Mini Eggs, Shirley Fabrication 24x36 Patio, Humphrey's Weekender, Karubecue C-60, MAK 1-Star General, Hasty Bake Gourmet, Santa Maria Grill, Webers: 14" WSM, 22.5" OTG, 22.5" Kettle Premium, WGA Charcoal, Summit S-620 NG

    Bay Area, CA