Help ! First timer !!! "long"

Unknown

Hello All!
First time smoker here! I tried the Beer butt chicken yesterday and I really did not care for the flavor.I used the recipe from a book called smoke and spice. I fired her up and she got up to 350°f Pretty quickly.I shut the daisy top and bottom slider to cool her down to 200° -220°F.I added a large handfull of hickory(Only kind available at the time)It took about 5 hrs to get an internal temp of 180°f.
The meat was very juicy but way too much hickory taste for us..
I need to redeem myself with something else.Im going to try burgers
tonight.I would like to keep it simple for this first time.
I searched this site and read many posts and the variations make it very hard to decide.I really need these to be awesome ..Nothing fancy..just great burgers!! When grilling with the egg do I use a drip
pan or not.Im confused right now.Any and all advise would be greatly appreciated by this new Egghead!
Thanks all!
Carrera85

char buddy

Carrera85,[p]You done good with that chicken and in the future just remember that a little smoke goes a long way with chicken. Next time - skip the wood chips and see how it goes with just charcoal. You might try smoking at 250º next time just because that is an easier temp to hold and your cook may go a little faster (three hours, maybe). down the road you might consider MickeyT's temp rings as an aide to holding low temps. You put these on the chimney and you don't have to sweat how much to keep open the lower vent. [p]burgers were the first things I did on my BGE and I learned that simple is good.[p]Just get the dome temp up to 400-500º. 500º is better, but it may be hard to stablize - so don't worry if it bounces 100º over or below. [p]Just slap the burgers on the grill - no fancy set up needed. A timer of some sort would be good. If the burgers on are the thin side (quarter of inch) then just do 1 to 2 minutes per side - especially if the BGE is rocking at 500 or above. [p]if the burgers are nice and thick (an inch or above) then go 3-4 minutes per side and dwell for 2 - 3 minutes. Dwellin on the BGE is analogous to an indoor chef sticking a frying pan in the oven after he's done a sear on top of the stove. To dwell just close the lower vent and close the daisy wheel up top. Caution: dwelling is very, very risky for the following reason. When you open the BGE after a dwell you will get a huge fireball. Trust me. You don't want a huge fireball. To avoid it, lift off the daisy wheel first and wait 20-30 secs. Then lift the lid an inch and put it back down before lifting it slowly all the way.[p]the burgers will be amazing. [p]

Wardster

Carrera85,
In my opinion, you need to use less wood chips on the egg. Poultry is very good at absorbing smoke and the egg is very good at infusing it into your meat. Try less, or none, next time.
Burgers are kind of tough, believe it or not. I would get the egg up to 500* or so, being mindfull of backdrafts, and do them about 5 min or so.
Hope this helps. It's a fun learning curve.

Spring Chicken

Carrera85,
Welcome to the world of ceramic cooking. You did good by purchasing an Egg. Life will get much better from now on.[p]As for the strong smoke flavor, poultry does that. It absorbs smoke like a sponge does water. I have found the Spatchcocked Chicken offers the best flavor and is easiest to cook. I don't have the recipe handy but you can go to Google.com and type in Spatchcocked Chicken and it will come up. The lump charcoal is usually enough smoke for most birds. [p]As for hamburgers, I cook them direct. I'm not big on really huge burger patties and prefer them to be between 1/3 and 1/2 pound, depending on the bun size. I just use a bit of Montreal Steak Seasoning and always get an excellent burger with minimal effort. I usually throw on a piece or two of smoking wood, cook direct at 700 degrees for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side, then close both the bottom and top vents and close the lid to "dwell" for about 4 minutes. They usually come out medium to medium rare. The type of meat will determine how they turn out so plan on practicing 'til you get it just the way you like them.[p]Hope this helps.[p]Spring Chicken
Spring Texas USA

CR

Carrera85, many people have posted that poultry is like a smoke sponge and you need to be careful using wood chips/chunks when doing poultry. [p]I like the amount of smoke flavor that is supplied by just the lump and only use a small amount of wood chunks when doing ribs. [p]Try doing chicken next time without the wood.

Unknown

Carrera85,[p]I wouldn't use a drip pan for burgers. I like to mix the hamburger meat up with some salt & pepper, a splash of moore's marinade, 1 egg, a dash of garlic powder and a bit of finely chopped onion. I think its also good with just the meat and a bit of S&P...whatever you like. I make big patties, at least 1/3 pound. Direct at 500 degrees for about 3 minutes per side, then dwell for a few minutes. I don't use any smoking wood for burgers. Very little for chicken, for that matter. Just "burp" the egg a bit after that dwell to avoid flashback. The burgers will be great either way, but the hair on your hand and arm will appreciate it.

