Starting: dome open or closed

acegg77

Set me straight on this. After I light the little square starter block, should the dome stay open for 5 to 10 minutes or should I immediately close it (withbottom vent open and lid off)... or does it matter? 

What do the pros do?

Wolfpack

Open- gets up to speed faster imo

Scottborasjr

I leave it open for a good 10-15 minutes unless I'm trying to maintain 250* then I shut it as soon as the starter goes out. 

anzyegg

Open for 10 or 15....

johnkitchens

+1 on leaving it open for 10-15 minutes.

Monaarts

I've only done 4 cooks but each time my temperature was EXACTLY what I wanted with no issues...

250 degrees - lid open for about 6-7 minutes
325 degrees - lid open for about 8-9 minutes
400 degrees - lid open for about 10 minutes
500 degrees - lid open for about 12 minutes

 

Sardonicus

Once you're sure your fire's started, it's up to you.

The sooner you close the lid, the sooner - and more effective - the heat soak.

Wolfpack is right, but my preference is to close the lid sooner rather than letter.  There's no point in rushing, IMO.

Botch

Sardonicus said:

Once you're sure your fire's started, it's up to you.

The sooner you close the lid, the sooner - and more effective - the heat soak.

Wolfpack is right, but my preference is to close the lid sooner rather than letter.  There's no point in rushing, IMO.

 

Wow.  I've always closed the lid immediately, once the starter cube is going; I too figured the heat soak starts when the lid is down.

 

Grounds for another timed experiment!  

:-B

johnkitchens

I have tried both ways, and I get to temp faster if I wait a while before closing.

lousubcap

As you can see above-open/closed it all becomes what you are comfortable with.  Kinda like chips vs chunks, fat side up or down, Ford Vs Chevy and so on...Eggsperiment and see what works for you.

And you may get several different lighting options along the way.  FWIW-

Ragtop99

Lid open if I'm using a starter cube as I want any smell from the new charcoal and cube to exit the grill.  

Normally I use a chimney and I close the lid as soon as I dump the coals into the egg.

paqman

Hmmm, I guess I am in minority here. I leace it open a few seconds then I close right away... I am on a wooden deck so leaving it open would be pushing it. If I leave the lid open too long, I get a fireworks of sparks.

Mickey

Closed the second I pull the torch out. Closed.

Mattman3969

I close once the flames from the cubes are gone and I have some red embers goin in the lump.

ChokeOnSmoke

8 minutes with electric starter with lid open, 8 minutes after I pull electric starter out with lid closed. Cook.

Tjcoley

+1 with @Mattman3969. With cubes, I've noticed if you close dome before the fire is out the cube just smokes with bad smell til gone.

Smokinpig

10 minutes open. I use a cube under a chimney. Dump the chimney after 5 and roll another 5. I can be at 400 in under 15 minutes with no VOCs on rockwood.

Botch

Tjcoley said:

+1 with @Mattman3969. With cubes, I've noticed if you close dome before the fire is out the cube just smokes with bad smell til gone.

 

Not my experience at all.  I close the dome immediately, ten minutes later peer through the top and the cube is flaming high (and the temp on my dome thermo shoots way up).  

8->

acegg77

Thanks for all the good tips. When I bought the Egg the store owner told me to keep it open for about 5 or 6 minutes to let the wax in the cube burn out and so the smell would not coat the inside of the dome. 

Made sense but I was watching some videos of some of the 'real' Egg pros on how to do some advanced cooks, and a lot of them close it as soon as they start the cube... like the well-known guy in Shilling, PA who owns a guitar and BBQ store. I figured that maybe I was given incorrect instructions but it  looks like it is all about personal preference.

Tonight I made two small steak filets... no salt, no pepper, nothing but Dizzy Pig rub and  this Hawaiian Tymes Marinade which I highly recommend. Steaks were incredible... cooked at 450 about 3 minutes per side give or take.

Terrebandit

If you are doing a low and slow, you don't want a raging fire to start things off. I drop in the platesetter, close the lid, and choke down the vents after seeing the coals start to glow red b

Sardonicus

acegg77 said:

. . . the store owner told me to keep it open for about 5 or 6 minutes to let the wax in the cube burn out . . . some of the 'real' Egg pros on how to do some advanced cooks, and a lot of them close it as soon as they start the cube... . . .it  looks like it is all about personal preference.

Several people have mentioned firestarter cubes as a concern re: undesirable smoke/fumes. 

I submit that there are qualitative differences in firestarter cubes / sticks.

We use a "Diamond" brand fire starter that is sold in a box of six sticks.  I use one quarter of one stick for most cooks.  (I lean toward 'low & slow'.) 

Yes.  When you first start your Egg, there'll be the initial blast of nasty stuff, but it ain't ebola.  Look at all of the black stuff on the interior of your formerly-pretty ceramics and you'll likely conclude that three or four minutes of white smoke don't amount to much in the overall scheme of things.  Just don't add the food 'til alla that scrams.

If you enjoy the journey of the grill as much as the treat of the taste, maybe you'll choose to start your fire . . . and chill. 

No need to leave it open to get the fire hotter faster.  No need for no stinkin' looflighter, leaf burner, or nuclear reactor.

You can just let the ceramics soak up the heat while you soak up your favorite iced tea/whatever.

OTOH, if you're trying to get a coupla steaks done in a hurry after a long day at work,

then grab a bit of C4 and get busy.

To each their own needs and methods.

Philly35

Ford.

NPHuskerFL

Closed. Light w/ MAPP in the center. Close it and dial it in.

JohnInCarolina

No offense to all the MAPP enthusiasts, but you really can't apply your experience to someone using cubes.

nolaegghead

If I want to start a lot o lump quick I leave the lid open and aim my fan on it.  Otherwise I just close and let it develop naturally.  No right or wrong if you learn when the smoke is good and ready to go.

stemc33

When I used BGE starters I'd close fairly quickly especially if it was windy. I wouldn't worry about the a wax smell coating the dome. I use a chimney now just because it was so hard to get the actual starter blocks lit in the wind. I can start the chimney in the garage and then move it outside. Once the starters were lit they were good to go though. You might want to try other methods of lightning. One things for sure, there's several ways to light the egg and your gonna get a million opinions whenever the topic is brought up. Opened, closed, mapp, weed burner, alcohol, oil soaked paper towels, looflighter, hair dryer, electric coil and many, many more. You'll just have to find what works for you.
As far as your original question of does it really matter? I guess it just depends who you ask. Try it both ways using the same lump, same everything except shutting immediately or leaving it open for a bit and see what's best for you. Good luck

jhl192

Monaarts said:

I've only done 4 cooks but each time my temperature was EXACTLY what I wanted with no issues...

250 degrees - lid open for about 6-7 minutes
325 degrees - lid open for about 8-9 minutes
400 degrees - lid open for about 10 minutes
500 degrees - lid open for about 12 minutes

 

Be prepared for things to change a bit. I have found that factors like outside temperature, wind, lump size, lump type, how clean the area below your grate i, and even the QTY of lump can alter your lighting results.

THEBuckeye

I've not counted the specific minutes but if going low and slow I'll close within a few minutes to slowly bring up to a low temp.

If going for 350 and up, I'll leave it open for 10-15 before closing

NPHuskerFL

JohnInCarolina said:

No offense to all the MAPP enthusiasts, but you really can't apply your experience to someone using cubes.

Good point John. Once upon a time when I used these BGE starters I would break them up into 3 and let the fire become established then close the dome and dial in. For L&S I'd shut the dome early so as not to overshoot target temp.

Legume

I use a chimney with a paper towel soaked in olive oil.  I close the lid right away to get a good draw going since the chimney cannot draw air from the side, only top or bottom.  L&S vs hot fire, the only difference for me is how much lump I put in the chimney, much less for L&S as I don't want to start a big fire.

Little Steven

Legume said:

I use a chimney with a paper towel soaked in olive oil.  I close the lid right away to get a good draw going since the chimney cannot draw air from the side, only top or bottom.  L&S vs hot fire, the only difference for me is how much lump I put in the chimney, much less for L&S as I don't want to start a big fire.

Hope you aren't using good quality extra virgin. Cheap vegetable oil works just as well.