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New to BGE

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Wild1
Wild1 Posts: 1
in EggHead Forum
Won a medium BGE, Which is fine for just the 2 of us. Any advice or tips for a newbie? Any items that are highly recommended I should get to use with the BGE? Never used anything other than a gas grill before or one of those small charcoal grills. Anyone ever used Red Oak lump charcoal.

Thanks for any useful info or advice
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  • Maizeandbrew18
    Maizeandbrew18 Posts: 69
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    Congrats and welcome!

    A platesetter is needed to start.  This allows you to do indirect cooks and smoking.  I also would eventually build a raised grid (or buy one but I just built one:  http://winnipeggheads.com/2013/02/18/how-to-make-a-home-made-raised-grid-for-a-large-big-green-egg/).  This allows you more versatility with your cooks.

    If you're looking to get into smoking, a Maverick Dual Probe Temperature Gauge is a must (around $60 on Amazon).

    Other tips?  Find a lump charcoal you like and stick with it.  I experimented with a few and found Royal Oak to be my favorite but everyone has their own preference.

    Start with something low and slow, maybe a single rack of ribs.  This allows you practice without blowing $30 or more on a brisket for a ton of people.  Practice makes perfect so make sure you get comfortable with the dampers, daisy wheel and lighting methods.

    Good luck!
    Large BGE
    Lexington, SC
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,378
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    Welcome aboard-great win.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • abpgwolf
    abpgwolf Posts: 559
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    I reccomend getting a Thermopen as soon as you can. Learn to cook to tempature rather than time. That has improved my cooking more than anything else. You'll likely want to add a setup for indirect soon, But there are many different ways to do that. Read this forum, look at vendor websites, visit stores and decide for yourself what accessories you wants and when to buy .

    Lititz, PA – XL BGE

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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    First thing you need is knowledge.

    Browse a year or so of the forum postings. Check out the fine vent setting post. Once you have temp control in hand, so many things become easy.

    Look up the Naked Whiz's site. Likewise thirdeye's blog.

    I had trouble using an Egg for awhile because the habits I had formed using many metal grills were useless. Took me awhile to forget those.

    1 big difference between an Egg and a gas grill is that "direct" cooking, where the food is in a line w. the IT radiation, produces heat that is much more intense than the hot gasses from propane. The dome thermometer reading may not be so high, because it just registers the air temperature. But the food on the side facing the lump may char. Think sitting in a car, w. one arm in the shade, and the other next to the window. Window side gets burnt.
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