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BGE failings

Frozen Chosen
Frozen Chosen Posts: 131
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
OK, maybe not a failing, but I find it hard to get enough smoke on a brisket or butt in the first few hours without opening the lid and either stirring the coals (and losing temperature) or adding some pellets (and losing temperature). I'm using Little Devils and wetted hickory chunks which give a low level of smoke, but my impression is that to mimic the great smokehouses, you really have to pour it on. Has anyone tried smoking these cuts first in a Little Chief (or equiv.) then getting it into the egg for the cook?

Comments

  • Frozen Chosen,
    Are you using pellets for smoking or heat?
    Mike

  • Frozen Chosen,
    is there a reason why you don't just distribute chunks throughout the lump so that you will have smoke for a much longer time?[p]TNW

    The Naked Whiz
  • Why1504
    Why1504 Posts: 277
    Frozen Chosen,[p]Opinions vary, but I have had poor performance the 2-3 times I used pellets in the egg. When I wrapped them in foil they worked better. That said, I have had better sucess with chunks and chips. I agree with mixing the chips in the lump. I use a chunk or two of hickory early in the cook to provide a heavier amount of smoke. Also, sometimes I wet the chips, sometimes I don't. I never wet chips mixed in with the lump. I am always concerned it will effect the lump performance and lead to uneven burning or the fire going out. This is unwarranted and has never happened but I figure, what the heck another dollar worth of chips and I know how it burns.
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    Frozen Chosen,
    the egg didn't fail....[p]it has no idea you are trying to smoke.[p]you put in too few chunks, and/or there was too much space between them. [p]it's not possible to have one person complain that the egg gives too much smoke, while another complains it's not enough.[p]lemme correct myself. it IS possible that two people could complain about too little AND too much smoke. it's just not possible that it's the egg that is at fault.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • BobS
    BobS Posts: 2,485
    Frozen Chosen,
    Since I started using the BGE, I have quit soaking my wood in water and I believe that helps me get better smoke. The fire (oxygen) is so well controlled when doing a low-n-slo that there is not enough for the wood to actually burn and I have ends left over when I start the next cook. I have some chunks that are about 6" long and I put one end in the hot area and the other end away from athe active coals. For my taste it's great.

  • The Naked Whiz,
    I normally use 5-8 fist sized chunks which I make sure are entirely randomly distributed. Again, these don't seem to make as much smolke in the early going, which is why I throw in a handfull or so of pellets (not for heat, CWM).

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    BobS,
    i agree[p]the wood doesn't burst into flame because there is no spare/extra oxygen.[p]same reason the fatty cooks don't flame up unless you open the lid.[p]the wood chunks/chips smolder at 250 or so because there just isn't the right environment for them to burst into open flame.[p]fill it up with chips or chunks

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    frozen,
    a lo-and-slo fire is very small.[p]three chunks of wood or twenty will give the same amount of smoke, assuming that they are in contact with the small amount of lump that's burning.[p]i throw a ton of chips in there (relatively), not because it they give that much more smoke, but because wherever the fire travels, it usually finds chips to burn.

    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • frozen,
    Why are you concerned with the early part of the cook? Only the smoke ring is dependant on the amount of smoke early in the cook. The smoke flavor is deposited throughout the entire cook as long as smoke is present.[p]TNW

    The Naked Whiz
  • frozen,
    I'm more curious as to why your temp is dropping so much. Geeze, when I open my top up the fire goes up and raises the temp. This leads me to beleive that you really don't have a good clean burning fire to start with. That will cut down on the smoke flavor as well.[p]Mike