Best method for preheating the grill in prep. of smoking...

ironmike

I'm a newbie at this so please forgive me...but, the way I did it was to 1)light the lump coal with firestarters;2)leave top open till most all coals were red;3)close lid and let temp get up to 600F;4)adjust vent and daisey wheel till temp came back down to 350...[p]It took a bit of a while to get back down to 350!!! Is this the best way (Am I in just too much of a rush???) or is there something else I should be doing?[p]Thanks a lot,
Mike

Tim M

Iron Mike ,[p]I would suggest another way. Ceramic holds heat and does not like to let it go - so going down in temps is slow and tough. Stabilize your Egg at 25-50 deg above the desired temp but don't let it stay there for long. It's easiest if you start cutting off the air flow when the dome temp is 25-50 deg below the desired temp. Hold it there to stabilize it for 5-10 min before you add the food. [p]Tim

BillB

Iron Mike ,unlike with briquettes you don't have to get lump all red or ashed over. They have no additives. Once they are started, they are good to go.

sdbelt

Iron Mike,[p]Like Tim M. said, when shooting for a dome temp, you want to avoid over shooting it.[p]Also, I like to close the lid pretty early. Helps save the gasket. I don't use fire staters much anymore, but mostly use an electric. I leave the electric in for 9 minutes. Then remove, and close the dome, with all vents wide open.[p]Like Tim M said, once the dome temp is nearing the temp I'm shooting for, I start clamping down the vents. With time you'll learn vent settings that work for you, for each of the cooking temps you use often (like say, 250, 275, 325, 425, etc.).[p]Enjoy![p]--sdb