Flame Scare

sofakingbald

Noob here, but like a REAL noob. Had never cooked on a grill before (ever) until I got my large BGE last week. Anything worth doing is worth doing right as it goes.

So on my third use, was going to TRex some NY Strips. Directions were to get the flame going to 650 and that you could sear the steak open. So I got the egg going and laid the strips down (light evoo, salt, pepper). The flames went nuts, even launching out of the bottom. I covered up the holes and gave it a few minutes before rescuing my lovlies. The flame obviously went down, and I managed some decent results (sans char marks) but still not sure why the flames freaked out. 

Wondering what happened? Should I have heated to 650 with the lid closed and then control it there for a few minutes first? Never want to experience this again. Any and all help appreciated, my wise egghead friends...

calracefan

Any time you are above 350F it is a good idea to "burp" your egg when opening to prevent a flashback which can hurt you !

Acn

How much olive oil did you have? Once that starts dripping onto the hot lump you will definitely start seeing flame ups. Next time, try just salting your steaks, and then resting on a cutting board with olive oil, chopped herbs and garlic, and pepper.

Skiddymarker

Welcome. 

No oil is needed for a high temp cook, everything other than minerals, like salt, burns. 

Get the temp stable at 650-700º dome closed. Burp it, open it, drop in the steaks and close it. Repeat as many times as you want to flip. @Acn has it right, for Trex steaks use a board sauce for seasoning. 

Jeremiah

The egg sensed your newness and decided to mess with you.

johnkitchens

Welcome to the forum and to the world of grilling. It will get easier! 

RAC

Welcome aboard and enjoy!

tksmoke

Welcome aboard - enjoy the ride!!

FATC1TY

Oil, and any grease/fat from the steaks will flare up.

I tend to get better results by making sure my steak is about as DRY as I can when I sear it. Gets better results, and no steaming from any liquid.

KenfromMI

Did you break in the seal with at least three cooks under 350 degrees? That wouldn't do this but just curious. A few weeks back I burned all the hair off my left arm from my hand to my armpit forgetting to burp the egg on a 650 degree pizza cook. I was in a hurry pushing pizzas out as fast as I could and was drinking too LOL........I'll never forget to burp the egg after that. Slight char and burns on my arm too but luckily didn't need any attention.

sofakingbald

You guys are awesome! The egghead community was the deciding factor in getting one over a MAK pellet and it's clear that I made the right call.

Re: burping, I always do it, but this guy recommended leaving the egg open during searing. Never seen flames like this out of a grill - they were going higher than the open egg lid and spraying out over the sides and out of the bottom vent. It happened so fast but scared the s out of me, ha. 

All the comments on the evoo are spot on, I probably had WAY too much on there which seemed to cause the problem. The board sauce idea is genius and I'm definitely trying that this weekend!

Really appreciate the responses - did some shrimp last night using a raised brick trick and they were the cat's meow. This egg really is something...next up, spatchcock chicken!

sofakingbald

KenfromMI said:

Did you break in the seal with at least three cooks under 350 degrees? That wouldn't do this but just curious. A few weeks back I burned all the hair off my left arm from my hand to my armpit forgetting to burp the egg on a 650 degree pizza cook. I was in a hurry pushing pizzas out as fast as I could and was drinking too LOL........I'll never forget to burp the egg after that. Slight char and burns on my arm too but luckily didn't need any attention.

Hey Ken, yeah I did two cooks under 350 - one ribs and one beer chicken. But, when heating for the chicken, I got the fire a little strong and the temp hit 550 before I realized it. So I coasted back down to 350 and thought that if no weird smell or anything else happened after that, I was probably good to go. 

Sorry about your arm, that is my biggest fear with this thing. I got the pizza stone yesterday and was going to try one this weekend. Any recs on dough (really don't want to make my own if possible)? Did you use the plate and then raise the grid with bricks?

sofakingbald

Jeremiah said:

The egg sensed your newness and decided to mess with you.

Ha, the force is strong with this egg then! She got me good...

llrickman

When i do my Steaks i get them cut to 1 1/2" thick, set them out for 45 min at least pat them dry. I too use a very light coating of olive oil. then season

Get my egg to around 700. But as stated be very careful opening the egg, i sear each side for about 90 seconds dome closed. After that second side is seared i close the vent put on the ceramic cap and let them roast for 3-4 min until internal temp is 125 -130 then take them off and let them rest for 10 min before slicing

Just remember to always burp your egg. I cant explain the high flames you had unless you had something in there from a previous cook

KenfromMI

My pizzas have been really good from day one. Plate setter legs up. Grid raised to felt line with three house hold bricks and stone directly on grate. I usually do 550 but that day got busy and the temp spiked higher. I make dough or I have a great little Italian market a mile away that sells fresh dough daily.