TRex

Carrera85,[p]What people say about chicken is right - in my opinion, the latent smoke flavor provided by the lump charcoal alone is enough for chicken. The Naked Whiz's Spatchcock Chicken recipe is really easy and has given me perfect results every time (see link below).[p]As for burgers, buy the fatty meat if you want nice flavor without adding a lot of marinades, half a bottle of Worchestshire sauce, etc. I usually buy ground chuck (I think, whatever is like 18% fat) and make 3/4" - 1" thick patties, season with Dizzy Pig Cow Lick rub (www.dizzypigbbq.com) and a splash of Worchestshire sauce. Put the patties in the fridge for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a 500 dome temp well-oiled grill to keep them from falling apart and sticking, respectively. I grill these about 5 minutes or so a side for the medium side of medium-rare. Or, just flip when the juices bubbling out the top are red/pink for rare/medium burgers. Use a little hickory wood for a nice kick in the flavor.[p]Good luck, and welcome![p]TRex
[ul][li]Spatchcock Chicken[/ul]

BlueSmoke

Spring Chicken,
Did burgers my own self last evening. Just salt & pepper for seasoning. 650°, 2 mins. a side.
When I formed them, I made a the centers thinner than the edges following a tip I picked up on another forum awhile back. Sure enough, when they finished they were nice and flat, moist and tender.
Set 'em up on corn tortillas, with guacamole and salsa to dress 'em up. Frijoles and hash browns on the side. (Wish I had left-overs...)
Ken

Unknown

Wow! Thanks to you all for the support and advice so quickly!
I will try little or no wood added to the lump on my beer butt bird..Looks like Burgers are on the menu for this eve.
Let me get this straight.
1)Fire up egg to 500° to 700°
2) Prep ground beef as if goin' on regular grill
3)put burgs right smack dab on grill
Do I need a drip pan or something? Will I need to clean grease drippings from the egg?
4)sear on each side for 1-3 min depending on preference.
5)with top and bottom closed dwell for 4 or 5 min for well done.
6) vent top and open egg an inch before opening wide to save my eyebrows!! LOL
How does this sound??
Thanks all!!
Carrera85[p][p][p]
Carrera85,

BlueSmoke

Carrera85,
It sounds like you're on your way to some righteous burgers is how it sounds.
Don't need a drip pan, and there'll be minimal grease to clean up. (If you're a clean freak, like me from time to time, just kick the vents wide open for 2 to 3 mins. after you're done.)
Ken
ps. ain't nothing wrong with beer butt chicken, but around here spatchcock rules!

Bordello

BlueSmoke,
Hi Ken,
I'm the odd ball here. LOL
My favorite is Brant's Brined Beer Butt Bird, not only is it great I just love seeing those birds sitting upright.
Once an odd ball, always an odd ball. LOL[p]Cheers,
New Bob
[ul][li]Brant's Brined Beer Butt Bird[/ul]

Spring Chicken

BlueSmoke,
Good idea...[p]Spring Chicken

Gandolf

Carrera85,
I gotta go with the Spatchcock chicken everyone is telling you about. Great/Simple/perfect every time.[p]As for burgers, I've been doing pretty much lo and slo for the first years and half I've had my Medium. Got in the mood lately to start the high-temp stuff. I make burgers about 3/4" to 1" thick (make whatever recipe you like) and find that 600 for about 4 minutes per side, with no dwell works best for me. Perfect medium well.

JSlot

As everyone has said, spatchcocked chicken always turns out great. It shouldn't be compared to Beer Butt Chicken, though. Two totally different tastes and each has its respective place. I'm not sure how everyone else does their BB chicken, but I do mine at 350° direct. Nice crispy skin, not much smoke flavor, and it only takes about an hour and a half. Sounds like the problem with your first attempt was too much smoke and not enough fire. Good luck and welcome to the club. You're gonna love the burgers![p]Jim

Mr. Hyde

Carrera85,[p]"Smoke and Spice" is a great book, but you got to read the temps with a grain of salt. They say everything is 200-225. That works for fatty meats, like butts, but some things should be cooked hotter IMO.
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