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adding charcoal/woodchips

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Big John
Big John Posts: 48
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
First time user today!! Smoking a pork shoulder and I have been lucky enough for the temperature to be right where I want it. It looks as though I am slowly losing a few degrees so I am assuming that I need to add some charcoal?? Do I simply take everything out and add some? As well as wood chips? Any advice is appreciated. Merry Christmas!
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  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
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    Big John,[p]How much charcoal did you start out with? At what temp are you running?[p]If you can see in and look to be about out of lump, then remove whatever you need to in order to add more, then replace what you took out.[p]If you started with enough lump you should be able to go 24+ hours on one load at 250 in a large egg.
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  • Sundown
    Sundown Posts: 2,980
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    Big John,[p]Usually when you;re doing a lo n slo you fill the Egg to at least the bottom of the fire ring if not half way up the fire ring. If you have been holding a lo n slo temp 250º or so you should not have to add any lump. A full load of lump in a large Egg is good for up to 30+ hours.[p]I recently did two 8 pound shoulders that took 26 1/2 hours to finish. Still had enough lump to cook three other meals with.
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  • jwirlwind
    jwirlwind Posts: 319
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    Big John,
    I always start any cook with a full load of lump and I mean all the way to the top of the fire ring. When you are finished just close the Egg down and when your doing another cook, stir the ashes and load her again. This way you will never have a problem with lump running out and always have an even burn. [p]MC Jerry
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  • Michael B
    Michael B Posts: 986
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    Fidel,[p]As the others have already said, filling half way up the fire ring will give you a 30+ hour cook at 250*.
    If the temp is dipping a bit and you still have lump, use a wiggle rod through the bottom vent to knock any ash loose.
    If it is dropping because you followed the instructions in the book and started with not enough lump, you're going to have to empty out the fire box, fill with new lump, add the burning lump to the top, and re-establish a clean fire at a stable temp.
    If you can, it's probably better to finish this one off in the oven and try again another time with a full load.
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