First experience

Bama Egger

I have enjoyed reading all of your posts. Just bought a large egg and had a few questions. My first meal was whole roasted chicken. I used the BGE coal. I got the temp quickly to 350 degrees and used one of those vertical roasters with a drip pan underneath. After about an hour the temp dropped to 250 degrees. Opening the vents didn't seem to help. I added more coal but it still took about 2 hours more before the temp in the thigh reached 180 degrees. The meat was tender, delicious and smokey, but the skin was like leather. (the dog loved it) Any suggestions on how to improve my technique? Many thanks.

JSlot

Paul, my first thought is that you didn't start with enough lump in the firebox. Too much lump is never a problem, but not enough will hurt you. I always fill my lump up to the top of the firebox, no matter what I'm cooking. On a long cook, I'll go halfway up the fire ring. Another thing you might want to check is how the vent hole in the bottom of the firebox is aligned with your lower draft door. Check those two things out and I think your problem will be solved.[p]Jim

Principal Cook

Paul,
Low cook temperatures will not produce crisp skin. You need to cook at a higher temperature to crisp the skin. You will have better results at 350-400 degrees. Follow Jslot’s advice and you will be fine.

Banker John

Paul,
I remember some of the frustrations I had in the beginning. One of the things I have picked up is to stabilize the temperature in the egg for 30 minutes or so before starting my cook. This will allow the ceramic to evenly heat up to temperature as well. In our ceramic cookers, there is the direct heat from lump/flame and indirect heat from the heat held within the egg ceramic walls.[p]Also, be sensitive to the placement of the tip of you dome thermometer in relation to whatever you are cooking inside. I have made the mistake myself of having the temp guage touch the meat and get false readings.[p]JSlot gives great advice on airflow and aligning up the vent holes & proper lump usage. Try some of these tips and you will notice an immediate improvement in the cooking.[p]Good luck and share your results with us often.[p]Banker John