"eggcessories"?

Unknown

OK, guys...I'm hours away to ordering a new Large Egg and trying to decide on which "eggcessories" to get, so I've got a few questions:[p]1) Platesetter - OK, I want to smoke brisket, ribs, etc.., so do I need a plate setter, grill extender or better to use firebricks instead and place another spare grid on that layer? In order to have a drip pan, I obviously need another layer....so what's the best way to go about this? No need to do pizzas/bread at this time...unfortunately, we're on a diet...but maybe later![p]2) For indirect cooking, like beer-can chicken....would the place setter be the thing to use or again, would a grill extender and/or firebricks be the better alternative?[p]3) Are the ash tool and grill gripper useful tools that I should have from the start?[p]4) What's the best way to light lump? Fire Starters or get a Chimney starter? No way for electric starter as where I'll place my egg, there's no electrical outlet nearby.[p]I would get the Fish and Veggie Grids, but they're too big and don't look like they allow much room to grill the steaks at the same time as veggies on the (Large) egg.[p]One last question...is the Egg cover worth it or will the egg withstand the outdoors completely?[p]Anyway, I just want to make sure I get the "necessities" from the beginning of my adventures with egg.[p]Appreciate any advice you may have.
Thanks,
Fast

The Naked Whiz

Fast,
I'll address a couple of questions:[p]Plate setter: It is most useful for making pizza, getting the pizza stone up to the level of the opening. For all other cooking, you can probably do without it. It is convenient to use, though.[p]Best way to light lump: There is no best way. Do you you like. I use a chimney starter just because I don't have to remember to keep buying starter cubes. I used starter cubes and they work well. Some folks feel the need to use a MAPP torch to get things going in seconds. Reminds of the story of the old rooster and the young rooster.... but that's another show...[p]The ash tools is useful for cleaning out ash, stirring lump and on some eggs, locking the hinge. It isn't much money, so what the heck. The grid gripper is nice. You do need something. BBQ's galore sells a heavy metal grid lifter for about $5. I have both and use both. Again, what the heck....[p]
TNW[p]

Unknown

Fast,[p]Ash Tool - Must have. You'll either need the BGE ash tool or
something a whole lot like it to clean out the ashes
from the bottom.[p]Grill Gripper - Can live without. I bought one this year and I
use it occasionally. Keeps me from having to handle
hot/dirty grills with the gloves. Usefull when you
want to toss a piece of smoking wood onto the fire. [p]Plate Setter - Personally, I use firebricks ( splits ) for my indirect
setups. Most of my cooking is direct as the family is
more into grilling than barbecuing. If I were doing
more of this, I might feel differently. Lots of people
on the forum seem happy with the plate setter.[p]Egg Cover - You'll get a lot of opinions different than mine. I have
one and swear by it. First, the ceramic is weather safe.
Really nothing is going to hurt it. Where I live, western
Pennsylvania, we have a really nasty acid rain situation.
The cover seems to help keep the egg nest from corroding.
Keeping the rain off of the metal seems to help.[p]Lighting Lump - I haven't settled on a single method. Chimney is good
for getting a hot fire going quickly, but this isn't
necessarily what you want for low and slow smoking.
I use Weber starter cubes. I had some left over from
the Weber and they're easy to get in my area. I also
had the chimney, so it wasn't an issue for me. I've
been fooling with MAPP gas, but I haven't got the
technique down to always get a reliable burn going.[p]Some other things you'll need[p]Thermometers - I've got a Polder and a good hand held thermometer
The Polder is nice because it has a built in timer and
a remote probe. The Hand held is useful to stick in
things to see if they're done.[p] The single best thing you can do to improve your
cooking with the BGE is to get used to working off
of internal temperature instead of just using
texture and appearance.[p] If you are really into long duration cooks, you might
want to look into some of the remote thermometers. I
don't have one, but the sheer toy aspects are tempting.[p]Cheap Table - I've got a cheap plastic folding table that I set up
next to the BGE. A lot cheaper than Egg Mates and it
gets the job done. If I had a table mounted egg instead
of an egg nest mounted egg, this wouldn't be needed.[p]Slide/Daisy Wheel - You'll probably want either the Daisy or the Slide
wheel top for the egg. Helps to control things on low
and slow cooks.[p]Gloves - I've got a good set of elbow length grilling gloves. I've
never had a nasty flashback, see Naked Wiz's site, but they
could save your arm hair.[p]In the luxuries/toys department, I also have[p]2 BGE Pizza stones
1 Stainless Steel Wok ( square perforated kind )
Rubbermaid containers to keep my toys neat and clean
Cast Iron Grate from BGE. ( Verdict's still out on this. I'm
not entirely happy with this. It might
just be that I'm used to the ceramic
grate and I haven't figured this out
yet. )

