Considering Egg purchase have a few questions...

Brian

Ok. The egg sounds great. But I was wondering exactly how difficult/easy it is to get a fire going and control the temperature? [p]If I were using it to grill does it take significantly long to stoke up a fire and bring the thing to temp? [p]While smoking, do you constantly need to replenish the smoke chips as in a texas style or does the smoke stay in the egg with the heat?[p]Just curious, [p]Thanks in advance[p]

Mike in MN

Brian,
I use a torch to light mine. Quick. I move the torch around to several locations to get it started. About 2 minutes with the torch and it's time to close the dome and let it start to warm up. Within 10 minutes you could cook anything. Or, if you were going to do a slow cook, you could immediately throw on the chips, set up your grill, and adjust the temp for a nice slow rise to 225. Lots of smoke, and a slow temp rise really gets that smoke into the meat during the all important early stages of the cook. [p]Chips or lump lasts a long time, because you are not burning it up as fast as a regular grill, offset, or gasser. A couple of chunks or a couple of cups of chips in the beginning is usually enough for a typical cook. [p]The grill seals up tight enough to kill the fire. How many grills out there can claim that? Because of this, it is easier to control the temp. How many grills could you set up and go to bed and just let it go all night? No problem with the egg. One filling of lump, and you can do a 20+hr cook at 225. Any weather. Rain, snow, sleet. [p]Mike in MN

BBQBluesStringer

Brian,[p]I am a newbie to the egg, having had it for just a couple of weeks now. I just finished my first overnight, an 18 hour turkey smoke at 225. It was so simple to set up and regulate before going to bed, and yesterday morning the temp was still solid on 225. The night before I quick-seared a couple of 1.75 inch thick pork chops rubbed with Ken Stone's wonderful Gilded Splinters. It took just a few minutes to hit 550 degrees, and just a few more to reach an internal temperature of 145... best pork chops I've ever had![p]There isn't really a learning curve. The people in this forum have already done the learning and documented it. Just find an example of what you want to cook, and follow the instructions. It works every time.

Sundown

Brian,[p]Let there be no question, there is a learning curve but for most it's a pretty quick climb. Starting Mr. Egg with the cubes takes only minutes. I usually start my lump, go in and get the meat ready and, usually within 10 - 15 minutes I'm ready to go.
Controling temps takes a bit of practice but most people master it very quickly with the help of the forum. Everyone has a slightly different take on how to do everything. I control my temps almost exclusively with the lower vent and unless I'm doing a low 'n' slo never use the daisy wheel. 5 people will diagree but that's okay we do pretty well here. What counts most is the food. On that there is no disagreement. It all tastes great. The magic of the Egg!
Buying an Egg is one of the best investments you'll ever make. Trust me.

stike

Brian,
When I used my old gas grill, I'd preheat it as high as I could before I'd toss on the steaks. That'd take about 10 minutes.[p]I find that the egg is just as fast. [p]When I first got the egg, I made a bit of a production out of getting it going, because I fussed with things way more than you need to. Now, it just takes a minute or two. Stir the lump from that last cook to get rid of the ash, toss in some firestarter cubes, and open the vents. Often don't even have to add fresh lump...[p]Usually the wife has no idea i was even gone. And by the time I've grabbed a beer and the steaks and headed back outside, the egg is up to temp (and far hotter than my measley gasser could ever HOPE to get). [p]When I smoke, i toss in split chunks off maple, oak or hickory logs. Never a need to add more... Also, since when you are smoking, the egg is pretty closed down (top/bottom vents barely open, the smoke lingers quite a while in the dome, and only barely trickles out. Course, if it DIDN'T trickle out, you'd snuff the fire.[p]As far as temp control? Well, the guys doing a lo and slo cook at 225 or 250 for 19 hours aren't lying. and they don't need to add lump during the cook. I've done roasts at 350 for a couple hours, held the temp spot-on 600 for hamburgers and of course seared at 750 or even 800+ degrees.[p]the thing controls temperature better than most electric ovens.

Kelly Keefe

Brian,
If you'll email me, I'll send you some notes on firestarting and temperature control Spin sent me when I first got my large.[p]Kelly Keefe
Jefferson City, MO

Unknown

Brian,[p]You didn't ask, but I thought I'd let you know what I would do differently if doing it again. I would definitely buy the egg, no regrets there, but wouldn't have bought the nest and mates (stand with wheels and flip out tables).[p]If I could do it over again, I'd build myself a table first and have the egg ready to drop in when I brought it home. For what you'll spend on the add on's you can almost buy the material. JMHO.[p]Fire starting and temp control: very simple using whatever method you're most comfortable with to start a fire. Lump lights easily and you can be ready to go on it as quickly as with a gas grill. Temp isn't hard to control...watch it as it rises and start shutting vents down (not completely) as you are just shy of your target temp. A couple of cooks is all it takes.

Shelby

Brian,
As everyone's said, starting is easy. How long does it take to get to temp? I told a buddy of mine, "about as long as it takes to drink a beer!" Then it's ready to go. The egg holds in all the heat and smoke. That's why one of the key extras to be sure and get is a Polder-type thermometer so you can monitor the internal temp of the meat without ever opening the dome and letting out that wonderful smoke and heat.
I promise this, if you enjoy bbq/grilling/smoking, you won't be sorry!

Unknown

BBQBluesStringer,[p]I am like you, a new egg owner. I put a Pork Butt on Saturday night & monitored it for about 2 hours. The temp stayed at 250 for that time, I woke up at 6:00 & found that the temp had dropped to 100. I had plenty of lump in it, I guess that I just had it too choked down on the top & bottom vents. Anyone else have this happen ?[p] Dave

Unknown

David A Fulkerson,
Yes, exactly as you did. It was because the charcoal did not "fall-into" itself keeping the fire going. A few pokes with an opened coathanger got it all going again and back up to temperature.

Unknown

David A Fulkerson,
Also, the burned charcoal could have clogged your lower grate beneath the fire and snuffed your fire out. Again, a coathanger can fix the problem after it is discovered.[p]Another tip is when cooking low & slow, always bring your temp up to your desired temperature and don't go way over it and then attemp to bring it back down. The ceramics hold the temperature for awhile - even when you think you've got the proper adjustment and have stabilized it.[p]Come-on,yous guys and help David out in solveing his problem. Seems there is not much you can do in this case except to check your dome temp ever hour or invest in a remote themometer with an alarm.