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NEWBIE: Please laugh at me!

rob0101
rob0101 Posts: 6
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
First of all, what an awesome forum!

I just joined and look forward to sharing alot of great information. I recently purchased a XL with a nest a couple of months old from craigslist and have so far managed to produce some good food. I am a long time Weber fan and have a performer and WSM.

After reading some post on pizza :whistle: , I decided it would be a good idea to throw a pizza party. So I invested in a pizza stone and fire bricks in order to create my own pizza (I live in Wake Forest, NC and there are NO good pizza places here).

So I discovered Zippylip's excellent pizza dough recipe and decided to take a whack at it. I purchased great cheese and ingredients and the dough came out great. About 30 min before the guest arrived I decided to heat up the egg and have a beer...30 min in the temp was about 650F and everything seemed great, so I thought. The guest arrived and I decided on another beer...we exchanged conversation and I had another beer...30 min later we decided to assemble the pizza and took jabs at each others technique...everything was just perfect. The way I saw it the egg was about 650F, the dough was perfect, the ingredients were spot on, the the mood was festive....I had another beer.

I whipped out my pizza peel, lightly flour it, slipped the assembled pizza on and to the egg I went...

As i tried to open the lid, I noticed it was lock. I let go of my beer and decided to put both hands on and nothing. Then I decided to to get the help of guests...to no avail. I yanked on that lid so hard i lifted the egg off the nest at times. I was simply not gong to allow me the right of passage. As I weighed out my options: Pizza peel loaded with unbaked pizza, locked egg at 650F, house full of guests - laughing at me, my only other option was to switch medicines, I went to the bar and open up a bottle of scotch.

As I stood there in defeat, my wife decided to take over and turned the oven on and made some damm good pizza that night. Thank God for wives ;) !

The morning after:

I woke up early this morning and decided to venture out to see if the Egg either blew up and took half my deck with it or if the Son of Satan was conceived late last night on my deck :evil: . I was able to open it and find the thing was clean as a whistle...I mean clean. I also discovered the gasket was burnt to a crisp and the grill was bent in probably due to the weight of the fire bricks and the 21" pizza stone coupled with the heat. I only regret not calling the Guinness Book of World records last night, because I'm pretty sure had something :woohoo: .

I do have some questions:

1. Knowing my pizza making technique (alcohol and high temps), What gasket should I replace it with?

2. During the "event" last night (as my friends are calling it) I did manage to chip the glaze off the porcelain about the size of a pencil eraser right around were the gasket ends...Yes I tried to pry it open with a screwdriver...God only knows that flashback thing would of happened and I would be in the burn unit at my local hospital with my half empty bottle of scotch :pinch: .

Thanks...

Rob
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Comments

  • loco_engr
    loco_engr Posts: 5,765
    :lol::lol:

    Quite the adventure!

    You will probably get a good mix of opinions on the gasket or no gasket, but IMHO, I would like the idea of having a gasket to cushion the dome in case of a hard closure.
    aka marysvilleksegghead
    Lrg 2008
    mini 2009
    XL 2021 (sold 8/24/23)
    Henny Youngman:
    I said to my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?' She said, 'I want to go somewhere I've never been before.' I said, 'Try the kitchen.'
    Bob Hope: When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel anything until noon, and then it’s time for my nap
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
    OK :laugh: Forget the fri..in gasket!If you don't have one it cannot burn up or seal your cooker shut.They are USLESS!!! ;)
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  • rob0101
    rob0101 Posts: 6
    How do you recommend taking off what's left on there?
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  • MtnBlue
    MtnBlue Posts: 109
    OK, I was doing well at not laughing most of the way through that until you got to the imagined ER trip. Then I couldn't help myself. You have quite a talent for telling a tale.

    As a fellow newbie this is exactly the kind of thing I'm most afraid of happening to me after I've told my friends about what wonderful food I can make on my expensive new grill. And believe me, they would never let me forget it! Yes, I would eventually be able to laugh with them but there would always be a twinge of pain at my predicament. I look forward to hearing what the Eggsperts would have done in a similar situation.

    So, Eggsperts, was it the length of time at high temperature, incorrect use of tools or just plain bad luck that caused this problem?
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  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Carefully scraping with a putty knife and then a wire brush/alcohol and rags. The combination of all three is what I have done. Then I went to bottom gasket only and use the Nomex. Going great for some time now.
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  • Ripnem
    Ripnem Posts: 5,511
    Mr Anti-Gasket! :laugh:

    You should try Nomex on the bottom only.

    The thought of ceramic on ceramic gives me Goose bumps. Like nails on a chalkboard. :pinch:
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    You got yourself a couple options.. You got two eggers with-in spittin' distance of you..

    I live in Kittrell and the The Naked Whiz in Raleigh. You could beg our help or you can visit Rex more often :)

    Whatcha doing next Friday and Saturday?? I have a bunch of butts that need cookin'
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  • troutman
    troutman Posts: 498
    Great story, and I'm not laughing because I've looked worse. I give you major props for trying your first cook with homemade pizza dough and guests. My first few cooks were when the family was out of town so I didn't have to hear about it.

