Lighting Lump

Good Eats · February 2005

I just read a thread down below that says to light the lump from the top... I have always put a nice little pile in... lit it... waited fir it to catch then added more lump on top of that... Never thought to fill the EGG up and then light... does this method work? How many of you are doing it this way and does the lump last longer this way?

mad max beyond eggdome · February 2005

Good Eats,
its the only way i've ever lighted my egg. .. full load of lump, then hit it with the map torch right on top.. . .one spot for a lo and slo, and multiple spots if i want high temps quickly. .. don't know if the lump lasts any longer or not. .. .

Mark Backer · February 2005

Good Eats,[p]The only time I ever light the bottom first is when i've lit the top, run out of fuel and then had to add more. Besides that, no, I always light on top like Max said. One spot in the middle for slo and three or four spots for hot and fast.

yaB · February 2005

Good Eats,[p]The only way to go for a low and slow, imo.[p]Bob

Sundown · February 2005

Good Eats,
Ditto the two posts below. Fire doesn't like to burn 'down'. I did a 9 pound shoulder a week or so ago. I had a full load of lump in and 17 hours later I still had about half of my lump left. I've cooked 2 more meals and might get a third without adding any additional lump. I use Wicked Good and that may be the reason it lasts so long. The lump is very dense - takes a little more effort to light - but burns hot and slow. It is worth the small additional amount I pay for it but I'm addicted to using the stuff.

BlueSmoke · February 2005

Good Eats,
I mound the lump a little towards the front, and light the lower edges of the mound. Just before cooking, I use my Lawn Ranger tool to stir the lump to get a good, uniform bed of coals.[p]Ken

Smokin Bob · February 2005

Good Eats,[p]Guess I never thought of one way working better or coals preferring to burn up or down.[p]I'll be interested to hear other thoughts on what works best if there is a clear difference either way !?!?[p]B o B

WessB · February 2005

Good Eats,
A good while ago I used to light from the top for lo n slo and light from under the charcoal grate for high temp cooks..past couple of years everything gets lit from the top of the lump, filled to the top of the firebox.[p]Wess

fishlessman · February 2005

BlueSmoke,
for low and slows i used to light dead center, however i noticed thati would get center burn straight down and toward the back. recently started lighting toward the front right from the center towards the edge, about halfway at five oclock. burns better for me there. never noticed this until i started using wicked good. it could have something to do with my newer egg, the vent is mounted so that you dont get a maximum opening. probably should change that

eggor · February 2005

Good Eats,[p]well i guess that i must be the only one that lights from the bottom almost exclusively. i took a piece of 5/8 soft copper tubing and stuck it on the end of the propane torch. turn on the propane light it and shove it threw the bottom vent and let it go for about 20 minutes. I can prolly light about a hundred fires on one bottle. not as efficient as lighting from the top, but i gain the benefit of burning the bottom lump first letting the ash fall through the bottom grate unobstructed. a much less chance of a fire getting snuffed because lack of o2.[p]Scott

Clay Q · February 2005

SmokinBoB,
I light from the top. I've found that my lump burns more evenly and with more temp. control this way. I use a weber chimney charcoal starter to get a nice dispersion of burning lump to start out. I also have large lump on the bottom for better breathing. After about 15-20 hours of cooking I clean out everything-all ash, and refill the firebox with large lump then medium lump and small lump in weber chimney to start fire. I don't mind the fussing and I feel that it's part of the Tao or karma of good BBQ.

tach18k · February 2005

Good Eats, I do mine with no special thingy. Just dump the bag into the egg till its full, light the top with mapp gas for about 1 minute and I'm done, this is for all cooking styles. Never a problem with loss of heat or flame.
The fire will always follow the air, so if you do light from the top center it will burn down to the grate as it follows the air path, great during a platesetter low and slow setup

Bordello · February 2005

WessB,
That's the way I do it also. I tried to light through the lower vent but it never has worked well for me,alwa ys would take at least 30 minutes or more, I couldn't stand the long wait and wondering if it would go or NOT.[p]Cheers,
New Bob

Lighting Lump

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