prime rib mistakes

fishlessman

first, no pics

second, egg was overly wet and would not burn clean

third, roast went into the electric oven at 235

then at 108 internal the egg was hot and burning clean so in it went til 120 internal

ive never liked the reverse sear method til now but then again it never happened and it was a delmonico roast, nothing as fancy as a prime rib

Jstroke

Would you do it again? Are you up at the camp? The last picture I saw at the camp, the eggs were sitting down at the lake. You getting lots of rain?

lousubcap

Way to adapt and overcome.  If it was enjoyed then how you got there doesn't matter.  Nail the finish-temp and enjoy the protein.  Way to front-up on the challenges. 

fishlessman

Jstroke said:

Would you do it again? Are you up at the camp? The last picture I saw at the camp, the eggs were sitting down at the lake. You getting lots of rain?

friday poured all day, then a freeze. bottom vent frozen stuck.  this gave me as much smoke as i would want on a beef roast, worked well for my tastes

fishlessman

lousubcap said:

Way to adapt and overcome.  If it was enjoyed then how you got there doesn't matter.  Nail the finish-temp and enjoy the protein.  Way to front-up on the challenges. 

glad im not new to egging, this may have been a problem years ago

Jstroke

That is the definition of overcoming obstacles--making it happen.

nolaegghead

We did a stuffed pork loin (roladen, whatever) that SWMBO made and I cooked on the egg, not too long ago.

Before this cook I had done a number of cooks around thanksgiving for work and friends and it was cold out.  Just kept adding lump and vacuumed out ash from the bottom vent.

Bottom line, got terrible smoke and I had let the egg run for about 4 hours before putting the meat on.

So I figured out what happened.  Because I had done a number of cold weather cooks, many of which were fatty meats, I had smoke condensate that had run back in the egg into the lump and it was a reflux action that self-perpetuated.  Also all the fat dripping into the lump pile and ash.  Lots of moisture in the whole system where I had to keep opening the vent just to get the 250F range I wanted to smoke at.

Despite the long time stabilizing the system, and because I was constantly accelerating the amount of burning lump, I was volatilizing all this creosote, fat and VOC throughout the cook.

It wasn't so terrible that we didn't eat it, but I threw out the leftovers and deconstructed my issue forensically where I think I can prevent it next time.

Especially in winter you need to clean out the egg and/or do some hot cooks or a series of low and slows will degrade the quality of the smoke.

lousubcap

@nolaegghead Were I deep into day drinkin I may give your above some consideration but no doubt your definition of cold is mild to many here.  That said, there must be merit to your case as forensics don't mess around. 

Perhaps I am now jinxed but I have never experienced the above, thus never taking any mitigation.  Now I am alerted, thanks. 

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

We did a stuffed pork loin (roladen, whatever) that SWMBO made and I cooked on the egg, not too long ago.

Before this cook I had done a number of cooks around thanksgiving for work and friends and it was cold out.  Just kept adding lump and vacuumed out ash from the bottom vent.

Bottom line, got terrible smoke and I had let the egg run for about 4 hours before putting the meat on.

So I figured out what happened.  Because I had done a number of cold weather cooks, many of which were fatty meats, I had smoke condensate that had run back in the egg into the lump and it was a reflux action that self-perpetuated.  Also all the fat dripping into the lump pile and ash.  Lots of moisture in the whole system where I had to keep opening the vent just to get the 250F range I wanted to smoke at.

Despite the long time stabilizing the system, and because I was constantly accelerating the amount of burning lump, I was volatilizing all this creosote, fat and VOC throughout the cook.

It wasn't so terrible that we didn't eat it, but I threw out the leftovers and deconstructed my issue forensically where I think I can prevent it next time.

Especially in winter you need to clean out the egg and/or do some hot cooks or a series of low and slows will degrade the quality of the smoke.

i should have just burned it out early in the weekend,  have to do that with the maine egg often enough its usually routine. had neighbors up at the camp next door which i hadnt seen since summer so i changed the rib roast to xmas eve instead of xmas day. the ash in the bottom looked like wet mortar, 14 years there and my egg still literally sits in a puddle dont remember what was cooked last in it, wet eggs and back to back chicken thighs seem to make the worst smoke. made the mistake once cooking burgers with that scenario once.  have to say though that the oven to egg does pick up enough that one doesnt notice you cheated

nolaegghead

I think another issue is with the Roccbox and the other kamados I don't do hot cooks on the large anymore.  The hot cooks in the rotation mitigate the bad smoke you can get not cleaning out the system or doing clean burns.

nolaegghead

lousubcap said:

@nolaegghead Were I deep into day drinkin I may give your above some consideration but no doubt your definition of cold is mild to many here.  That said, there must be merit to your case as forensics don't mess around. 

Perhaps I am now jinxed but I have never experienced the above, thus never taking any mitigation.  Now I am alerted, thanks. 

@l@lousubcap It's been in the 40s.  I think the smokeware cap acts as a condensation surface when it's cool out and the flow through the egg is low because I'm running it as low as I can.

I get that black condensate running down the outside of my egg....I imagine it's pooling up and running down the inside also.

Anyway, like anything, it's a working theory.  I'll have to snap a few FLIR photos, they can be illuminating so to speak.