Newbie Egger

PrivateJoker

OK.  I just got my BGE this week.  I did a turkey and burgers this weekend.
Mixed results as I get used to working with this grill.

How much charcoal should I be putting in my egg?  When I did the turkey I ran out halfway through.
When I did the burgers I got it nice an how.  However 2 hours later the grill hasn't cooled down. (I closed all the openings)

Also what should I try next on the BGE?

VB_egger

Welcome,  I always fill mine all the way up unless I'm trying to go super hot. 

If if your vents are closed give it some time. The ceramic will still feel warm for awhile. 

bgebrent

Welcome aboard.

Mikea5232

 Make sure you use the snuffer cap and not the daisy wheel contraption. Like was mentioned it will take a few hours to completely cool down. 

bikesAndBBQ

It will take a long time to completely cool after a hot cook.  What size egg do you have?  Fill it up with lump at least to the fire ring. In a large, that lasts me easily 12+ hours. You can really fill it to just below the conveggtor if you want. 

lousubcap

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey.  Great move to jump right into the forum.  And since you are here-what follows is a reading assignment...just kidding but there is some great info in the below.  And within reason you cannot load too much lump.  Air-flow is the driver-please see below.

Here’s a link to all things ceramic-chances are if you have a question the answer is within this site somewhere.  Check out the recipe section for some great ideas.  http://www.nakedwhiz.com/nwindex.htm

For additional links to cooking/recipe sites; here are two very good ones, depending what you are cooking:  This site contains a wealth of the science behind Q cooking along with info on about every type of meat cook you would attempt: http://amazingribs.com/

Here’s the second one:  http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/

 After-market toys- With the BGE there are three basic styles of cooking;  “direct”-where the cooking grid is on top of the fire ring; “raised direct”-where the grid is elevated at least to the gasket-line (this setup requires after-market stuff-easiest is to get another grid and then use three fire bricks (or three empty aluminum beer cans) and place them on the grid at the fire ring and then put the second grid on top. The third is “indirect” where there is a heat deflector (platesetter or some other type stone) between the burning lump and the cooking grid.  This is the setup for low&slow long duration cooks.  I would get comfortable playing around with the BGE before any major after-market investments.  Will save you $$ in the long run.

 Some observations-make sure you calibrate your dome thermo-boil some water, then insert the thermo and check the temp.  If not around 210*F, then note the off-set and use the nut on the back to correct.  Then recheck.

Temperature is a controlled by the volume of lump burning.  The volume is controlled by the air-flow thru the BGE.  In thru the bottom vent and out the top.  Make sure when you set it up that the fire box opening is aligned with the lower vent. 

When adjusting the vent(s) to change temperature, the feedback loop can take some time.  Changes in air-flow are reflected in the dome thermo temp.  Don’t chase temperature; +/- 10-15*F is close enough.

“Stable temperature” is a relative term.  Means you haven’t moved the vents and the temperature is steady for anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

More than enough for tonight.

SaintJohnsEgger

What should you try next?

How about a pork butt. Hard to mess one up and they are great confidence builders. Plus they taste great too.

Rte1985

Or pizza!  One of my favorites on the egg

abpgwolf

I agree with filling your egg with lump to the bottom of the fire ring for all cooks (I fill mine up a little further for long low and slows). It does take some time for the egg to cool down, your heating up a lot of ceramic. That's why it's best to catch your desired temp on the way up, rather than overshooting and and have to wait for it to cool down.

As for your next cook, I'd suggest a spatchcock chicken (Not too difficult and they have always turned out good for me) or pork shoulder (very forgiving, will give you experience with a low and slow). It will either be the best chicken you've ever had or the best pork you've ever had! Have fun with your new egg!

six_egg

Welcome

Ima_good_egg

Welcome!

PirateBill

Welcome I am pretty new also, I have found that the grill takes a while to cool down (don't usually put the cover on it till the next morning at best) also the best tool in my arsenal is the search bar located at the top right of the forum any question you got it has been answered no telling how many times that thing has saved the literal bacon.

johnnyp

welcome. enjoy the journey

camofreak

Welcome! What size did you get? Aint it fun...

chuckytheegghead

Welcome aboard. 

bluebird66

Welcome aboard!!

PrivateJoker

Thank you all.  I have a Large Egg.
I've done several cooks now.  Yes filling up to the ring helped a lot.
However..  I still appear to be chasing the temperature.  I'm not sure how to fix this.   I start the egg with the bottom all opened and the top off.  I let that go for about 7 minutes.  I then close the lid and leave the bottom open all the way and don't add a top.  After another 7 minutes I add the daisy wheel and start to adjust my temp from there.   What am I doing wrong???  

tenpenny_05

PrivateJoker said:

What am I doing wrong???  

I think you have too many moving parts. I light mine with the lid closed, wheel off, when I'm within 100 degrees of where I want to be, I put the daisy wheel on, but open, and close the bottom vent at least half way. Then make small adjustments from there.

For low temps, the bottom slider is going to be less than an inch open.
For high temps it will be anywhere from an inch to wide open, depending on how hot you want it.

lousubcap

Many ways to get there but for a low&slow I leave the dome and bottom vent full open until I get around a soft-balled sized quantity of lump going (~7-10 mins).  Then load the indirect hardware, shut the dome and slide the bottom vent to around 1" open  and install the DFMT.  Once within about 50*F of the target temp, I shut the bottom to about 1/4" +/- and the DFMT to petals only. Get it all stable and have at it.  FYI +/- 15-20*F on a L&S cook isn't gonna have much of an impact.  They key is stable.  FWIW-

Markarm4119

A thermapen instant read thermometer is a must to avoid overlooking meat as well, welcome and say good bye to your budget !