New "Egger" Needs Help!!

Unknown

Hello Everyone:[p]I am a "virgin" egger .... just got it two days ago after drooling over it for 2 months!! Excited does not begin to describe the feelings ..... my wife insists that I not keep it in the bedroom at night but I think over time I can wear her down!! My problem? SMOKE!! I am getting "charcoal" smoke (not good) throughout my cook. I did a chicken last night and a pizza tonight. Both cooked well but I know I am doing something wrong. Kind of like I am not getting a "clean" burn. Any thoughts?
Thanks a Million[p]Sam

JJ

Sam Duell,
What are using for fuel? Lump or briquets?

The Other Dave

Sam Duell, I speak as a newbie, so keep that in mind. When I used the standard grills with briquets, I would not dare place the food on until the coals were white. Somehow I forgot this with the egg and lump charcoal. It's the same principle, although I have found either the egg or the lump (or both) more forgiving in the flavor. Wait a while longer, realize the egg is more enclosed, avoid excessive fat dripping onto coals if possible.

sam

JJ,[p]I am using lump. Cowboy brand .... some leftover stuff from my Weber. It is not great stuff ..... looks like mostly scrap wood.

Unknown

The Other Dave,[p]I wondered if that could be it too. Both of my cooks were with indirect so I did not have dripping. I was not sure with the Egg if the coals needed to "settle in" like on a Weber until they were just producing heat and no smoke.

The Other Dave

Sam Duell, so there you have it! Best to let the temp stabilize before the cook anyway. A difficult but worthwhile lesson for us newbies.

StumpBaby

Sam,[p]I have some Cowboy lump (don't spread that around..last thing I need is a stampede of cowgirls..com'n up her ta see)[p]It's some of the worst lump I ever used. A good 90 percent of it is the size if an enflamed butt warble (about the size of a quarter, for those fortunate souls that have never gotten one of these god-forsaken anomolies south of the border). I find that it's so small that it clogs the holes of my ...um...lower grate..(insert own joke here) so much so that I have problems with the temperature when I burn it, because the air flow is impeded so much. Can't wait to burn it all off (the lump..not the butt warble..only tried that once..and I'm still feeling squinchy from it...anybody lights a match around me ..and I squich up like you read about...why...if'n I had a lump of coal in there when THAT happened..I'd a made a diamond for sure). [p]I would get some bigger lump....my friend..[p]Happy..egg'n[p]StumpBaby

BBQfan1

Sam Duell,
You've already received some valid pointers from others, even old Stumpy whose posts sometimes need a little 'cipherin... Only thing I'll add is that the two cooks you've done so far, chicken and pizza, can really be detracted from by exposure to excessive smoke (ask Mop, he'll tell ya!). Therefore, I'd bypass use of ANY smokewood in either of these two cooks, and definitely keep chimney airflow open and free-flowing. If smoke can't get out because of a closed, or partially closed chimney cap, it can, and WILL, pick up smokey flavour/taste. Some folks even remove the cap entirely and use only the lower vent to control temps on these 'smoke-sensitive' cooks......
Qfan

BlueSmoke

Sam Duell,
One thing I've noticed: lump that has gotten wet burns smokier than that that hasn't.