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Preheating the egg ?

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EggSimon
EggSimon Posts: 422
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Hello to all eggspertos !

I´m sure, most will agree, one of the best benefits of the egg is the moist lost reduction during long cooks. This comes imho from the less air flow in the egg - when the egg (ceramic) is warm / hot. Right ?

But, especially in the large or XL it takes a long time until the ceramic is really hot.
OK - the cook can start if the dome temp is @ 230 F, but my experiance is, the outside of the egg is still quite cold at this point. 2 hours later is the exterior of the egg also quite hot, and the "real" benefit starts...

So, my question. Makes it sense to preheat the egg (perhaps by adding a half full lump chimey), remove the chimney when the egg is hot, build your low & slow fire (with gloves for sure ;) ), lite your fire and start with a low and slow cook immediate in an hot egg ?
That means less air flow still from the beginning ?

Any suggestions, opinions, ideas ?

Thanks

Simon
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Comments

  • BBQMaven
    BBQMaven Posts: 1,041
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    Simon,
    All I look for is my Egg to stabilize at the cooking temp I'm targeting for a low/slow cook, once that happens, I'm putting the meat in.... If I'm cooking on the other end of the spectrum - say pizza, then I let the Egg stabilize and allow the "hot soak" period to last 30-45 minutes for the plate setter and pizza stone to get the Egg temp....
    Kent Madison MS
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  • 2Fategghead
    2Fategghead Posts: 9,624
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    EggSimon, I lite my lump from inside the egg and let the VOC's burn off and the ceramics to stabilize. Tim ;)
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  • The Naked Whiz
    The Naked Whiz Posts: 7,777
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    I doubt the difference is worth the bother. You are already getting less airflow at the beginning that you would in a metal cooker, so I doubt that little bit extra that you might get in the first hour isn't going to make any noticeable difference. I've never heard anyone advocate this practice, FWIW....
    The Naked Whiz
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  • FlaMike
    FlaMike Posts: 648
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    You might be overthinking the ceramic temp thing. I just allow for about 45 min to an hour after lighting my lump for the bad stuff to burn off, and let the temp settle in. You'll be surprised how little lump it wastes, and how stable your temp will be.
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