High Que learning curve

Chubbs · January 19

Well folks. I may have officially had my first screw up on the egg. First low n slow with high que grate. Done a ton with factory grate. Loaded egg with 8lb butt at midnight in an egg stabilized at 250 dome for an hour. Butt on temp dropped to 225 like normal, no worries, vents set. Go to bed at 1am and looking good. Wake up at 7 to check egg. Egg is at 350 and IT of butt is 212. Wowsers. Never had egg clime on me that much before. Only thing different is high que grate and butcher removed fat cap when I told him leave 1/4 inch. Anyone have similar eggsperience with the high que? Hoping to save the butt somehow. Supposed to eat at 2pm. Thoughts?

gerhardk · January 19

Extra BBQ sauce? It might turn out better than you expect although I have never cooked a shoulder quite that high.

Gerhard

Chubbs · January 19

Yeah never been in the turbo butt camp. I guess I am old school and like the low n slow. I usually check mine at 195IT and go from there. 212 was a shocker in 7 hours. Oh and confirmed IT with thermopen as well.

Mickey · January 19

Chubbs you are only 2 hours away from Turbo Club Membership. Your application is being held after this cook. TURBO BUTTS · Hot'n fast, 350 for 3 hours to internal to around 160, then wrap in foil and 2 more hours to 195 and then let it rest for an hour or so wrapped in towels in a ice chest. Falls apart and oh so good! Have fun! · Be sure you only get a 7lb butt or so . Note: both times on the foil wrap is not required. Nor is the butt box.

Mickey · January 19

Oh, about that learning curve. Guess it should be posted about low and slow being a little different. :)]

lousubcap · January 19

You should be able to FTC til ready to pull and eat-I'm sure it will be fine. Just remember the downside to the turbo process is that you have less time in the BGE supervisory role (away from SWMBO) with the attendant supervisory beverages. FWIW- :)

NewEnglandEgger · January 19

I have a HighQ grate, and have stopped using it for it's designed use. I found I was burning through much more charcoal than I wanted to. I would still not want to be without it, as I use it each time I cook steaks. I place it on the coals so I can do a quick sear TREX style. Works great for that purpose.

Skiddymarker · January 19

The High-Que, IMHO, requires us to set vents differently to obtain a stable temp, much like we cook to temp - not time.

The HQ does not use more lump than a OEM grate at a specific stable temp. It does require less air to maintain the same stable temp as an OEM grate. If you leave the petals fully opened and the bottom vent at 1" the OEM grate may maintain a temp of 350, the HQ will maintain a temp something much higher, maybe 400-450.

To obtain the same stable dome temp as an OEM, the HQ will require you to choke it down a bit.

And I find just the opposite to @NewEnglandEgger. For low and slows, the OEM grate in my MBGE would plug, the HQ, never, no wiggle rod required.

Fred19Flintstone · January 19

I've plugged the OEM on low & slows requiring a wiggle rod to keep cooking. No wiggle rod needed with a High Que grate. @Skiddymarker is correct. To obtain a specific temp using the High Que grate, you must choke your vents down a bit more than you would using the OEM grate.

Chubbs · January 19

Yeah, this was an accidental turbo butt. Verdict is in, definitely my worst butt ever made. Overcooked and the bark is literally bark. As in tree bark. Was planning to eat at 2pm. Crazy thing is I replaced my gasket and dome is a little offline. I figured if anything I would wake up and see I lost some temp. Was planning for a full day of monitoring the egg with my beer fridge. Was kind of looking forward to the dreaded plateau. Plans changed when it was not only done at 7am, but overdone. Foiled for a few hours, went back to sleep until guests woke up. Shared the bad news. Guests were raving at how good it was. With my tail between my legs I just thought to myself they would have passed out if they had the normal results.

jfm0830 · January 19

I too haven't had any issues with low and slow. I do use only two firestarters when I'm shooting for 225 indirect, but I did that on the other grate as well. To do 225 I let the temps get within about 50° and then I start closing things down fast. Although I haven't done it yet, I wouldn't want to overshoot 225 because my grates are barely open to reach that temp. When I am cooking that low I usually keep an eye on things a little longer than usual to make sure I am really stabilized at 225 instead of just passing by 225 when I happened to look at the thermometer. The longest cook I have done so far with 225° temperatures was a 10 hour small brisket cook. When I stabilized at 225, I went 10 hours and I only had to make one adjustment at the nine hour mark when I mopped and the temperatures didn't quite recover. I use WGWW and I find it's great for everything, but I particularly like it for low and slow.

twlangan · January 20

Pull it, toss in a crock pot, add apple juice to put moisture back into it, and let it sit on low until ready to eat. It will be fine.

