How long will a BGE slow cook before more charcoal should be added?

Mark

I am planning on purchasing a BGE. I would like to do some slow cooking (brisket & pulled pork). How long will the BGE run befor I have to add charcoal? When I add charcoal, should I prelight it in a charcoal chimney or just put them in cold? Thanks for the help.

Ryan

Mark,[p]I just did 2 pork butts that went for 23 hours and I still had enough lump left to make Brats and burgers 3 hours later...[p]Ryan

Tim M

Mark,[p]Like Ryan, I have done pork butts (a shoulder cut) and slow cooked them for 21+ hrs several times with lump left over. The time it lasts depends on the temp you cook. A 225° fire will last 20+ hrs with a very full firebox. It will last maybe 4-5 hrs at high grilling temps of 400-500° (not sure why you would ever need that hot for that long). For low and slow cooking you will have a pretty smal fire, so I do not suggest using a chimney starter, just a little fire starter or other method (see the Mapp gas link below for many different methods) is better since you don't want a large amount of coals burning.[p]Tim

stike

Mark,
I did a pulled-pork shoulder over the 4th of July weekend, loading the charcoal midway up the fire-ring (the second insert) as instructed by "Elder Ward's Method".[p]This was a single shoulder, and I delayed the cook purposefully because I had to put it on earlier than I wanted. I held it (again, not typical procedure) at 190 for a few hours til i returned from a parade. Three hours away and when I returned, it was still at 190. I kicked it to 220 and let it go overnight. I slept like a baby.[p]7 am, it was 225 dome temp, and I kicked it back a bit to 220, letting it ride til noon, when I took it off the grill.[p]21 hours, adding no charcoal. No word of a lie, I had FAR MORE charcoal remaining than I burnt.[p]I will add that I once did a 2o hour shoulder (pulled pork again), and when I took it off, i threw on a brisket for 6 more hours on the same load of lump.[p]Two days later I stirred the left-over lump, didn't add any, and did chicken at 350 for over an hour. Seared steaks at 750 the following night. [p]ALL OF THIS WAS ON THE ORIGINAL LOAD OF LUMP FOR JUST THE PULLED PORK.....[p]basically, you load the lumpo, light the fire, shut the lid, and NEVER need to open the lid til it's done.[p]

The Naked Whiz

Mark,
Unless you are doing something very unusual, you should never have to add more charcoal to a low and slow cook, assuming you start with enough lump to begin with. And if you want to be double sure, you can also get your hands on some Wicked Good Charcoal, which will last longer than any charcoal you have ever used before. The link below is to the review of WGC I recently did and some photos showing how a single load of WGC lump lasted throughout 5 separate cooks totalling 31 hours (and the lump is still going....). Scroll down from where the link takes you to see the photos.[p]TNW
[ul][li]Wicked Good Charcoal Longevity Photos[/ul]

Wise One

Mark, I'll add my story as well. I did pork butts at 240-250 over the Fourth that took 15 hours and then cooked ribs at 300 for five hours. I still had lump left at the end.