Tempature Control

Unknown

I too am trying to decide on my next grill. I have looked at all the great pics of food but many times I find that what looks so easy is not really that easy. I am concerned that controlling the temp in the egg will hard and I will end up burning the food to a crisp or not getting it to light at all. I have been known to have a bit of a problem getting a camp fire lite. :-) Honestly, how hard is it to really cook on and how do you know what temp to cook the food at? Do they give you guidelines in the manual? If I keep lifting the top to check on the food, won't the temp be going all over the place? By the way I live in La Plata MD and of course I just missed the eggfest in Waldorf which is just up the road from me. :-( Thanks.

Unknown

JFisher, buy the egg and don't worry bout nuttin...we'll take care of you here at the forum. As far as your specific concerns the answer is: buy the egg and don't worry bout nuttin...really, the egg is much easier to get perfect food from than any type of cooker out there. You can go pay 1000's for em and not get anything close to an egg as far as a cooker that is both easy to use and produces food that is better too. And lastly, don't forget with the egg your getting a smoker / grill...i.e. the best steaks and the best pulled pork etc you will ever have. You won't have any trouble lighting it...or keeping temps, because you'll learn how long it takes or how to use a probe themometer and not ever have to lift the lid.

Toy Man

Of all the different types of cookers and grills that I have used, I find the egg the easiest to set/control temperature.[p]Toy Man

Nature Boy

JFisher,
Like Chet said, just post your questions, even if you think they might be dumb questions, and we will get you through the gently sloped learning curve.[p]If you feel like it, we are doing a competition just on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Stevensville, MD) the weekend after this one. Will be there early on the Friday the 18th and not leaving til Sunday evening after we find out if we got lucky and won any awards. We will have multiple eggs cooking, and would be happy to show you a few things.....and even share a few beers with you (of course you are welcome to bring some too!). Friday or Saturday would be the best time to stop on by, as Sunday will be a little hecktic. Email me if you are interested, and I'll shoot you directions.[p]Cheers
Chris

Pakak

Uh oh, I was gonna say if you can start a campfire, you can start an egg, but ...[p]Really, the basics are very similar. Ya gotta stack the lump up so there's plenty of air space around each piece AND have sufficient air supply. I've never had much problem controlling temps, except if they get too hot it takes a long time to cool down.[p]There are some tricks to bring temps down. Opening the lid will work to bring the temp down some. Adding some mass (water filled drip pan or a plate setter) works well. Placing more lump on top of your fire will smother it somewhat, but if the ceramics are already hot, really doesn't bring the temp down by itself.[p]There are great temp controls on the egg itself. But to get higher temps (500, 600, 750, 1000+), you really have to open everything up, leaving the top off completely and the lower vent wide open. Also, remember those air spaces? Ya gotta make sure you have larger sized lump, not marble sized or dust. Ya have to have oxygen for that fire to burn.[p]The daisy wheel and the lower vent are to fine tune your temps. Sneaking up on a temp rather than trying to bring the temp down after the dome has heated up is the best way to go.

stike

JFisher,
first of all, my friend, this is really the only grill you CAN control.[p]some gassers go so far as to say lo/med/hi, but that;s it.[p]imagine dialing a FIRE into 650 degrees. or maybe 850 for more sear.[p]anyway.[p]look as us clods. WE can all control the thing to within 20 degrees or so. so can YOU.[p]it's easy
air in equals smoke out (more fuel burnt) equals higher temp.
less air, lower temp.[p]get the egg.
you will NEVER bother with a gasser again, except to store your tools til you build a table

The Naked Whiz

JFisher,
Temperature control is not that hard with some practice. You obviously don't want to try the hard stuff first, so you work your way up from simple to more difficult. [p]For example, your first several cooks could be steaks. Steaks require no control at all. You let the egg rip, and then you close the vents and let it cool. [p]After you have done that a couple of times, then you could cook some chickens. They go at 350 or 400 which is a middle temperature that is easy to maintain. Plus, they only take 1 to 1.5 hours, so if you want, you can watch the temps the whole time and make adjustments. This will help you learn a little about adjusting and controlling. [p]After you have done that a couple of times, you can try ribs. Ribs usually go (depending on your method) from 4 to 6 hours. Ribs are usually done at lower temps. This will give you practice on long cooks at low temperatures.[p]That will get you ready for your 15-20 hour low temperature overnight cooks. My first one was easy peasy. (Or I was lucky! LOL!)[p]And if all else fails, (and even if all else doesn't fail) you might want to look at the BBQ Guru temperature controller. [p]Regarding your comment about always checking, you don't check, you don't raise the lid, so you don't mess with the temps. You have faith in the methods that people provide here, and you can use a probe thermometer to monitor the meat temperature for doneness.[p]Your fears/caution are probably unfounded, but if you have troubles, folks here will be happy to help. Good luck![p]TNW

