Lighting the BGE XL

boomchke · June 2015

So I've had about 6 cooks on my XL now and I've had varying degrees of success. I seared some steaks on it last week and the high temp sear worked awesome but I ended up leaving them on for a little too long. Did a pizza on it earlier this week and made the mistake of thinking that a high temp (650 to 700) would work the best. Waited for the cheese to melt and by that time the pizza stone had completely charred the bottom of the pizza. I think I need to be closer to 600 or need to get a thicker pizza stone.

Either way - Im enjoying experimenting and learning on it but I do have some questions around lighting it.

Everywhere I read they tell you to fill the egg with lump, put a fire starter in the middle, open the lower damper, and leave the lid open for ~10 minutes as the coal lights. I've tried this method several times and had on and off results. The first time it seemed to work well and when I came back after 10 minutes I had a circle of hot coals around 6 inches wide in the middle. I shut the lid, left both dampers open, and let it get up to temp.

The second time, I cam back after 10 minutes and I had a couple of hot coals, but it was pretty much just smoking. I shut the lid and the temp never came up. I ended up having to blow on the coals to get them going again.

I should mention that Im not lighting for a smoke in either of these cases, just for general grilling.

So heres my question. I understand that if you light for smoking you want to light the middle, get it temp, and let the fire spread throughout the smoke to the additional lump so it has a lot of lump to work with throughout the smoke as it burns through it. However, when you guys light for 'normal' grilling, do you do anything different? It seems to me that when you use the 'light in the center' method, after 10 minutes you just have a hot spot in the middle of the grill. Do you guys let the fire spread with the lid closed for a bit before you grill your meat? Or is it 'good to go' at that point? I guess now that I think about it, the coals will be hot in the middle but that would give you a wider area cooking spaces at different temps rather than just having the whole thing lit.

Does my question make sense? I like to use the fire starter method but I just dont seem to get a good spread of hot coals when I do that. Some of that I assume is because Im on the XL. I used the chimney method once, let those coals get hot, spread them out on the grate, then added some more. That got me a nice hot fire all over. I suppose I should just experiment some more.

Just curious what you guys do and how you light for normal grilling (steaks, chops, chicken, etc)

Thanks!

Ozzie_Isaac · June 2015

Weedburner and Rockwood work for me. A minute or so of direct flame, let sit open for 5 to 10 minutes, close lid with all vents wide open. Ready to grill in 20 minutes.

Foghorn · June 2015

I light my XL differently depending on what - and how much - I am cooking and how much time I have. For hot cooks (grill 12 burgers) where I need the whole surface hot on a weeknight (limited time) I use multiple firestarters to get things going fast and wide. For cooking two steaks I just light it in the back and use the front for my indirect area - and don't bother with the platesetter - etc. For low and slow I light it as you describe.

boomchke · June 2015

So when you guys light it, do you light the middle, leave open for 10, then shut the lid, dampers open, and let it sit for another 10 or 20 minutes to let the fire spread?

Ozzie_Isaac · June 2015

I usually light at the back for low&slow. I light middle for direct grilling. Once I close the lid I wait for clean smoke before I grill or low&slow. With RW thats about 15 minutes.

sloo50 · June 2015

I use a torch to light it in the middle and off to one side then wait 5 minutes. Open all vents and close the lid. Enjoy an adult beverage & Wait till smoke burns clean, usually 15 minutes or so w/ Royal Oak.

dldawes1 · June 2015

I have started using 91% alcohol as a fire starter. For grilling direct, I squirt some in about a 8" circle area just back of center of the lump. This allows airflow from back of grill to feed the fire. I leave top open for 5-7 minutes, sometimes longer...if I get busy prepping in the kitchen, then I just have to check to see where the fire is at. If I am satisfied, I close the top and watch the thermo to reach near my temp, then adjust bottom vent. I leave top vent 100% open - always..I never adjust it.

Hope that helps....welcome to the forum. If you don't understand something, just reword your question and ask again...that's why we are all here.

Thanks,

Donnie

DonWW · June 2015

I have been using a Looftlighter on my XL for a few years. Pile the lump into a tower, light in a couple of places, close the lid for about 10 minutes, return and spread the lump, close the top for about 5 minutes and you are set to go. Before that, I used starters - but usually 2 or 3.

Foghorn · June 2015

I shut the dome immediately after lighting. I used to leave it open for a while. I don't think it matters.

boomchke · June 2015

So it seems like the consensus is that you get a section of the lump lit, let it burn for a bit with the lid open (or some close it), then close the lid, let it get to temp, and wait for the smoke to clear up before you grill on it.

Im still curious if you guys get a good spread on the fire. Does the fire spread to most of the lump when the lid is open? Or once it's closed? Or does the fire really not ever spread to all of the lump in normal grilling?

It sounds like most of you are suggesting that the fire spreads to most of the lump, just wondering if it does that before you close the lid, or happens when the lid is closed and the air helps move the flame around.

Sorry if Im being annoying about this, but Im wondering if this is part of my issue when I do normal grilling. If a large portion of the lump doesnt light in my XL, sometimes I feel like the smoke really never clears and I end up waiting and waiting.

DieselkW · June 2015

Heat rises. I always push all the (old) lump to one side, place a firestarter on the fire grate, light it, then I build a little "fort" made out of used chunks of lump. These light readily. Once I feel safe that I won't put out the fire by adding lump, I just dump a load on top to the fire ring.

10 minutes later the smoke from the new lump will clear.

ChokeOnSmoke · June 2015

I've tried a ton of different methods over the years and found the easiest cheapest method is a $8 electric starter. As long as you don't leave it in too long (8 minutes), it'll last you for years. After 8 minutes, I pull the starter out and stir the lump with a shovel and close the lid, gives it a nice even burn throughout. I light the same way no matter what I'm cooking only I leave the starter in less time if I doing a long cook.

YukonRon · June 2015

Rockwood and weber chimney, works every time. dump the coals and let her get to temp. Easy, fast, done.

Jstroke · June 2015

Couple of things I will add. First of all you should not have to "blow" on your coals. Please stir your lump and check for ash build up. 2, close the dome. This creates more draft. 3, go buy a weedburner at harborfreight. for 29.95, it will completely change the thought process Monday--Thursday. My egg is hotter--faster than a gas grill. 4. last but not least. Burn off your VOC in advance. Sunday night fill it to the top of the firering, get it up to 350 and wait until all the nasty smoke clears and it smells sweet if you hold your hand over it--sniff your hand or stick your nose in the smoke. Then shut it down. If you run low on lump in the egg during the week, fill it up after you are done with your meal and let that nasty smoke clear. Then shut it down. If you add lump to a fire and let it burn off before you shut it down you will never be waiting for lump to clear when you are ready to cook.Unless you run out of lump, in which case it is time for a different discussion. There are plenty of people who will be glad to show you how to properly stockpile lump. Trust me, do not wait until October. In relation to pizza burning, put you platesetter in first legs down. Then your pizza stone. this will create more insulation. for the crust. 550 600 is good numbers for thin crust with not a lot of toppings. 500 or so for deeper dish. And no to answer the last post. The fire will only spread as it needs more fuel in relation to the amount of oxygen you allow it to have. If you restrict airflow, the fire will only spread once it has completed burning the portion it is on. As it needs more fuel it will move, but only in relation to the amount of air it can receive.

dougcrann · June 2015

I light out XL a different way damn near every time I light it. Weed burner, fire starting blocks buried in the fuel, chimney, vegetable oil soaked paper towels, heat gun....just depends how much of a hurry I am in and what kind of temp I want...

Lighting the BGE XL

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