The Naked Whiz

Kevin Nolish,
I would disagree on the statement about not being able to use a chimney starter for low and slow cooks. I did my first low and slow a few weeks ago and used a chimney starter. I placed it in the egg, lit it and foolishly walked away. When I returned, it was F14 Tomcat full afterburner time. The bad part was that the heat was going straight up and heating up the handle on the lid of the egg. I couldn't touch it and had to use my ash tool to lower the lid. But as far as the fire goes, I dumped the coals onto the lump, added the plate setter, water in the drip pan, grid, vrack/pan with big pork butt, and by time I closed the lid, the temp was down to 150 degrees. I slowly let it rise to 230 and then left it there for 20 hours. [p]Some folks do dislike the chimney starters because you end up with a bunch of newspaper ash flying around.[p]TNW

The Naked Whiz

The Naked Whiz,
I forgot to say that when I say F14 Tomcat full afterburner, I mean the chimney starter itself was glowing red. I mean hot....[p]TNW

Bordello

The Naked Whiz,
I remember reading one of the ladies post awhile back that she puts the lump in the egg, then lump in the chimney, put a starter cube on top of the lump in the egg and set the chimney over the lit cube. After the chimney get going, spread the hot lump evenly over the top of the unlit lump. No ashes from the paper that way.
New Bob

sdbelt

Fast,[p]I have both a plate setter and fire bricks. The bricks were a lot cheaper, but are a bit more difficult to set up. As a result, I almost exclusively use the plate setter.[p]I have both the grill gripper and ash tool. Of the tool, the ash tool gets used more. However, where the grill gripper shines is when you want to remove the grill grid when there is still food on the grill. You can do this one handed (with a strong grip), gaining access to what you may need below. This is really handy, when you need it.[p]For starting, I use an electric starter. This is my preferred method, because I don't have to worry about not having any starters in stock at the house. I do have the Weber starters (ice cube looking things) as a backup, and prior to going electric, this was my preferred starter.[p]I have the Large cover...it hasn't been on the Egg in a year (waste of money, for me).[p]A nest is critical. For ribs, the V rack is very handy. A pair of welder's gloves is also handy, until you are sure you know how to avoid a flashback, and even then, I still use mine on occassion.[p]The slide-daisy, is also critical. And the spring hinge is mucho better than the older locking hinge, so be sure your new BGE comes with the spring hinge.[p]Enjoy![p]--sdb

Unknown

Appreciate the advice, guys! Like NW said...some of the small tools are cheap, so I'll go ahead and grab those.[p]Kevin - yeah, this weekend I bought a Polder Instant Read Thermometer, but will have to check out the Polders for low and slow. Which Polder model do you have?[p]The plate setter is probably not a bad investment either and I need the 2nd layer esp. for indirect cooking.[p]Naked Whiz - on your spatchcock chicken pic...how did you raise the grid without a plate setter? Do you have another grid underneath and then fire-bricks on the lower grid to raise the upper grid? I would like to try this method, but my BGE dealer said they didn't have prices for a 2nd grid, so...??[p]Thanks again..
Fast

Gretl

New Bob,
That's what I do. Works like a charm every time.
Cheers,
Gretl

Bordello

Gretl,
It was probably your post that I had seen, hope I described probably. (At least that is the way I pictured it) Sounds like a nice way to get things going.
Happy Egg-n,
New Bob