Chubbs · January 20

jfm0830 said:

I too haven't had any issues with low and slow. I do use only two firestarters when I'm shooting for 225 indirect, but I did that on the other grate as well. To do 225 I let the temps get within about 50° and then I start closing things down fast. Although I haven't done it yet, I wouldn't want to overshoot 225 because my grates are barely open to reach that temp. When I am cooking that low I usually keep an eye on things a little longer than usual to make sure I am really stabilized at 225 instead of just passing by 225 when I happened to look at the thermometer. The longest cook I have done so far with 225° temperatures was a 10 hour small brisket cook. When I stabilized at 225, I went 10 hours and I only had to make one adjustment at the nine hour mark when I mopped and the temperatures didn't quite recover. I use WGWW and I find it's great for everything, but I particularly like it for low and slow.

Thanks Jim. Yeah, first issue like this. I have run mine for 17 hours at 250 before with no issue. Do you have a High Que grate? If so, I am sure you have noticed a change in vent settings. The disturbing part is I had it stabilized for 1 hour before I put on the butt. Going forward, I am either going to use the factory grate for low n slows overnight or start it at 5 am with high que and monitor it.

BuckeyeBob · January 20

Just curious, but do you think with your dome not aligned, maybe that let in more air and caused the temp to climb? I have not had any problems like you describe with my high que on the low and slows I did before I got my DigiQ. While the vent settings are a little tighter, once I got them set, they would hold pretty well.

Chubbs · January 20

BuckeyeBob said:
Just curious, but do you think with your dome not aligned, maybe that let in more air and caused the temp to climb? I have not had any problems like you describe with my high que on the low and slows I did before I got my DigiQ. While the vent settings are a little tighter, once I got them set, they would hold pretty well.

Not off much and dollar bill test still has drag all the way around. But maybe.

gerhardk · January 20

I have a Maverick thermometer to remotely monitor the temperature, the range is good, the batteries last a long time and you can set alarms that wake you if the temperature go outside the parameters you set. It monitors the temperature of both the grill and the meat. I go to bed not worrying what is going on with the egg.

Gerhard

Chubbs · January 20

gerhardk said:
I have a Maverick thermometer to remotely monitor the temperature, the range is good, the batteries last a long time and you can set alarms that wake you if the temperature go outside the parameters you set. It monitors the temperature of both the grill and the meat. I go to bed not worrying what is going on with the egg.

Gerhard

Yeah gave my wife a hard time. She bought me one but won't give it to me until my birthday in February. Told her it would have been a non issue with it.

calracefan · January 20

Could the wind have changed during the night , after it was stable ? I have noticed that can have a dramatic effect on the temp . That is what I would figure happened , I doubt the grate had anything to do with it alone.

Chubbs · January 20

calracefan said:
Could the wind have changed during the night , after it was stable ? I have noticed that can have a dramatic effect on the temp . That is what I would figure happened , I doubt the grate had anything to do with it alone.

If so, it would have been the first time it was effected that much. There are definitely differences with the grate. Cooked several things after the butt this weekend and vent settings are noticeably different. Getting used to it though.

Chubbs · January 20

Forgot to mention, during a cook this weekend I also noticed a clear substance over the metal bottom vent. Looking at it, it looked like a type of glue, but when I touched it with a toothpick (egg was hot) it was hard. With the high que grate there was a ton of hot embers in the bottom of egg. Has anyone seen this. Not a good egg weekend for me LOL!!

Mickey · January 20

Chubbs I have noticed when Mangrates are materializing from one form to another a clear substance will appear. Who are we to question.

Chubbs · January 20

@Mickey, seriously have you ever noticed the clear gluelike film over the bottom vent when high heat cooking and have a ton of hot coal fall through the high que? By over I mean if you are looking at the vent, it is above it. Almost like it is glued to the ceramic.

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High Que learning curve

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