New To Egg Smoking Question

mark11 · May 2013

I've been reading the forum for several weeks now and I have an XL in the box in my garage. I'll be working on a table this weekend and hope to get my first cook on by next weekend.

I've been smoking on two UDS's and a Cookshack (in the snowy months in Buffalo) and I bought the Egg primarily for grilling. I'd love to use it for low and slow because the superior temp control but I'll need some help from those that know. With my drum smokers if I make a spatch chicken for example and don't add any wood to the fire I'll still get a little smoke flavor in the bird, I assume from the seasoned walls of the smoker. I don't plan on smoking in the Egg because of this unless you folks tell me it won't hold the smoke. Sometimes I don't want smoke in my chicken and I don't really want smoke in my steaks.

Would a higher temp cleanout burn clear the smoke so my future cooks wouldn't pick it up?

cookinfun · May 2013

Don't think I have an answer to your question. Most of the eggers that I know use a hard wood charcoal, at a minimum and all charcoal releases "smoke" vapors as a by product. The lid is closed on low/slow...and could be open on grilling. but you know that.

travisstrick · May 2013

The short answer is, you can pick lots of smoke or no smoke from your egg.

You will get a little flavor from cooking with lump. The only way I know to get no flavor is to use gas.

LDR · May 2013

Your amount of smoke will vary based on which lump charcoal brand you use, more than how many chips/chunks you previously loaded. All I've used is Ozark Oak, and don't get much of a smoky flavor unless I do add something.

Others will be along shortly, and can offer suggestions about which lumps are more neutral or more on the smoky side. And here's a link to the lump reviews at Naked Whiz...

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

egger ave · May 2013

I do a lot of smoking and have not had an issue the next time I grill unless I have left unburnt chips or chunks in the lump.

ddegger · May 2013

I think that's one of the best things about the egg - lots of smoke or none, even with back-to-back cooks. For example, I recently smoked some pork butts, and when finished immediately baked a cobbler...no carryover at all. I agree with @travisstrick that you get some flavor from most brands of lump, but I wouldn't call it smoke - lots of baking for me, and so far all smoke-free.

canadianeh · May 2013

What do you mean no smoke?

I was going to post today, about tips to reduce smoke.

Besides flare-ups and what not, the smoke just billows from my egg. I'm using BGE Charcoal.

Is there a certain wait I should be preparing my charcoal when lighting, or once it's going?

I'm all for charcoal taste, but I find the abundance of darker smoke a bit of a turn off.

ddegger · May 2013

Lots of good posts on this forum about "good smoke" and " bad smoke" - I won't repeat it all here, but if you have some patience you'll burn the VOCs off and the bad smoke will clear up. When I'm cooking at >400, it normally takes 30 mins or so to reach temp and start to stabilize (depending on lump brand), and by then there's usually little/no smoke if I didn't add any chunks or chips.

Charlie tuna · May 2013

Short and sweet -- NO you don't have to worry about smoke from one cook to another! But understand, there is a slight amount of smoke produced from any wood fuel. I am assuming you mean like "hickory" taste,or "pecan" taste, and like others have posted, remove the left over wood before your next cook and you will be fine. Some of this smoke taste can linger around, but if you "stabilize" your egg for your next type of cook, say a spatchcocked chicken, the only smoke taste will be very slight and from the lump fuel...

cookinfun · May 2013

Stabilize..Stabilize..Stabilize.. I can't tell you of the amount of cooks that I screwed up cause I didn't wait for the burn to come to a neutral smoke. I generally start, upper / lower vents wide open, let come close to desired temp, back down the air intake vent, leave the top open, maintain temp for at least 30-45 min. then put on food. I guess I got tired of eating cooks with creosote taste...

BTW, for special wood flavors, I use lumps ( fist sized ) and put in during initial burn...they still give good flavor after burning and are just coals..

Charlie tuna · May 2013

I found out the hard way about "smoking" certain types of meat. Some can absorb so much smoke taste -- you throw it away!! Like a nice big "meatloaf". Boy, did it look good!!! But the smoke taste was so overpowering, you couldn't taste the meatloaf. Chicken is another one, and i'm sure there are many others!!

joe@bge · May 2013

Don't think a cleanout burn is necessary. I switch from smoking to grilling and as long as I don't add additional smoke wood to the lump - I don't notice any excessive smoke taste.

As travis stated...if you don't want smoke - get a gasser.

mark11 · May 2013

Thank you I look forward to my first Egg pulled pork the only lump I've found in town so far is Cowboy and Royal Oak so I have a pile of Royal Oak ready to go. I'll post pics of my table when I get up and running.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · May 2013

you are nuts if yo aren't going to smoke in your egg. Especially in the winter. That's the whole reason I bought one (I was held hostage in WI for 6 years).

The smoke you are getting is from cooking over charcoal, not the walls of your UDS. Like Travis said, if you want no smoke flavor, you are going to have to cook over gas. You will never smoke on anything again once you get your egg fired up on a snowy day in Buffalo. seriously, you have made a massive upgrade in tech when it comes to cooking.

fishlessman · May 2013

you will get less smoke flavor with the egg over an uds because you burn far less lump during the same cook. if you want it smokey you have to add smoking woods. some people coming off a uds will actually add a couple briquettes because they miss that flavor

New To Egg Smoking Question

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