Joder

JFisher,
I too was worried, but its a piece of cake with the egg. I've had it 3 weeks and consider myself a pro. I did a 21 hr. Boston Butt at 230 that was fantastic. I've done steaks at 650 in 8 mins.[p]Get the Egg. You won't be sorry. Also, use the Forum. Answers to your every question can be found. Use the Search at the bottom of the Forum.[p]Joe

StubbyQ

What a wonderful country we live to have such a wide variety of choices. You know, I have had about every type of grill you can think of. Charcoal to the best Gasser you can buy. I was getting by passing off what I cooked for BBQ.[p]Then I saw the BGE and said to my wife let's give this a try. Modern space-age technology combined with the ancient basal FIRE. Something from our distant relatives we're very familiar with. The real secret behind the BGE is the fact that it's an egg. A parabolic, reflective shape. This shape refocuses the heat to keep all the moisture and heat inside the dome.[p]Consider this. A metal grill continues to lose heat as you cook in it. That's because metal does just that, radiates heat so well. You have to keep putting some type heat back into it to continue cooking. For the gassers it's gas for the fire on one end big grill smoker on the other, it's wood. Lots of wood. Oh, and did I mention water. Some folks have to add water pans just to keep the food moist.[p]You see, you really have to set up with the thing and baby it the whole time you are cooking something in a traditional grill. This may be fine for you but I have other things to do[p]The other thing to consider is the taste. I have had food off everything you can think of and the BGE has always been the best. It beats the competition hands down. I will give you an example of what I mean. One of my clients is the largest flea maket in Texas with two locations. One in Dallas/Ft. Worth and one in Houston. In the D/FW market 2 years ago they gave away a large BGE as a door prize at one of the largest cook-offs in the world. We have several cook-off events every year in both markets, but this was the largest. [p]Now here comes the best part. The winner of the BGE came back last year and beat everyone in Brisket. This is the most coveted and hardest event there is to win. I am talking a guy with a large BGE against teams with very large and very expensive cookers costing thousands of dollars. He waxed them all on his BGE.[p]And if having the best smoker in the world is not enough you can totally automated the entire thing with a BBQ Guru. I love mine. It has allowed me to control cook for 14 or more hours with precision results. Results that melt in your mouth. You can find more about the BBQ Guru at the link below. Truly a wonderful combination of smoker and precision control.[p]The last thing is the fact that the BGE has become almost a cult with loyal eggheads accross the world. I have never seen this following for a Char-Broil grill, have you. We get together and loads of fun and exchange ideas at Eggfests. If you get a chance to come to one please do. You be more than welcome and warmly received.[p]The choice is yours but know this. You're only as good as your last brisket.[p]Good Qing and even temps.
[ul][li]The BBQ Guru[/ul]

Unknown

JFisher,[p]It took me a while to convince myself to pull the trigger and actually do it, but I do not regret doing it. EVERYTHING I have cooked thus far has tasted so much better than any pit or gas grill I have ever owned. In addition to all of the real advantages of the BGE, I enjoy not having to clean the pit prior to each use. The amount of ash generated is minimal unless you were to do several long cooks in close proximity to each other.[p]GO FOR IT MAN.......WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?[p]

BlueSmoke

JFisher,[p]Not much I can add to the comments below, except that the level of friendliness and helpfulness exemplified in them goes up when you start cooking on your Egg. [p]There are some excellent resources available (TNW's lump database, Wise One's cookbook, etc.) but day in and day out, this is The Place to come for advice and suggestions, as well as back-pats when you do good and consolation when you don't. And by all means, when you do good, let us know so we can try our hand at what you've done.[p]Ken

Unknown

JFisher,
Thanks for everybody's feedback. I am definately thinking about it.[p]Jim