Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Youtube | Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.
Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch
Shutting Down Egg with Food Inside - advice
Options
zosobao5150
Posts: 133
I have read many posts here that mention shutting down the grill in the last portion of the cook, while keeping the meat on. I was wondering if there is any weird flavor caused by the lack of exhaust? Also, when you take the food off, are you at greater risk of reigniting the gases and fuel if you open the lid?
I know they are probably stupid questions. I searched but couldn't find any past posts.
Thanks
Brock
I know they are probably stupid questions. I searched but couldn't find any past posts.
Thanks
Brock
XL BGE
Comments
-
I've never had a problem with a wierd flavor doing that. If you've been cooking at a high temp, burp the egg before opening all the way. That avoids flair ups. If you've been cooking low and slow you should not have an issue with that.ScooterMid TN. Hangin' in the 'Boro. MIM Judge
-
My first try on steaks I shut it down last couple minutes - I had the top and bottom closed tight. I burped it, but when I opened it BIG FLARE UP! Scared me and I let the top drop. I then opened the top, let the smoke come out for a few seconds, then burped it. Worked great as it should!Lovin' my Large Egg since May 2012 (Richmond, VA) ... and makin' cookbooks at https://FamilyCookbookProject.com
Stoker II wifi, Thermapen, and a Fork for plating photo purposes -
I do this fairly often, with no flavor issues. Think about a low slow cook, the Egg is almost shut down for those. Unless you have an eggceptional BGE, even shut down there is a bit of air flow, and I don't think you will be leaving the food on until cold, just letting the temp fall until done.
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 -
well. i'll say in my experience it depends what you are cooking. i used to get really sooty fat on a ribeye, and chicken, when i tried to shut down and leave the food in there. the fat drips, and lands on a dying fire. the ft doesn't burn cleanly. like a candle wick just blown out, it smolders. incomplete combustion.
it's the same reason starter cubes can affect the taste if they snuff out and smoke badly. and it's the same reason putting food on too early can be a problem. unclean smoke.
a tenderloin doesn't have the same amount of fat, and that's less an issue. but still, your fire is being choked, and that smoke (it still burns after the vents are shut) is the product of incomplete combustion. heavy with soot. worse if there's fat.
i didn't notice it until was at the point where i started to understand the differences between steaks themselves. heck, never knew tenderloin from strip or rib eye. but after a while of cooking on the egg, things started to be clearer, and i could taste that less-than-desirable fatty soot from the 'dwell' period.
ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
+1 with stike (as if I would get cross-ways with someone with 14K+ posts). I learned very early (first steak cook) that shutting down with food inside leads to an overly smoked flavor that's not that tasty. Followed the BGE manual guidance that one time and never have done it since. Just made for quite a song and dance with the SWMBO who was reluctant to ok the LBGE buy-she hated the first BGE steak-since recovered.Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win. Life is too short for light/lite beer! Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
-
For the reasons Stike mentioned, I don't do it. I'll leave the DW holes open and the bottom open an 1/8 - 1/4". This doesn't add much additional heat as the settings would not hold more than 200-225* I slide the bottom open 2" and count to 5 before opening the lid to reduce the chance of flash.
Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD. -
Thank you for the replies everyone. It sounds like a lot may depend on whether there are still drippings from fat coming off the meat that may be hitting the lit charcoal. I appreciate all the opinions.ThanksBrockXL BGE
-
Thank you for the replies everyone. It sounds like a lot may depend on whether there are still drippings from fat coming off the meat that may be hitting the lit charcoal. I appreciate all the opinions.
ThanksBrock
If there is not still fat coming off and hitting the charcoal, you have way overlooked your foodKeepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
More important. Burp that egg. If you don't know why; you will soon.Salado TX & 30A FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.
-
More important. Burp that egg. If you don't know why; you will soon.
So true. I ended up on the ground doing that exact same thing a few years ago. No harm no foul but I did have to invoke the 5 second rule off the patio for the dolt who wanted their steak well done >:)
Whoooooomp! I'll never forget that noise as long as I live.Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX -
Burp it with an oven mitt or welding gloves.........that is some hot air due to the lack of exhaust.
-
ain't the air being hot that is the issue. it's the starved fire. like a drowning man, it is choking and desperate for air. if you provide it, the small fire will provide the spark for a ball of flame, as the pent up energy and heated air, smoke particles, etc. all develop into a flashover
i never snuff the egg with food in it anyway. but a flashover can happen under a few slightly different circumstances.
ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
My first steaks I cooked on the egg were ribeyes done using the dwell method. I didn't like the overly smokey/sooty tastes. Now I do a hot sear, remove steaks, cool egg to 450 and finish to desired temp. Makes for a much better steak according to my tastes.I also got my first real flashback of flame doing this. After the super hot sear I shut it down to cool. I was ready to put the steaks back on and opened the lid about an inch, did't wait probably 1-2 seconds and opened the rest of the way. Huge fireball, and burned all the hair off my left arm. Thankfully I had a bbq mitt covering my hand. And this was just a month ago, so it's never to late for your first flashback
-
i think it's a soot issue, fwiw. 'smokey' can be too much or too little, but usually always 'good' at some point. 'soot' is always bad.
ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
stike said "ain't the air being hot that is the issue". I agree with you since you were referring to flashback. My statement was based on the thought of burping the "shut down egg". If you burp it properly there should not be any flashback.
Shortly after I purchased my first Egg I bought a Big Green Egg cook book, and although it gave me some ideas to get me started some of the techniques that may not be the most practical IMO. Anyway the shutdown method is one described in the book. I was well aware (by finding out the hard way) of flashback the first time I tried this method but when I burped it, after my dwell, to check for doneness the air rushing out by the handle was so hot my sensitive dishwashing manhands couldn't handle it. I had to go in and get an oven mitt. If I were smarter I could have simply opened up both vents first. But I'm not and since then I've decided that I don't care for the dwell cook as much as Trex, so now I don't have to worry anymore.
-
yeah. gotcha. these thingsare death traps!
)
watch for steam, too. if you do a lot of veggies (we do), you can get a much worse burn if you get a facefull of steam.
ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante -
Yuck, I would never shut down the vents with food still on. I learned long before my purchased my egg, that "old stale sooty smoke" is "bad smoke" and it develops from a snuffed fire.Packerland, Wisconsin
-
Burp it with an oven mitt or welding gloves.........that is some hot air due to the lack of exhaust.
I had that happen once. Had been shut down for a while and a guest wanted to see inside. No fireball, but I did feel my hands starting to cook.
Seriously, open the vents first for a few seconds. If there is a fire danger, you'll hear the woosh of air rushing in and know to wait a moment before burping the egg.
Cooking on an XL and Medium in Bethesda, MD.
Categories
- All Categories
- 182.8K EggHead Forum
- 15.7K Forum List
- 459 EGGtoberfest
- 1.9K Forum Feedback
- 10.3K Off Topic
- 2.2K EGG Table Forum
- 1 Rules & Disclaimer
- 9K Cookbook
- 12 Valentines Day
- 91 Holiday Recipes
- 223 Appetizers
- 516 Baking
- 2.4K Beef
- 88 Desserts
- 165 Lamb
- 2.4K Pork
- 1.5K Poultry
- 30 Salads and Dressings
- 320 Sauces, Rubs, Marinades
- 543 Seafood
- 175 Sides
- 121 Soups, Stews, Chilis
- 36 Vegetarian
- 100 Vegetables
- 313 Health
- 293 Weight Loss Forum