Ktim

If you follow @IIrickadvice you  will have perfect steaks. The only thing I do different is no oil. But that`s your choice. Welcome and enjoy the adventure and stock up on Budweiser!  :-c

Botch

llrickman said:

Get my egg to around 700..... After that second side is seared i close the vent put on the ceramic cap and let them roast for 3-4 min until internal temp is 125 -130 then take them off... 

Hmmm, I would think closing off ALL air when the coals are that hot would REALLY cause a flare up when you open it (the oxygen is used up inside, but the hot coals continue to give off hot volatile gas, which would mix with oxygen as soon as you open it).  But apparently just a burping is enough to prevent this?  

Ktim

I have done it this way many times and had no problems only great steak.

KenfromMI

These were 650 degrees dome two minutes first side, two minutes after flip other side. Flipped back for criss cross. Shut down vents and put porcelain cap on for 4 minutes. Wanted medium rare and was close, next time pulling before the 4 minutes.

gdenby

For searing, don't leave the dome open any longer than necessary to toss the food on, or to flip the food. Any fat in or on the food will burst into flame, as you saw. Have a long glove on hand to protect your forearm.

Most of the heat in Egg direct cooking is from IR, not hot gases. High dome temps are not completely necessary, but are a good indication that the whole of the lump mass is one big hot spot. That helps insure the whole surface will be uniformly seared. But it is possible to sear at a lower dome temperature by removing the fire ring, and placing the grill directly above the lump. Where the lump has a good glow, the food will be seared.

As a BTW, with the bottom vent wide open, and the daisy wheel off, a fresh load of lump should push the dome therm past its maximum. At that point, even the carbon monoxide in the Egg is burning. You may see a blue jet from the top vent. The carbon monoxide flame is above 2100F. Treat that situation w. great respect. Even if you burp the Egg and avoid a flash back, steaks etc. will explode into flame.

Alternatively, create a blue jet, put a hot dog on a fork, and get it toasty black in a few seconds.

sofakingbald

KenfromMI said:

These were 650 degrees dome two minutes first side, two minutes after flip other side. Flipped back for criss cross. Shut down vents and put porcelain cap on for 4 minutes. Wanted medium rare and was close, next time pulling before the 4 minutes.

Drool-worthy!

sofakingbald

gdenby said:

For searing, don't leave the dome open any longer than necessary to toss the food on, or to flip the food. Any fat in or on the food will burst into flame, as you saw. Have a long glove on hand to protect your forearm.

Most of the heat in Egg direct cooking is from IR, not hot gases. High dome temps are not completely necessary, but are a good indication that the whole of the lump mass is one big hot spot. That helps insure the whole surface will be uniformly seared. But it is possible to sear at a lower dome temperature by removing the fire ring, and placing the grill directly above the lump. Where the lump has a good glow, the food will be seared.

As a BTW, with the bottom vent wide open, and the daisy wheel off, a fresh load of lump should push the dome therm past its maximum. At that point, even the carbon monoxide in the Egg is burning. You may see a blue jet from the top vent. The carbon monoxide flame is above 2100F. Treat that situation w. great respect. Even if you burp the Egg and avoid a flash back, steaks etc. will explode into flame.

Alternatively, create a blue jet, put a hot dog on a fork, and get it toasty black in a few seconds.

Great information, thanks gdenby. Your last two paragraphs scared me straight - I need to really watch myself here at the beginning of my grilling career...

gdenby

sofakingbald said:

gdenby said:

...

Alternatively, create a blue jet, put a hot dog on a fork, and get it toasty black in a few seconds.

Great information, thanks gdenby. Your last two paragraphs scared me straight - I need to really watch myself here at the beginning of my grilling career...

I had a blue flame on my 3rd cook. I thought the beef ribs were done, and shut the Egg down. Found that they weren't well cooked, and tossed them back in, and re-opened the vents, 'cause I saw the coals still glowing a little. 7 minutes later, I looked out the window, and saw an 18" tall jet coming out of the top.

Kinda freaked, but was able to shut things down. There was some edible meat under the carbon, but not much.

The Egg temp rise is exponential I figure. 30 minutes to 250. 10 more to 350. 5 to 450. 2 to 600. Then watch out.