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Tempature Control Newbie Question

Magicman_007
Magicman_007 Posts: 65
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
So I am now the proud owner of a Large BGE! I am practicing for a low and slow roast of a Prime Ribeye that I will be doing on Thursday.

So I fired up the egg tonight to practice getting the temp around 250, got the fire going real good, closed the dome and the temp settled around 735. I closed down the lower and upper vents and the lowest I could get the temp for the first hour was around 450. After one hour I was able to get it down to 350 and after two hours I got it down to 250. The lower vent was just barely cracked open and the upper vent had just a smidge of the holes open.

What could I have done to get the temp down faster? I really need to get a slow and steady temp on Thursday.

Also, any guesses on how ling it will be roasting a 15 lb Prime Rib Roast @ 250 to get the internal temp up to 120?

Comments

  • For a standing rib roast, you should plan on around 20 minutes per pound. You should shoot for about 250 dome temp. The easiest way to do this is to start it slow....don't let it get too high and then try to bring it down. Having said that, you need to get it going good, and close the lid and start controlling it from the beginning. BUT, since you are gonna control the temp on the way up.....you are gonna need to let it get stabilized at 250 and let it stay there for about 30 minutes before you start your cook, that is my opinion anyways. That way you know you aren't getting any of the "junk" smoke from newer starting burns. Take it off at 135 internal and let it rest for 30 minutes tented in foil. I did this on Saturday for my in-laws and everyone loved it.
  •  
    Hi Magicman_007,

    Welcome to the forum. One of our members, Grampas Grub has compiled a list of very useful informative links, Recipes, Links & Tips List It is well worth bookmarking.
    About the 12th link down the list is "A guide to Vent Settings & what is clear smoke", also written by Grampas Grub, it may be of help.
    The ceramic used in the Big Green Eggs is very efficient, as you found out when you heated it up to over 700º. When I light my egg I aim for the target temperature. To over shoot is not necessary and will waste time. I light my egg and leave the vents open only long enough to see that the fire has taken well but has not reached my target temperature. As the temperature approaches my target temperature I start closing the vents. Grampas Grubs Guide to Vent Settings and your experience practicing will guide you to set the vents for 250º. In a large egg a fire of 250º is not a great, well developed fire. It will occupy only a part of the fire box. Once the fire has stabilized at your target temperature and has maintained it for at least 30 minute or longer you can add your roast. When you put your roast in the egg the temperature is going to drop. Do not touch a thing! Do not try to compensate for the drop in temperature. Leave the vents alone and the temperature will eventually return to your target temperature. It may take time to displace the cold of the meat but it should return to the temperature you had it running at. Also be sure to load your egg with enough charcoal. It's better to have to much then to little and run out.
    Good luck, I'm sure there will be others who will chime in and help,

    Gator

     
  • I am a LBGE newbie and I cooked a rib roast for my inlaws on Sunday. I got it dead on at 140 degrees and took it off and set it inside to rest for 30 min. They are all more of a medium type group so the meat was a little to red for them. I had to put my wife's on the fire and sear it on both sides because she likes her well-well done. But it was delicious! Nice new nick by the way!
  • You'll figure this out real quick anyway, but it's much harder to bring the temp. down than up, so try not to overshoot your temperature in the first place.

    And read that link the last poster gave you it's really important, and also check out the naked whiz website. There's a real good essay about temp. control in there in addition to tons of other info.
  • BBQMaven
    BBQMaven Posts: 1,041
    007
    Gator's post is spot on...when you start the fire for low/slow you are only trying to get red coals in one or two small areas...if using, put plate setter in and close lid, open bottom and top vents all the way, let fire build till reaches 150-175, then start closing vents to keep it BELOW your target temp... it may take 45-60 minutes to get the ceramic to stable temp, but that is what you want... as gator said, then put your meat on and DON'T TOUCH the settings!!!! if you let the EGG stabilize prior to putting the meat on, it will return to the same temp in about an hour! if you make an adjustment - wait at least 30 mins before changing again.
    Enjoy and welcome
    ktm
    Kent Madison MS
  • don't overshoot. one of the great things about the egg is that the thick ceramic retains heat. that's something that needs to be accounted for though, when trying to go from light speed down to ten miles an hour.
  • I also learned the hard way. My first attempt at overnight low and slow was proceeded by a high temp dinner. I then could not get the temp down for the pork butt! I had to shut the egg down and move the butt to the inside stove for the overnight. Next morning I relit the egg (not letting the temp get over 240) and finished the butt in the egg. The pulled pork was delicious and I learned a good temp control lesson. Best wishes to you and happy egging.
  • The problem here is that you lit the fire and got it roaring like you wanted to sear a steak at 700 degrees. At this point the egg is blazing hot and, because it holds heat well and your charcoal is all lit, it will take some time to come down even if you completely shut down both vents.

    It is much easier to bring the temp up on the egg than to bring it down.

    For a slow cook I light the lump only in the center and get it going slowly. It will burn outward from there and it is pretty easy to keep it under control and adjust the temperature.

    Yesterday, for instance, I cooked 5 racks of baby backs. I filled up the egg with Royal Oak and and some wet apple chips and lit the center at 12:30 (I use a propane torch for starting the lump). Once the charcoal was obviously lit I closed the lid, adjusted the daisy wheel and shut the bottom vent to about 1/2 inch. Went inside to prep the ribs and when I came back to the egg in about 15 minutes it was running about 275. I closed the bottom to about 1/8 inch or so and 20 minutes later it was about 235-250 range, where the temp stayed for 6 hours while I did the 3-1-1 cook with ribs. Outstanding.
    Jackson, Tennessee. VFL (Vol for Life)
  • Hi Guys... Thank sooooo MUCH!!! This actually makes sense!
    I appreciate all the good info and the links. I will post pics once I have this done
  • fishon
    fishon Posts: 24
    I'm to egging. What is the 3-1-1 cook?
  • fishon
    fishon Posts: 24
    I'm sorry, I meant I'm NEW to egging. Sorry. :lol:
  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
    A very long time..

    Bump the temp up to 325 and it will take about 15 mins per pound to get to 125.
  • 3-1-1 is a reference to a cooking method for ribs. Do a google on Ribs 3-1-1 and you'll see several good references. My favorite is Carwash Mike's rib class on his website. (playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com)
  • 3-1-1 =

    3 hours indirect with a drip pan under the ribs that contains apple juice. Fire has wet apple chips in it. I put a light coat of EVOO on the meat then rub with whatever dry rub I have on hand

    1 hour in foil boats (I glaze the ribs with honey and add a little apple juice in there to steam). This step is omitted by some folks but I think it helps tenderize the meat.

    1 hour (often less) direct heat to finish. I like to brush a light coat of Sweet Baby Ray's sauce prior to this last step.
    Jackson, Tennessee. VFL (Vol for Life)