Keeping egg at temp

mvjourney

I have only had my egg for a week and plan on doing brisket and butt for super bowl. How much lump do I put in so that I can let it go all night without me checking on and it will stay at temp? Thanks

2Fategghead

mvjourney, Welcome to the forum.

When I'm planning an over night cook I fill the egg full of lump up to the top of the fire ring. Before doing this I clean the fire box out of ash and making sure there is nothing blocking the holes in the fire box. Have a great cook. Tim

You haven't said what size egg you have. I assume a large. :ermm:

Misippi Egger

With important cooks going all night, you really need to set your alarm and checkit during the night. I usually check at 2300, 0300 and 0600. Get up, check dome temp, back to bed. Takes less than 5 minutes.

Do what Tim says and take the ceramics out, clean the egg completely. Many of us build our fire with large lump pieces on the bottom and graduate up to the smaller pieces on top. Add 4-5 chunks of smoking wood at intervals as you build the lump stack. Light it only on the top, thus getting a slow burn down through the lump, and light it in at least three places. Lump up to the top of the fire ring. Put platesetter, drip pan, anything else like V rack or whatever in and let it all stabilize at least an hour at your desired temp. Your dome temp should not be below 240-250* or you might loose your fire during the night. The grid temp will be around 220-225*.
good luck and post your results!

PS - start my butts tonight for Sunday's party.

gdenby

Having enough lump is not an issue. As above, fill to the top of the fire ring, and you should have plenty, with a fair amount left-over.

The issue however is making sure the fire remains stable for the long cook.

Make sure your fire is holding a steady temperature for at least 45 minutes before putting the meat on the grills. The temperature will drop after putting on the meat. Wait an hour or so to make sure the temperature is returning to where it was previously. Adding the large mass of meat can restrict the airflow some. If the vents are opened then to raise the temperature, assume they will need to be closed the same amount a few hours later as the meat cooks down.

If you are not using a mechanical air feed, like a Stoker or Guru, you should expect to get up once in the middle of the night to check. Most of the time, things will be fine. There are 2 common problems. One is a fire that burns straight down the center, leaving a large amount of unburnt lump all around the sides. The other problem is an ash build-up that blocks the air flow. Keep a bent coat hander at hand to wiggle up thru the bottom grate holes for the ash build up. Have a long thin stick to stir the lump if the fire burns down the center.

Occasionally the temperature will climb too high. I've caught a fire that went from making a 250 dome to a dome at 310. That just meant the cook finished an hour earlier.

Don't go with a low dome temperature, around 225. A fire that small can easily go out.

My usual routine is to start the fire around 8 pm, & close my eyes around 10 - 11, and then crack them open at 2 - 3 a.m. to check the temperature. If you have a remote thermometer, that makes things a lot easier. Being an early bird, I usually check again by 6 a.m.

It is not unusual for people to make early morning posts saying "Help, my fire went out, what do I do?"

Realize that between the rub's spices and sugar and salt, and the exposure to air above 200, the meat surface was sterilized within minutes of being in the Egg.

If you have checked the fire within 4 hours, you should still be fine as far as food safety goes. The restaurant guide-line is that food remains safe for a full 2 hours when the meat is under 140 F. Even if the dome temp is under 140, check the meat. If it is above 140, it should still be O.K. The problem zone is if the meat is under 140, and you have no idea how many hours that was true. In food service, you would be obliged to pitch the food.

If needed, start your oven, place the meat in, and restart the Egg's fire. Continue with the Egg once the temperature is back up.

Good luck!

Chief Chef

Same goes for my cooks. I usually get the egg stabilized at 250 dome, put on the meat, put some logs on the fire, watch a good movie, play some cards, drink some beer, cat nap anything to pass the time. Before you know it you will have an amazing brisket, butt or whatever to chow down on.