taste of food on the egg

Otobiz · December 2007

My wife has been complaining lately that everything that comes off the egg tastes the same, Actually I notice it to, Im using maple leaf lump and have used bge lump, I have tried using diffrent smoking woods, I alwaystry to let the white smoke burn off, I am getting to the point hwere i might try briquettes to get a diffrent flavour, For some reason I just dont get a nice charcoal smell that you would get at a bbq restaurant, any hints.

Dover_Gal · December 2007

otobiz,
Charcoal does produce a charcoal flavor. I found that rubs work to add their own taste and cover this. I usually use a rub on beef and pork to individualize the flavor. I think you could marinate chicken to do the same.

Buster Dog BBQ · December 2007

otobiz,
What are you cooking? For instance, a Boston Butt will have a different taste then a T-Rexed Ribeye. [p]Maybe it's the method you are cooking some of the stuff.

Otobiz · December 2007

Buster Dog BBQ, Iv tried cooking everything with diffrent methods, like last night I did chicken kabobs, steak kabobs and pork kabbobs and they all tasted the same, It just seems like everything has a weird smokey taste anymore , almost chemical like,,

Bordello · December 2007

otobiz,
You might try cleaning out your egg, trying a different brand of lump and be sure the Egg is burning Clean before you start cooking.[p]If it's not burning clean I can see where you might get the same taste. Chicken does not taste like pork or steak.[p]Are you maybe using the same spices on all your cooks???? That might also account for part of it.[p]Good Luck,
Bordello

BigT · December 2007

otobiz,[p]Try two things.[p]Load the Egg to the top of the firebox and burn it all @ 500F-600F- a cleaning cycle as it were.[p]Then for your next cook, really establish the fire- wait for 20-30 minutes after the ugly smoke is gone, then try a cook with no smoking wood. This will give you and the wife a baseline for future comparison.[p]/my $.02[p]hth[p]Big T

Flashback Bob · December 2007

otobiz,
Since my first cook on the EGG, that is my wife's continual complaint. She has likened the taste to coal-burning locomotive exhaust. I sometimes have noticed what I would call a "band-aid" taste but I think this is when I haven't let the fire burn long enough before cooking.[p]Bottom line: Wife and kids do not like the taste of smoke in their food. My kids don't even like the smell of leaves burning or smoke from a wood fire.[p]What works best for me is letting the fire burn usually for 30 minutes (sometimes more) before I put the meat on. [p]I try to keep it clean, burning off drippings from previous cooks.[p]Except for vertical roasted chicken (beer can), I always cook chicken on a raised grid.[p]Try cooking without added smoke. [p]Try Cowboy lump. In my unscientific experience it burns hotter, faster and cleaner than the other lump I've used. Some folks here don't like it but don't let that stop you from trying it. It burns clean.[p]

Flashback Bob · December 2007

BIg T,
That's good advice![p]Also, if you cook on leftover lump from a previous (clean) cook, it won't burn as hot but it's not as smoky either. I often do that during the week for a quick cook of boneless chicken breasts or something like that.

Cpt'n Cook · December 2007

otobiz,
I thought eveything tasted like chicken anyway.[p]Seriously though, I almost always use a mixture of old and new lump. I try to start the fire with a propane torch on the old lumpand let the new catch on later after the temp is up. It burns clean real fast.[p]I did a spatchcock chicken a butternut squash and some chestnuts for an appitizer last night and they all tasted better than they were supposed to. [p]You are not using lighter fluid or starting cubes are you.

gdenby · December 2007

otobiz,[p]Seems like you may have a creosote build-up. A cleaning fire, at least, is in order.[p]Some smoke flavor will be inevitable when using charcoal. The taste should not be bitter. That's caused by creosote, and to a lesser extent, grease burning.[p]Creosote forms when wood smoke mixed with water vapor cools below 250. I notice a build up around the top vent, and on the daisy wheel. Before learning to put the daisy onto the hot grill at the end of a cook, I glued it shut with gummy build up. I brought it inside to clean it, and the kitchen ended up smelling like a smoke stack. [p]A cleaning burns help reduce this. Also, I scrape the gunk off the dome once a year. [p]Some people refuse to use fluid in a drip pan, and/or mops and spritzes just to reduce the amount of moisture and thus creosote. I do use those, especially fluid in the pan because the smoke from burning grease is noxious.[p]gdenby[p]

stike · December 2007

otobiz,
are you cooking everything slow?

Unknown · December 2007

otobiz,
I'm not intending to be polemic, but how "done" are you cooking your food? The more "done" things get, the more they all taste the same to me.

dhuffjr · December 2007

Bordello,
Same spices was my thought too.[p]H

Otobiz · December 2007

Thanks for all the advice I will try all your options, I still love the egg but just not the funny taste that it brings over and over, iam not saying its not etible, just like wiffee says, "tastes like the egg"

Unknown · December 2007

otobiz,[p]I suppose I'm echoing others... but...[p]I keep the inside of the Egg pretty clean. After each cook, I raise the temp to above 500F, keep it there for at least half an hour, to burn off all "stinkies," aka creosote, fat drippings, grease...[p]Since I am using a Medium, I'm not loading tons of lump into the Egg... and I can afford to burn off remaining lump to clean out the Egg.[p]I have found that I must ALWAYS keep moisture -- even if it's just water -- in the drip pan, of the burning drippies get to making the food taste yukky. I use a little garden sprinkler can [without the diffuser] to add liquid to the drip pan.[p]Food comes out moist, tasty... and never yukky when I do this.[p]Also, when burning off grease [etc] after a cook, I burn gunk off the grill, the daisy wheel... anything that can have a gunk build-up. And then, just before the Egg cools down, while the grill is still sorta hot, I scrub it with a wire brush.[p]The idea is to eliminate taste carry-over from one cook to another.[p]I suppose I'm more fastidious than I need to be, but I'll just chalk it up to my obvious obsessive-compulsive behavior disorder list.[p]I love my obsessive-compulsive behaviours! They're so part of me![p]It's like going to the dentist, and he says he wants to pull a tooth, and I say, "But doctor, I'm so attached to it!"[p]:)[p]~ Broc[p]PS -- My family and I do not like "smokey" taste in our food, so we don't use any smoke woods, just lump.[p]But we love that Egg![p]Makes the hair on our chest grow![p]:)[p]

Unknown · December 2007

Broc, just across the Muddy Mo from Omaha, Eastward in Eden[p]Just curious on your use of the drip pan, do you always use the plate setter when you grill? Where do you place the drip pan for direct cooks?[p]Sorry for the dumb questions but I am fairly new at this>[p]Thanks

Unknown · December 2007

green&gold egger,[p]Sorry for the late response -- I missed your question/post.[p]I sear direct, then use plate setter inverted, which holds the drip pan. The [cast iron] grill sits atop the three legs of the plate setter.[p]Best Wishes![p]~ B[p]

Rick's Tropical Delight · December 2007

Cpt'n Cook,
i had the same thought when he said starter cubes.[p]unburnt starter cube = chemical taste

Flashback Bob · December 2007

otobiz,
I GET THE EXACT SAME COMMENT!!![p]Only she used to call it the "F.Egg"

taste of food on the egg

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