Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Smoking on low temp

Options
Hmccann
Hmccann Posts: 5
in EggHead Forum
hello.... I am a brand new BGE owner and I have only cooked on it 3 times but I am having a hard time understanding how I get and keep the temp low to smoke (ribs etc). If anyone can give me some tips and tricks it would be greatly appreciated!!
Pittsburgh, PA   ~  Size Large BGE
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • cazzy
    cazzy Posts: 9,136
    Options
    Hmccann said:
    hello.... I am a brand new BGE owner and I have only cooked on it 3 times but I am having a hard time understanding how I get and keep the temp low to smoke (ribs etc). If anyone can give me some tips and tricks it would be greatly appreciated!!
    More information please?  What temp are you currently cooking at?
    Just a hack that makes some $hitty BBQ....
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
    Options
    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.
    About temperature control-it would help if you describe how you bring your BGE up to cooking temperature.  A few keys-don't initially get too much lump burning and catch the desired temp on the way up.  Make sure your dome thermo is calibrated.  BGE's tend to have a sweet-spot around 240-260*F on the dome-below that temperature control can be a challenge w/o a controller. 
    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.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Langner91
    Langner91 Posts: 2,120
    Options

    After you get your fire going, close the dome, shut the bottom slider to about 1/8" and shut the daisy wheel.  The Egg should perk along at about 250-275°. 

    If it creeps up, try putting aluminum foil under your daisy wheel and just putting a small pin hole in the foil.  That will seal things up pretty well.

    Be careful, if you shut it down too soon after lighting, you can actually snuff the fire out.

    Clinton, Iowa
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • n00b
    n00b Posts: 35
    Options
    lousubcap said:
    Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.
    About temperature control-it would help if you describe how you bring your BGE up to cooking temperature.  A few keys-don't initially get too much lump burning and catch the desired temp on the way up.  Make sure your dome thermo is calibrated.  BGE's tend to have a sweet-spot around 240-260*F on the dome-below that temperature control can be a challenge w/o a controller. 
    not to pirate the thread, but do you keep the slider shut the whole time til it gets to the 240-260 range? or do you give it a little more air flow until it reaches X and then ratchet it back?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SoCalTim
    SoCalTim Posts: 2,158
    Options
    Hmccann  ... First, welcome! Secondly - there is an absolute learning curve when it comes to the egg, and ... it's not a week or two or even three. For me, it was about a good year.

    Thank goodness for this awesome forum, after three years .. I finally have a solid handle on things.

    What I've learned is that 'I control the fire/temp ... it doesn't control me'.

    Good luck on your journey ~ You are Home!

    Tim
    I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    Options
    What size egg do you have?  Each size has its own idiosyncrasies for low-n-slow cooks.

    Eggs are a little like cast iron in that they take time to come up to temperature and they take time to cool off.  So, getting the correct size fire going and catching the correct vent settings as the egg comes up to temp is important.  That comes with experience.

    Low pressure experience can be obtained with a load of lump and nothing to cook.  Load up the egg (lump to the top of the fire bowl) when you have some time and fire it off with a single fire in the middle of the lump.  Open top and bottom vents to help the fire along.  When it gets within 50 degrees of your target temp of 250, then close the vents down much more than you think is acceptable.  Top vent with petals open an eighth inch or so ... bottom vent only an eighth inch or less.  Watch the dome temp for 20 minutes and see where it stabilizes ... adjust accordingly.

    Oh yes, this "work" goes better with a beverage of choice.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
    edited July 2015
    Options
    @n00b - Lighting my BGE I have the bottom slider full open along with the dome until around a softball sized amount of lump is burning then shut the dome and keep slider open.  Once passing around 200-220*F, I dial the slider to around 1/2" and shut the dome.  Put on DFMT with petals full open and ease it to the target temp.  If going to around 275 or so, I will delay setting the slider etc til about 230-240*F.  FWIW-
    Edit:  I am in no hurry in getting to low&slow cook temp-it is a long cook adventure so a few minutes on the front end doesn't impact the duration.
    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.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Hmccann
    Hmccann Posts: 5
    Options
    Sorry I have a Large.
    Pittsburgh, PA   ~  Size Large BGE
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    Options
    @Hmccann ... suggestion ... go to your profile page and click on the "Edit Profile" icon on the right side.  Then click on the "Signature Settings" at the bottom of the list on the left side.  Type in where you live and what size egg(s) you have ... click on save and you're done.

    That really helps folks give advice ... different eggs have different accessories available, different lump is available in different areas, etc.

    Oh yes, welcome to the forum.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Hmccann
    Hmccann Posts: 5
    Options

    ok so what I have been doing so far is filling the base with Lump Charcoal up to the top of the fire bowl. Then I light it in the center and leave the Bottom door and the lid open for about 5-10 minutes until several of the coals light and start to burn. At that point I shut the lid and leave the cap off. as the temp starts to climb I try to get it when it is around the temp to shut the bottom door and put the cap on and open the vents 1/2 way but within minutes that temp shoots way up and I am then trying to cool it down to temp. So I am not sure if I should add less charcoal and close it up sooner? or what? 

    *Also when cooking and you open the egg to turn the meat do I need to wait until the egg heats back up to the desired temp (350 etc) to start timing the cooking or not?

    I have a size Large.


    Pittsburgh, PA   ~  Size Large BGE
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,776
    Options
    all my eggs are different for the settings, one is closed alot more than these pics. get the egg lit and when it gets near 200 set the vents and catch the temps on the way up, its harder to back them off

    http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/746823/vent-settings-a-visual-guide

    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,393
    Options
    @Hmccann- Also when cooking and you open the egg to turn the meat do I need to wait until the egg heats back up to the desired temp (350 etc) to start timing the cooking or not?

    Timing of a cook especially a low&slow is only a guide.  Cook to the desired finish temp and don't worry about the temperature changes when you open the dome.  The in-rush of air will cause temperature fluctuations that even out. 

    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.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jeepster47
    Jeepster47 Posts: 3,827
    Options
    Hmccann said:

    ... I try to get it when it is around the temp to shut the bottom door and put the cap on and open the vents 1/2 way but within minutes that temp shoots way up and I am then trying to cool it down to temp. ...

    Right here is where you go astray.  Start closing the vents at least 50 degrees before your target temp.  The more experience you gain, the closer you can cut it.  If the vents are ONLY closed 1/2 way, then you have the perfect settings for 500 plus degrees.  Close the bottom vent until it's about an 1/8 inch open ... plus or minus a little (depends on your egg, the humidity, lump, wind, etc) is all it takes to maintain the sweet spot of mid-250s.  Don't try to chase the last 25 degrees ... it's not that important.

    You can control the temps with either the bottom vent or the top vent.  Trying to control with both is frustrating at best.  Some folks cook without the daisy wheel installed, so I'd suggest focusing on using the bottom vent to control temps ... seems the easiest for me.

    Washington, IL  >  Queen Creek, AZ ... Two large eggs and an adopted Mini Max

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories