2nd try..

slantback37

My next try will be easier...I hope... I would like to do a whole chicken. I have one of those little inserts to hold the chicken up. There are a few things I need to know though.
1. I need to know.. After I start the fire. How long before I put the chicken on?? Is this like a charcoal fire where you wait until it all turns a light grey??
2. I have been looking at different rubs. Though I was wondering if McCormick's Salad Supreme might be a good rub??
I want to do it right this time. If I cook it on the next Saturday I don't have to work.. I plan to buy a whole chicken on the Friday before.. Thanks

SoCalTim

@slantback37  .. put the chicken on when the smoke is clear, for me that's about 15ish minutes ... and the desired cook temp is achived, guessing about 350-400?

Experiment with the rub .. you'll change often til you find what hits your sweet spot.

I know your using a holder for the chicken, but a direct spatchcock is another way to go also .. cooks fast and very even.

Welcome ~ You are now home!

theyolksonyou

Don't wait for the ash like briquettes. 

Light the lump, get a baseball to softball size portion of lump burning, close dome and no daisy wheel. When you're 50 degrees or so from desired temp, put in daisy, close the vents to your settings to on the way up. 

If you try to ash over lump, you'll have a blazing inferno and you'll overshoot your temp and be waiting a LONG TIME to get cooked back down. 

What was was thenproblemnon your previous cook?

slantback37

I really don't know what happened the first time out. Bark, and meat tasted like it was left in a burning house. Made me real sick. Even after cutting off the bark. Still was real bad. Even had one of the guys at work who has been cooking on a egg for a long time said he wouldn't eat it.

Shiff

slantback37 said:

I really don't know what happened the first time out. Bark, and meat tasted like it was left in a burning house. Made me real sick. Even after cutting off the bark. Still was real bad. Even had one of the guys at work who has been cooking on a egg for a long time said he wouldn't eat it.

Sounds like you didn't wait until the smoke cleared. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on the type and condition of your lump.  What brand are you using?  Do a search on Spatchcock Chicken. It is very easy and cooks very well.

Photo Egg

slantback37 said:

I really don't know what happened the first time out. Bark, and meat tasted like it was left in a burning house. Made me real sick. Even after cutting off the bark. Still was real bad. Even had one of the guys at work who has been cooking on a egg for a long time said he wouldn't eat it.

Ask your friend if you can come over an watch a cook and talk about the Egg.
You can learn so much by watching and talking to another cook 1:1.

SoCalTim

@slankback37  .. the good news is that it's only up from here. A year from now you'll be an 'old pro' ...

I can close my eyes and still remember my very first cook, chicken. Damn thing came out raw. i had no idea what the heck i was doing.

Two and a half years later, I just bought my second egg. I love the Eggin lifestyle.

slantback37

Now did most of you get any sort of cooking instructions with your egg?? All I got was how to torque down the bands. I suspose I could look on youtube as to how to butterfly that chicken.

Shiff

just do a forum search up at the top of each page.  Look for Spatchcock Chicken.

slantback37

Oh yes.. That lump I am using is the lump from BGE. As soon as I fired it up it smelled like something rubber was burning. It had a real bad smell all the way threw the entire cook. It had a white smoke when it started, then flared white a few times during the cook.
Should I take the chunks of apple wood I have, and cut them smaller?? I have a band saw, so no problem there..
Another problem I had was running out of wood half way threw the cook, and had to take it all apart and reload it. It was at 152 after 4 hrs, and stayed there for almost a half hour after I did the reload. i didn't know I could fill it to just under the plate setter.
Still not sure about this firing up part..

SoCalTim

@slantback37  .. other than this forum, your basically on your own. My learning curve on my egg was about 6 months. Don't get discouraged, it'll come .. what I think it'll come down to is how much time do you want to put into learning.

The search box up top is absolutely you friend, as is You Tube, and everyone here @ this forum.

Ask questions ... if your not sure or the answer is not clear, by all means - ask again.

theyolksonyou

Stick your hand in the smoke and smell it, if it smells like acrid smoke , you food will too. If it smell like your neighborhood BBQ joint, cook. 

On chunks, I've done both, split and not. When it comes down to it, I'm lazy and this is supposed to be fun so I just throw them in. 

You really should get your bud to come over if he knows what he's doing. 

slantback37

Thanks. Expect a lot of questions then..

theyolksonyou

slantback37 said:

Thanks. Expect a lot of questions then..

That's what this forum is about. 

slantback37

Good to know.
With the egg. It said not to cook in it above 350 until the gasket seals. I cooked that pork at between 250, and 290 for 8 hrs. Do you think that would be enough time for it to seal??

SmokeyPitt

slantback37 said:

Good to know.
With the egg. It said not to cook in it above 350 until the gasket seals. I cooked that pork at between 250, and 290 for 8 hrs. Do you think that would be enough time for it to seal??

You are fine on the gasket.  Cook away.  If you do a few high temp cooks it is going to burn up no matter what preventative measures you take . 

slantback37

Is there anywhere on this site that tell me how many hrs per pound on various meats??

theyolksonyou

Without being a jack leg, the search function is great, or use google with search terms then egghead forum and you'll get more info than you can digest. 

To the question, it rally depends on temp and what cut of meat and in some cases grade of meat. I.e. Prime brisket finishes a little before select...

slantback37

I have a gag of that Rockwood coming, but the guy at work uses only that BGE wood.
Even with a chicken that might only take a couple of hrs.. Should I wait 30 or so minutes for the white smoke to go away?? The guy at work soaks his wood chips over night then throws in a handful. Like I said before.. I have chunk apple wood.. Should I cut it up into smaller pieces??, or should I just go with the lump the way it is??

slantback37

If I become a pest with any of my post I am sorry. I have a learning problem. I can read something 100 times, but I have a hard time comprehensing what was said. If I see a video, or pictures of the same then I can understand it better.
I have been building a Street Rod alone from the frame up for the last 10 years. I have been told by the best that it will never be, because I am doing it myself, but I am still plugging away at it. I plan to do the same with the egg. I am going to buy my meat within a couple of days of when I plan to cook it.

luckyboy

Good luck to you. You'll be a pro in no time. You just got alot of good advice, in time you'll be helping someone else.

slantback37

Always like to help others..
Now do you just cut the backbone out of the chicken?? Does any other part need to be cut ??

theyolksonyou

If you learn better visually, there are some YouTube videos out there. The few I've watched are very basic, but may help you. 

slantback37

Thanks. Just came back from there. Saw how it is done. I will give it a try. Showed on another one that it was flipped over.. Do you do that also?? I heard with my first cook not to open the dome, because of a drastic drop in temp..

theyolksonyou

Well, I was really talking about lighting. 


I had to watch spatchcock on my first as well. I don't flip during the cook, but I also don't get great skin...


as far far as opening, just be quick about it. While the temp in the dome will drop, you actually let in a lot more oxygen and get a hotter fire which can spike your temp. Either way, the temp will come back to your settings. DONT CHASE!  Chasing the temp is a downward spiral. 

Just keep plugging away, you'll get it soon enough. 

slantback37

I have a PartyQ, but that sucks the life out of the batteries fast. After the eight hrs.. The new batteries were already dead. I have to calibrate the thermometer. I think it is off. I have a laser temp to checing the heat under the hood of my car when it is running. I could I suspose check the temp inside the dome with it..

theyolksonyou

Just calibrate the done thermo and trust it. Don't overthink this thing. Maybe burn a small load of lump with no food to get the hang of good smoke and temp control. 

slantback37

Should the lump look like that of charcoal?? I mean be the same gray color like charcoal gets.. When starting the fire.. Should it be going good before the plate setter is even put in?? On my first cook.. I started the fire. Then put the plate setter in, and closed the dome until it got up to the 250. Then I put the pork on.. Maybe that was one of my mistakes..

theyolksonyou

Sounds like you did everything right, just put the food on too soon. On an overnight cook, I let the temp stabilize for an hour (give or take a few minutes) before putting on the food. That gives me a chance to 1) make sure it's stable and 2) get good smoke. That's a bit of overkill, but I don't have a controller and I like to sleep. 

My point is, if you had bad smoke taste, let it burn longer before you drop in the meat. 

slantback37

Yes, but I only have a small egg. We couldn't afford the Med one. Now I heard that from another member that I could put the lump all of the way to within a inch of the plate setter.. Though wouldn't you still have a lot of bad smoke if it were all still burning?? Going to be kind of hard to explain but if I started the fire on one side.. Wouldn't I need for it to work it's way all of the way across before I even think of putting on the meat??

Shiff

I usually wait a while before putting in the platesetter to allow the fire to get started.

The charcoal will not get gray like briquettes.  As the fire gets going it will look like bright red lava.  Be careful when opening the lid when it is very hot since it might flare up.  You should "burp" it by opening it a little, then closing it,  then opening it carefully. Wear BBQ gloves to avoid any problems.  I like the kind with long cuffs to cover part of your arm.

Smoking wood doesn't have to be soaked - that is a holdover from a different kind of smoker.  Just mix in some chunks when you are adding the charcoal.

There are lots of videos on Youtube about using the egg and cutting meat.  Do some searching there and here on the forum.  Ask questions if you don't understand anything - everyone is very friendly here.