newbie question

HardLiquor · July 2008

Bought me a used egg after having wanted one for a good 5 years. yay! I do have experience cooking in a cheap offset smoker.

First test use last weekend was a pizza. We kinda messed up not having peel and were forced to leave the pizza on tinfoil which was placed directly on a pizza stone. After about 10 mins..started smelling burnt and crust was black and pretty much ruined due to the burned taste that went about the whole pie. Would the foil cause it to burn or did I do something else wrong?

The next day, I cooked some ribs. I had my egg rigged with a water pan on the main grid and one rack of spare ribs on the upper grid (cut in half placed in a rib rack above the water pan). Cooked with dome temp about 260 for 7-8 hours. They were still a bit tough. Good in some areas, not so good in others. I noticed that the water in the pan never really came to a solid boil so I'm thinking that the water was a massive heat sink and the ribs never got hot enough directly above the water as they were. Should I even be using a water pan?

Right now I'm cooking a 4 lb butt and a 4 lb brisket. I have it rigged with the pizza stone on the main grid with a drip pan(foil pan) on the pizza stone, and then the butt and brisket on the higher grid. Dome temp sitting at 275. I'm at a bit of a disadvantage cause I don't have a meat thermometer and will be sort of guessing for doneness based on the cook time and a fork test I also put a few hickory chunks in the dry drip pan. I also don't have a thermometer on the grid which i know to be quite helpful from past experience.

Do I sound like I am on the right track with today's cook? Should I keep the pizza stone in place or get rid of that?

Bacchus · July 2008

Keep the pizza stone and use either parchment paper or a shallow pizza pan in between. I use a pizza pan, then about half way thru cook(after crust has gained integrity) I slide it off directly onto stone. Perfect everytime. Alot of guys use parchament paper and swear by it.
Most don't use water pans, but do use drip pans. The water may have been keeping the grid area from reaching temp.
You definatelty need thermometers.

mattm · July 2008

Might want to put your hickory chuncks on the coals rather than in the drip pan....not sure they will smolder and give off the smoke you probably will want.

Stanley · July 2008

Start emptying the change from your pockets and you'll have a probe thermometer and an instant-read thermometer in short order - you'll be glad you did.

Eggs Are Us · July 2008

Forget the temp probe and buy a DigiQ from barbecue guru.com. It goes great with any size egg. You set it and forget it.

newbie question

Comments

Categories