Dropping Steaks

gdenby said:

Here's my short suggestion.

Don't use less lump. Have a full fire box, and light it, and/or stir the lump so that it is burning evenly. You don't want a super hot spot in the center, and almost nothing burning towards the edges. Have an area of even glowing coals as big as the food you are going to cook. Let the dome get to 500 if you like. The dome temp doesn't indicate the heat the meat is receiving. W. something thin like a flank, flip every 30 seconds until it gets some good char stripes. Expect some grease flames.

And my semi-long, semi-technical answer.

When cooking over lump, there are 2 things heating the food. These are hot gases, usually less than what burning propane produces, and IR radiation, which is hotter than propane gasses. The amount of IR radiation depends on the distance from the burning lump. Down close to the lump, food will always be cooking at really high temperatures. Even w. a dome of 300, a piece of meat an inch or so from the lump will char.

There are some complications. Most lump has some un-converted wood in it, and some partially converted wood chemical fragments. Those can produce a hot flame, if I recall correctly, around 1800F. Once those are burnt off, there is a period where the cooking heat is from heated gasses and IR. But as larger amount of lump begin to burn, the IR becomes so intense that the carbon monoxide by-product will kindle. This will produce a blue flame that is about 2100F. If you ever see an Egg w. a blue jet coming out the top, proceed w. caution (!!!)

Expect that anything cooking an inch or two from glowing lump is likely to be in the 1800 - 2100 range. Burp the Egg, wear gloves, work fast, and expect the meat to burst into flame in  just a few seconds, then close the dome, and repeat.

I've had the dome temp at 800, and flipped the steak. The dome temp dropped to 500. 30 seconds latter, when I opened the dome, WHOMP! Fireball made from the meat fat smoke

Thanks for the help!