New Large BGE, First Use

Corv

This cook is the first one in this brand new Large. I had a Medium since about ’08, but it blew over a week after Thanksgiving and broke. It and the surviving parts and accessories are now gone. I’d wanted a Large partly for the increased size and partly for the large number of accessories. Since the cart that blew over was slightly too small for a Large (yes, poor planning back when I made it) I bought a CUNA cart directly from Smoken.com, the company that makes these.
The CUNA The pluses - it fits very well and was easy to assemble and load the Large into it. The instructions are clear and the supplied tools more than adequate; they can be used for other purposes too. It rolls easily with the Egg in it. It was packaged marvelously well and was delivered surprisingly quickly.
The CUNA minuses - The wheelbase is a bit small for good stability in a wind, something that I’m a bit sensitive about  right now about. My guess is that around 40 mph, more or less, it might get tippy, so I’ll have to be careful. The paint job is adequate but not as good as any bicycle I’ve seen lately. And the pins that hold the side tables are a bit loose in their holes.
In use, with the side shelves folded down, The CUNA was completely adequate.
I set up the Joetissorie, which fits very well in the Large. I’m using a Peruvian Roasted Chicken recipe from The Spruce Eats website, but I modified the cooking temperature and time to get a bit more smoking. Here’s the chicken with the marinade. It took a bit over 90 minutes total.

The charcoal is Fogo Super Premium in a Kick Ash Basket (KAB). That and the Joetissorie are the only accessories for today. I’m cooking direct.
For some reason the charcoal was unusually hard to light, but once I reverted to the technique (cut a wax square into 3 pieces and place them separately) I’ve used before, that was okay. I got the Large stable at 250 for about 1/2 hour and decided to move it up to 275. I overshot and the rest of the cook was at 300, nicely stable. The Large holds temperature better than my Medium ever did.

The Joetissorie worked flawlessly for the 1:30 that it was in use. It’s very quiet.

The lid has a nice action and I like the way the springs counterbalance it.

After deboning it, I made a sandwich for dinner. The rest became chicken salad.

And finally....

I started with a recipe but found it to be way too mild for me. After adding this and that, it’s a bit spicy but otherwise fine. Perhaps I didn't need to add both the Sriracha and the hot sauce.

I do apologize for the length here. I usually don't take photos while I'm cooking and of course many of you have an LBGE and know all about it. Still, this seemed a relatively - for me, anyway - noteworthy occasion to go long.

Elijah

Pristine. Did they get rid of the divots in the fire ring? 

buzd504

Elijah said:

Pristine. Did they get rid of the divots in the fire ring? 

The warranty replacement I got recently does not have divots.  Also, the intake holes in the firebox seem like they are higher up, I guess to prevent clogging.

MotownVol

It will not look like that for long.  Cook away and enjoy the egg ride.

JohnInCarolina

Way to roll with the Joetisserie fresh outta the gate…

DoubleEgger

buzd504 said:

Elijah said:

Pristine. Did they get rid of the divots in the fire ring? 

The warranty replacement I got recently does not have divots.  Also, the intake holes in the firebox seem like they are higher up, I guess to prevent clogging.

No “divots” is disappointing. I like having two height options for my platesetter. 

Corv

I don't know when mine was built. I bought it out of stock at the local Ace Hardware and they may have had it some indefinite time. They have an excellent display near an entrance and must certainly sell some. Perhaps it's an earlier or later revision... the only thing certain is that I like it a lot, just the way it is.

Thanks for indirectly reminding me that I need to get it registered.

lousubcap

Great way to introduce your LBGE after the MBGE disaster.  Nice cook right there.  Glad you jumped back on the horse after that wind driven calamity. 

td66snrf

If I may make a suggestion. What I did when I got my Joetissorie I put the spit in the rotisserie and marked the center of the egg. That will show you where to locate your meat. Then I realized you usually can't see the center when you put your food on it.  So I marked the spit again equal distance from the center outward making it easy to center the food. I initially marked it with a sharpie but went back with a file and just knocked corners off the square spit.

OhioEgger

td66snrf said:

If I may make a suggestion. What I did when I got my Joetissorie I put the spit in the rotisserie and marked the center of the egg. That will show you where to locate your meat. Then I realized you usually can't see the center when you put your food on it.  So I marked the spit again equal distance from the center outward making it easy to center the food. I initially marked it with a sharpie but went back with a file and just knocked corners off the square spit.

Same here. It's a big help, makes it a snap to center whatever you're cooking.

Corv

I was just wondering how to mark it... thanks very much!  It badly needs that. I had to shift the chicken on the grill.

Canugghead

Agree with ^^^, great idea to help positioning the meat in the middle. However, the middle is not always what I settle for when the cook starts... depending on the epicentre of the fire and the type of protein I sometimes move it off-centre, e.g. for a whole chicken I want the legs closer to the fire than the breast, sometimes I even reposition it mid cook.

Mark_B_Good

Does the Cuna Cart have a lower rack you can put something heavy on (maybe a slab of granite) ... this would lower the center of gravity, and help prevent it from tipping in a high wind.

Corv

Yes, but it's not very big. Right now I have a few tools there, minimal weight but handy. That's a good idea and I'll keep my eye's open to see what might fit.

RRP

Nice yard bird cook there, @Corv. 

Here’s an idea for weight in that lower level…just turn that cart on its side and fill it with sakcete loaded with rocks! 

MaskedMarvel

DoubleEgger said:

buzd504 said:

Elijah said:

Pristine. Did they get rid of the divots in the fire ring? 

The warranty replacement I got recently does not have divots.  Also, the intake holes in the firebox seem like they are higher up, I guess to prevent clogging.

No “divots” is disappointing. I like having two height options for my platesetter. 

A thousand cooks here and it’s never once occurred to me that I can fine tune the PS height with my divots. 

… I’m still learning..

thanks!