abt's question

smokn gramma g

I have 20 abt's ready for the egg.
I will be cooking on my small, with no eggsessories, and my first cook on it! After 2 hours of researching the archives, I came across Spring chickens post from 2004. He cooked direct, no raised grate, just flipping a few times. He said that he closed the bottem vent. Apparently from all I read in the archives he is an expert on these babies![p]Would that mean that once temp was stablized at 350, he would have put them on and closed the vent and cooked the whole 30-45 min with the vent closed? OR did he only close the vent when he opened the lid to flip?
Any help appreciated especially...from Spring Chicken[p]thanks
Gayle

Spring Chicken

smokn gramma g,
You're in luck. I'm down with the flu or something but had to get up to take my medicine. I'm trying to kill some time on the Forum while the medicine takes effect.[p]Thanks but I'm not really an expert at ABT's. I just know what works for me. [p]I've also made a lot of ABT's since 2004 and have tried different methods including indirect and even in a skillet.
I still like direct better.[p]In answer to your question(s), I stabilize the Egg at about 350° (maybe 375°), place my ABT's on the grill (raised is good but not necessary), close the bottom vent, open the top vent about 3/4 to 1" and step back. [p]In about ten minutes I check to see how they're doing. I usually move them around at this point because there are hot spots. I check again a few minutes later to flip over, even if not needed. By this time some of the grease has cooked out of the bacon so I can now open the bottom vent a little and not worry too much about flare-ups. I rotate and flip every now and then until done. [p]I used this method but with a raised grill and found that I didn't need to flip as often. When I cooked them indirect I probably could have cooked them without flipping at all but around here we like the direct method better.[p]A special note: I like to cut my ABT's into smaller bite-size pieces to serve. Let them cool down a bit before trying to cut them, and use a sharp knife.[p]Hope this helps. Now I'm going back to bed.[p]Spring "Feel'n A Lot Like That White Stuff On Chicken Poops" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

smokn gramma g

Spring Chicken,
Yes it helps a lot! Thanks a bunch! Hope you are feeling better soon!
Gayle

stike

smokn gramma g,
i hate to say it, but i only get flare ups when the dome is open. i've experimented with putting chips directly onto a raging bed of lump, and within a half minute or so, the flames die. i've had chicken direct for over an hour, no flareups. can't happen, no matter what i try. now, try that on a gasser. chicken or ribeyes. you'll have a fat fire! ...the egg's airtight, and if you are at a consistent temp, there's just not enough spare air to ignite even the dripping bacon fat. that is, until you open the lid![p]when opening the lid during greasy cooks, i sometimes kick the bottom vent closed. buys me time. eventually the air from the open dome will allow the flare up, but i'm halfway thru flipping by then.[p]i might suggest par cooking the bacon. on a small, you are closer to the lump. 350 in a large and 350 in a small are the same dome temp, but the undersides of the ABTs are closer to the lump in the small and will char quicker. so parcooked bacon will allow you to pull the ABTs sooner. bacon (for me) is always the thing that takes longest with ABTs.[p]you might even go lower temp. 300 or so. it'll take longer though, obviously.

BigT

stike,[p]I had to cook burgers on a gasser last night. My host asked me why I brought a spray bottle of water with me, and I got to show her when the grill burst into flames before it was even preheated...[p]Big T

stike

Big T,
i brought some rib eyes to a cookout and the guy said he wanted me to cook them, and told me to use his neighbor's gasser. neighbor standing there saying "i heard you make the best steaks. why is it flaring? you have it too high (was 600). you need to turn it down. make mine well done" etc.[p]there is absolutely nothing to answer that stuff. i just smiled and nodded.[p]i had honestly forgotten about flareups, it had been so long