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Help! I want heat, not smoke...

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CAWjr
CAWjr Posts: 25
edited April 2012 in EggHead Forum
I am a new egghead (got mine Easter weekend) and I am still playing around & learning with the egg.  So far I have only cooked things that I would rather be more cooked than smoked (pork tenderloin, pork chops, and burgers), but everything comes off with a REALLY strong smoked taste.

What am I doing wrong?  I am only using BGE lump and I let it get to temperature & stop smoking out the top before I start cooking.  Should I wait even longer to let the new charcoal burn off more smoke?

Help, my wife is really questioning my purchase of the egg (ouch to the wallet) and my cooking prowess (ouch to my ego)!
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  • Eggbertsdad
    Eggbertsdad Posts: 804
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    Lump is wood so there will always be some smoke. Just let it burn off a few more minutes before you throw you food on. That should tame it a bit.
    Sarasota, FL via Boynton Beach, FL, via Sarasota, FL, via Charleston, SC, via The Outer Banks, via God's Country (East TN on Ft. Loudon Lake)
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  • Doc_Eggerton
    Doc_Eggerton Posts: 5,321
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    Are you letting the lump work for awhile before you put the meat on.  It is really smokey and not all that nice at first.  You need to let the Egg and coals get hot and stable before you cook.

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

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  • ChokeOnSmoke
    ChokeOnSmoke Posts: 1,942
    edited April 2012
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    Your best is to smell the smoke coming out the top.  If it smells good, your food will taste good.

    You can definitely cook without a smoky taste.  I make pretzels & cookies that have no smoke taste whatsoever.

    Leaving the top off and controlling with the bottom vent only helps too.
    Packerland, Wisconsin

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  • DHW
    DHW Posts: 11
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    i have this problem also, what amount of time do you guys usually take from starting the fire to putting on the meat? Do you want to have a good red glow out of the lump but no flame?
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  • Doc_Eggerton
    Doc_Eggerton Posts: 5,321
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    I don't worry about glow, I worry about temp.  I get the temp up to around 100 over the target, then put the daisy wheel on, and regulate back down and stable to where I want it to be.  For all cooks it is important to have the dome heated well, and to burn off the initial gasses from the lump.  I never really timed it, but I would guess I am close to 30 minutes before I cook.  It is a mistake to throw the meat on as soon as the dome thermometer says you have hit your target temp.

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

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  • gee
    gee Posts: 71
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    Please keep going with your Egg! The bad smoke flavor is coming from not letting it heat up enough.

    Let the smoke clear from the top.

    I had the same problem with the taste. I almost took mine back.

     

    Who cares I'll post where I want
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  • tazcrash
    tazcrash Posts: 1,852
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    In addition to letting the lumo burn a while, What are you using to start it? The Mrs came home once with some paraffin and sawdust starters that never really started, and made some nasty smoke.
    Bx - > NJ ->TX!!! 
    All to get cheaper brisket! 
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  • CAWjr
    CAWjr Posts: 25
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    Thanks for all the advice.  I figured I was cooking too soon on it.  I was getting the egg to temp as fast as possible, regulating the heat, & then immediately throwing the meat on.  Basically I was cooking in like 10 minutes.

    And tazcrash, I am using the small BGE starter cubes that I got when I bought my egg.  Pretty sure they are parafin & sawdust.  Same as a duraflame log or something like that.
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  • CAWjr
    CAWjr Posts: 25
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    Oh, and one more question...would it be better when doing something like burgers to just leave the top open & use the BGE like a common grille?  I know the smoke can get trapped in the dome.  I'm just curious if it is always necessary to cook with the dome closed, or is that like a huge taboo in the egg-universe?
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  • Doc_Eggerton
    Doc_Eggerton Posts: 5,321
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    I will sometimes top off a steak over an open dome grid, but only briefly.  The thing that is hardest to describe to someone who has never used it is how much difference cooking closed dome makes.  This is not like your father's gasser.

    Got to fight the urge to look and learn to cook to time and temp.

    Strangely enough, I have never cooked hamburgers in over something like 160 cooks.  We just don't do them under our current diet regimen.

    XXL #82 out of the first 100, XLGE X 2, LBGE (gave this one to daughter 1.0) , MBGE (now in the hands of iloveagoodyoke daughter 2.0) and lots of toys

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  • bvanma28
    bvanma28 Posts: 57
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    Maybe I'm just use to it but once I get the fire going I cook in as little as 15/20 mins. Never really timed it but I have never used a gasser so I just no by sight and smell. Oh yeah today was only my second cook on the egg. Everything was perfect.
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