Maintain a 225 temp?

gfavor

I’ve had my large BGE for 5+ years. Cook on it every weekend (at least Fri/Sat).  When doing low temp cooking I have never been able sustain a 225 pit temp; at the grate.  The best I can do is 250-ish. I load the BGE with lump coal, start a small fire on top of the coals, let a small area get glowing a little, close the lid, close all vents to a very small opening (like the width of a nickle) and it creeps to 250ish. I even bought the Flame Boss, used it a lot, it too had the same issue.

At first it bugged me, but over the years cooking at 225 vs 250 really hasn’t impacted the outcome; still great results. I just wonder from time to time what I am doing wrong. Your thoughts …

HellrodKC

Probably nothing wrong. Every egg has a sweet spot it likes to sit at. Mine is about 260, give or take a few. 

Sounds like you have learned toadjust, keep on trucking.

Florida Grillin Girl

Mine maintains 235 easily. It sounds like you have been doing just fine with what you have been doing. There is really no huge difference cooking at 225 vs. 250, so just go with that and don't spend any time worrying about it. 

GATraveller

Use a pit controller.....it'll hold 225 all day long.

Ladeback69

At 250 you are still in a good smoke range. As @Florida Grillin Girl said not a whole lot difference in cooking at 250, just may be done a little sooner.  I smoke meat between 225 and 275 most of the time.

OhioEgger

Florida Grillin Girl said:

There is really no huge difference cooking at 225 vs. 250, so just go with that and don't spend any time worrying about it. 

I would agree with that. However, I've been able to maintain 225 in my Large but when I do that the bottom vent is open only 1/16th of an inch and the daisy wheel even less (couldn't even stick a toothpick in the openings).

THEBuckeye

Your problem is 225 is the width of a dime, not a nickel. Try it! 

EggMcMic

I have occasionally been able to hold 225, but 240ish is my 'sweet spot'. I can get 225 when I haven't cleaned it out for a while and I have ash in the bottom and partially clogging some holes. I too use a FB but it cant lower the temp. I roll with it and it works!

fishlessman

bottom vent a little less than the thickness of a credit card for 225 is what we used to preach.  we changed the cooking temp years ago because 250 was just easier for folks to do, was also easier for new eggers to figure out top vent pedals less than a toothpick open. i only cook at 225 when i need to lengthen the cook like ribs in before heading to work for 8 hours

lousubcap

Seems I can get and hold in the 190-220*F range on the dome when it really doesn't matter-when I'm drying a load of hot peppers.   I use small pieces of lump and arrange in a pyramid-type shape.  Light in one spot.  Once I have around a tennis ball amount of lump going, shut the dome and dial down the vents.  Pay attention til I get to about 190-200*F then stop the temp climb.  Runs for hours.  I have not tried to run there with protein in the BGE.  (No controller).  

BulletGrillHouse

If you could not hold temp with a Flame Boss it sounds like an issue.  Have you calibrated your thermometer recently and where did you locate the Flame Boss probe?

JRWhitee

Mine won't hold 225 with out the Flame Boss at 250 it will go until the lump runs out. @THEBuckeyegetting it to 225 isn't the issue the problem is the fire going out after a few hours. 

Eoin

My XL holds 225 fine if I keep it clean but I prefer 250 - 275 as it's a bit faster to cook.

Carolina Q

I almost never cook at 250° any more. And I have never even attempted 225. 300-320° works just fine for my lo n slo cooks. Easy to hold too. Pick a temp you can hold. Doesn't much matter.

littlerascal56

I have to use my Flame Boss to keep my cooks at 225. Works like a dream.  Without it, 250-260 is about as low as I can maintain with the vents alone.

Tony_T

gfavor said:

… close all vents to a very small opening (like the width of a nickle) and it creeps to 250ish. 

Try closing the bottom vent a bit more (width of a credit card).

gfavor

Wow, lots of great information/advice, good to know going higher is ok.  I shall NEVER worry about it again. But I will try the credit card thickness just to see if it works; kind of like a game with me. Thanks again. 

JohnnyTarheel

225 really not needed for anything unless you want to man the egg and keep eye on temps. For me the lowest I cook is around 260. At that temp or above the large is easy to maintain without intervention. 

smokeybreeze

Hmmm, I've been cooking low and slow on my large BGE between 205 and 225 for hours on end 12 months of the year, depending on what temperature I settle at before letting it go over night. 215 is my usual go-to temp for pork shoulder, brisket, or baby back ribs. Could it be that my BGE is 10 years old now and things have changed with how they build stuff today? I dunno but I've never had the higher minimum heat limit I'm reading about...

lousubcap

@smokeybreeze - I'm sure it is process/manufacturing dependent to a point although probably not as much as one would guess.  I have no trouble with running at the the lower temps when I am having fun but w/o a controller it requires a leap of faith that I am not routinely willing to make for a protein cook.  