    Nomex all the way. Bottom only, or top too. I did both sides and haven't had any problems since.

    Just remember the most important part of proper egging:

    Beer on whiskey, mighty risky...
    Whiskey on beer, never fear...
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  • Sundazes
    Sundazes Posts: 307
    If you are going to use Nomex, shrink it in the drying on high for about 20 mins. I replaced my mediums gaslet with Nomex after the second one fried off. I personally like having the gasket if for anything the cushion. If the one on my large goes, it will get replaced.
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  • Florida Grillin Girl
    Florida Grillin Girl Posts: 4,972
    Rob, we are laughing with you, not at you!!

    Hey, we have all been there, and done that in one way or other. With pizza, steaks, everything you can think of. I am so glad you did't lose some eyebrow and eyelash hair, as so many of those here have.

    You may want to do a search of the forum for replacing the gasket if you decide to do it. It's no big deal to replace it, I did it myself with no problems at all.

    Also, if you search for pizza temps, you will see alot of people that like cooking it at a lower temperature, approx. 500 dome is fine for pizza.

    Good luck you you.

    Faith
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
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  • fiver29
    fiver29 Posts: 628
    I used Bubba Tim's method. I ordered the Cotronics and it was a breeze to install. Self adhesive and no glue mess. I replaced it in the Spring and its been great!

    http://bubbatim.com/Projects.php

    Just scroll down the page.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Strongsville, Ohio

    Yes.  I own a blue egg!  Call Atlanta if you don't believe me!
    [I put this here so everyone knows when I put pictures up with a blue egg in it]

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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    Rob...Funny story!!! :woohoo: :silly: :laugh: Thanks for sharing it! Of course it has to happen with a house full of guests.... :whistle:
    Look at the bright side, you now have a super clean egg, and you remained safe thanks to the "melted gasket keeps the Egg Shut Gods"! :laugh: :whistle:
    We have used coltronix gaskets for years, and they have been bullet proof. Self adhesive, etc. I believe somebody else gave you this link as well....
    http://www.bubbatim.com/Projects.php
    FWIW...pizza at 475-500* will work just fine. You likely would have had some charcoal for crust with that high a temp. :pinch: But kudos to you for trying such an ambitious first cook with guests to witness! :whistle: Looking forward to success stories in the future... ;)
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  • bubba tim
    bubba tim Posts: 3,216
    Rob,
    Welcome to the forum. I must say I was in tears reading your post. Yes, I was LMAO. It reminds me of a silicon cook I did last year. You have definetly earned a

    BTBurnOfferingcopy.jpg

    I would have liked to have a pic or two so I could include them on my Burn Offerings page, but I think Eggheads can get a visual. Congrats on your award. It is a badge of honor! :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
    SEE YOU IN FLORIDA, March 14th and 15th 2014 http://www.sunshinestateeggfest.com You must master temp, smoke, and time to achive moisture, taste, and texture! Visit www.bubbatim.com for BRISKET HELP
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  • Zippylip
    Zippylip Posts: 4,768
    a badge bestowed by the master :laugh:
    happy in the hut
    West Chester Pennsylvania
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  • AnnaG
    AnnaG Posts: 1,104
    Rob,

    Welcome to the forum!!! You absolutely had me in stitches reading that... I could almost see it happening!!! :laugh:

    The good news is, we all have had something happen, so like Faith said, we are laughing with you, not at you... ;)
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  • dougemsmacks
    dougemsmacks Posts: 152
    Read the post and I am laughing, but it is with you. With a house full of company and some steaks and I convieniently removed my eye lashes, arm hair and the front of my balding head along with a close eyebrow trim. Good thing it did not open.

    I have gone to nomex and had no trouble with meltdown, so far. However, after the last clean my glue failed and the band got loose when it was hot. Temps that high do strange things.

    As the others said pizza's go at a lower temp. 650° seems high.

    Good luck there are several choices for gaskets but all seem to be better than felt
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  • Crimsongator
    Crimsongator Posts: 5,797
    I'll have to agree. I can imagine the whole thing like I was there (wish I was a fly on the wall)
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  • Desert Oasis Woman
    Desert Oasis Woman Posts: 5,604
    :woohoo: :lol: :silly: :lol: :silly: :whistle::blush:
    ROFLMAO B)
    Rob, you fit in perfectly with this mottley crew :woohoo:
    We each have a "tale" but not all of us were "lucky" enough to have a crowd of witnesses :blush::blush:
    Telling the BGE Forum took "chicken eggs" :blush:
    ...And to get Bubba Tim recognition is something to be darned proud of....many wait a lifetime :side: :S
    Looking forward to many great posts, and hopefully some pics, from you B)
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  • Jeffersonian
    Jeffersonian Posts: 4,244
    Replacing a gasket, to me, is like getting an appendix transplant. You can do it, but why?
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  • rob0101
    rob0101 Posts: 6
    Can someone show me how to post pics, I have some I think all of you would be interested in seeing...
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