So many question, so much to grill

Bond

Well its day three with my egg and unfortunately I have not been able to use it yet, thise little think called work is getting in the way. At any rate, this all changes today as I am cooking_______ still haven't decided but no worries, it will come to me. I have spend the past three days reading up on the BGE and I am uncertain on a few issues, as always, I really appreciate your comments, enough sucking up, here goes.

1. When starting the lump (i plan on using an electric starter) do I simply start in one location in the lump and let the fire spread while cooking, or wait to cook until the fire is blasting? I would assume for direct wait untill its blasting and for indirect low and slow it doesn't matter, is this correct?

2. ptate setter or firebrick? on the same type of cook, IE ribs I have seen receipes using either or or not at all, so is this more of a personal preferance or is indirect "necessary" for "indirect" cooking.

3. temp control, I understand the concept but have read that lower temps are very difficult to maintain, your thoughts please.

Anain, I appreciate any and all coments.
Dave

Bacchus

A blasting fire will result in an extremely high dome temp, not alwyas a bad thing, unless your egg is new. In which case you will want to keep it lower.

Platesetter IMHO. It's my preference. Some others will disagree.

Don't worry, low temp are a easy to hold.....assuming by "low" you mean approx 250.


PS. How bout some bone in pork chops or country ribs for your maiden voyage?

Little Steven

Bond,

1. I don't know about electric starters but I thought by the nature of the design they would light in many places

2. Platesetter is best but some posts yesterday gave you alternatives

3. Low temperature control is a natural for the egg. Make sure your firebox air intake lines up with the one in the base. Stack your lump with larger pieces at the bottom, medium over that and small over the top. This prevents the air holes in the firebox from clogging and allows good airflow through the burning lump. Don't overshoot your desired temp by adjusting vents towards the closed position as you approach.

Take your time and enjoy it.

Steve

Bond

I should have clarified that, by low I mean 160 - 180. beef jerky time!!!

[Deleted User]

1. When starting the lump (i plan on using an electric starter) do I simply start in one location in
the lump and let the fire spread while cooking, or wait to cook until the fire is blasting? I would
assume for direct wait untill its blasting and for indirect low and slow it doesn't matter, is this
correct?

I don't have an electric starter so I can't answer exactly. The important thing is to make sure you allow your fire to burn until it burns clean (20 min or so)
this link will tell you about getting started:
http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2004/02/introduction-to-barbecuing.html

2. ptate setter or firebrick? on the same type of cook, IE ribs I have seen receipes using either or
or not at all, so is this more of a personal preferance or is indirect \"necessary\" for
\"indirect\" cooking.

If you want to cook indirect you can either use a platesetter (if you have one) or a raised grid with some kind of barrier (firebricks are often used for this, though when I first started, I used nothing more than a drip pan). I cook ribs, Brisket, whole chickens and baked goods indirect. It is possible to cook ribs direct, I just haven't done it. Indirect allows the Egg to cook like a convection oven rather than a grill. and You don't have flare-ups from juice dripping onto the coals.
3. temp control, I understand the concept but have

read that lower temps are very difficult to
maintain, your thoughts please.

Like with all temps, start your fire, watch the temp rise and damp down your vents to the desired setting when you get within 50 degrees of your target temp. For 250,Which is low enough to cook anything low and slo, you can let it get closer to 225 before adjusting your dampers. what does 250 look like you ask?
http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=55&func=view&id=508143&catid=1&limit=24&limitstart=0

Cecil

Indirect is very helpful, though not absolutly (sorry I own a wine and spirits store) necessary.

As far as temp control, practice and you will soon be master of your egg.



Walt

Unknown

I beleive most will tell you it will take a Didgi-Q or some similar electronis controll device to keep temps that low for extented times.

Grandpas Grub

"or wait to cook until the fire is blasting"

Very seldom, if ever, would you ever want, or need. to get your egg "blasting".

For under apx 200° cooks there are other ways to achieve this.

Smoking cheese, empty lump from the egg at about 90°. I use 6 to 8 brickets. I light 2 or 4 and get them full burning (white) and lay them in the bottom of the egg. I then put 2 or 4 more bricketts unlit next to the burning bricketts usually in two rows.

I then put some flavor wood chips, I use apple, cherry, grape or Jack Daniels (I don't combine) on top of all the brickets.

Some folks have built small boxes and put the box through the lower vent hole under the fire grate.

I then put the plate setter on legs up, depending on the ambient temp outside I may get a pan full of ice and put that pan on the plate setter, then the grid then the cheese.

Jerky, there are several ways to get lower temps and it will depend if you are wanting to cold smoke or not.
. One can use a DigiQ2 (powered fan).
. Build a small pile of lump in the egg so the heat can't grow too wide.
. Coffee can and put the lump inside.

GG

gdenby

For any temperature cook you need to let the lumps Volatile Organic Compound residues burn off. Start in however many places you like. Leave the bottom completely open and the Daisy completely off. For the lowest cook, start shutting down at 150. For higher temps, wait till 250. I prefer to add in any indirect paraphernalia at that time, as they also tend to restrict the airflow somewhat.
Once the desired temperature is reached, wait until the smoke becomes wispy. 20 - 30 minutes for lo-n-slo, 10 or less at higher.

For many cooks, such as ribs, its important to keep the food from direct flames. A well controlled low temp fire on the Egg will not flame except when the dome is opened. So it is often easier to have a block to shield the meat if the dome will be opened for basting.

Also, the texture of the food is somewhat different. Indirect with a platesetter is a little more like baking in a oven, with even heat all over. Without blockage, the foods bottom side tends to crisp up faster.

Low temps are hard to maintain because the fire may not travel from one lump to the next. Well laid lump without large gaps helps prevent this.

Although I've had fires as low as 180 dome for many hours, the amount of open vent is so small that there have been times I've almost smothered the fire just trying to get down to the hair thin crack in the vents that was necessary.

fishlessman

small preburnt from another cook pieces, collect them after a few cooks. you only need and want a few inches covering the bottom. with a little practice you can maintain about 145 but you do need to watch things, a spike to 175 max is okay, but you need to be there to open and close things down with the slightest of taps on the lower vent. you want the pieces small to help clog the holes in the bottom grate, others fashion a small coffee can to help make a low stable fire. you can even keep temps much lower using just a couple brickets inserted thru the lower vent in a small fire, its ok to use the brickets at temps below 110

Bond

the wife called and said she wanted pork chops for dinner, I was thinking about some ribeyes!!!! either way I will post some pics for the first use, btw, you may not have read the post on how I came to have the egg, it belonged to my neighbor who passed in January, I called his widow, who gave me the egg, and invited her to dinner tonight, needless to say she was touched.

Bond

Very helpful, thank you