Theophan

I don't just think it's difficult, it's a bad idea in the first place!

Different types of cookers require different approaches.  An offset stick burner can have a small but still decent fire that's breathing a little air and keep a temp in the cooking chamber of 200°.  But a Big Green Egg has the fire IN the cooking chamber, and to keep the temps way low the air has to be tamped so drastically down that it's just a tiny, tiny little fire.

I just get better results when I cook at 250° or above, and 250°-275° is my standard "low-and-slow" target.  I get better smoke flavor, and the Eggs just like settling into and maintaining that range than anything lower.

You're not doing ANYTHING WRONG -- I think you're doing it exactly right!

flexfusion

gfavor said:

I’ve had my large BGE for 5+ years. Cook on it every weekend (at least Fri/Sat).  When doing low temp cooking I have never been able sustain a 225 pit temp; at the grate.  The best I can do is 250-ish. I load the BGE with lump coal, start a small fire on top of the coals, let a small area get glowing a little, close the lid, close all vents to a very small opening (like the width of a nickle) and it creeps to 250ish. I even bought the Flame Boss, used it a lot, it too had the same issue.

At first it bugged me, but over the years cooking at 225 vs 250 really hasn’t impacted the outcome; still great results. I just wonder from time to time what I am doing wrong. Your thoughts …

Mine is exactly the same as yours.  I've decided just to cook at the elevated temperature and forget about it.  Mine settles in a range of 235 to 250º and  the meat turns out fine.  Briskets and butts take about two hours cooking time per pound don't know how normal that is but it's been that way ever since I got my Egg.  

GrateEggspectations

Try a water pan. For me, this is the secret to consistent, low temp cooks. I have dialed 225 in without issue on many occasions. 

pgprescott

The only reason to even attempt holding 225 is for timing purposes, IMO. The real low temps are born out of the BBQ culture that was dominated by extremely inefficient cookers that tended to dry the food out at higher temps. Simply not the case in ceramic cooking. 

DoubleEgger

225F is some magical number. The only difference between 225 and 250 is your time. The food doesn't care. Cook wherever your egg settles in. No need to go buy a controller just to get 25 degrees. 

DoubleEgger

flexfusion said:

gfavor said:

I’ve had my large BGE for 5+ years. Cook on it every weekend (at least Fri/Sat).  When doing low temp cooking I have never been able sustain a 225 pit temp; at the grate.  The best I can do is 250-ish. I load the BGE with lump coal, start a small fire on top of the coals, let a small area get glowing a little, close the lid, close all vents to a very small opening (like the width of a nickle) and it creeps to 250ish. I even bought the Flame Boss, used it a lot, it too had the same issue.

At first it bugged me, but over the years cooking at 225 vs 250 really hasn’t impacted the outcome; still great results. I just wonder from time to time what I am doing wrong. Your thoughts …

Mine is exactly the same as yours.  I've decided just to cook at the elevated temperature and forget about it.  Mine settles in a range of 235 to 250º and  the meat turns out fine.  Briskets and butts take about two hours cooking time per pound don't know how normal that is but it's been that way ever since I got my Egg.  

Something is off on this. 2hr/lb is a long time. Have you calibrated your dome thermometer? 

Meeeshigan22

I have a Flame Boss, and that will do it. But since I put in a kick ash basket and the Smokeware cap holding 225 is much easier.

THEBuckeye

Meeeshigan22 said:

I have a Flame Boss, and that will do it. But since I put in a kick ash basket and the Smokeware cap holding 225 is much easier.

So, about $400, more or less will help hold 225? I did it this afternoon for free. 

See you in a couple weeks. We mad. You playing a freshman. Won't end well 

drumdudeguy

I cooked 2 Boston Butts on my Large BGE this weekend using a new Smokeware Cap. I was at 230 degrees for 14 hours with no adjustments! Amazing! And only used half my charcoal. I think the Smokeware Cap allows much better temperature control. I don't use anything like Flame Boss etc. I cook all night while I sleep. Next morning I open the vents and bring it up to 300 degrees for the last hour to finish it off.

Meeeshigan22

THEBuckeye said:

Meeeshigan22 said:

I have a Flame Boss, and that will do it. But since I put in a kick ash basket and the Smokeware cap holding 225 is much easier.

So, about $400, more or less will help hold 225? I did it this afternoon for free. 

See you in a couple weeks. We mad. You playing a freshman. Won't end well 

Did you not comprehend what was written? I’d make an Ohio joke here, but I’m not sure it’s necessary.

reinhart36

I dig cooking at 250+, though strangely, I spent a lot of time making a controller master 185F.  The very low temps are really only useful for smoke-drying things, in my opinion (or doing a reverse sear).  Peppers from the garden, etc..