problem lighting egg thru lower vent

fishlessman · July 2013

i think im just going to use this method for roasting and searing temps and no longer for low and slows. i posted a wekk ago about a butt not getting a bark to develope, used rub and sugar on that one. this time used rub sugar and mustard, a babyback rub from cabellas mixed with redeyeexpress and a cup brown sugar and the usal frenches mustrd. heres an 8 pounder at 12 hours almost done, notice the bark not developing, notice its wet, notice the raw mustard where i lifted it. i had to remove the stone, raise the temp and cook direct to get the bark to form which gave it a slightly burnt flavor. im sticking with lighting from the top from now on for long overnight low and slows. it does not make sense to me but this is twice in a row for me

lousubcap · July 2013

@fishlessman-thanks for the follow-up. Can't argue with what you have experienced but I'm with you "It does not make sense to me". Meanwhile enjoy that butt.

MrCookingNurse · July 2013

I've only lit my egg that way once goofing off.

But if its a 250 degree indirect egg... Isn't it still a 250 degree indirect egg no matter how you light it??

:-?? +1 "It does not make sense to me"

fishlessman · July 2013

you would think so, but now im just not so sure
:-? maybe the fire is just too low/far away from the meat with an indirect setup

Lit · July 2013

I don't light through the bottom vent but I always light the bottom of the coals and then cover them and have never experienced that.

Tjcoley · July 2013

If I want a hot fire quickly, I light from the bottom vent. For low and slow, from the top. For me, bottom lighting seems to get hotter faster, and can get ahead of me and overshoot for a low and slow. . I don't see how it should really matter on bark results, as it is an indirect cook, ans as MCN stated, 250 degrees is 250 degrees.

fishlessman · July 2013

Tjcoley said:

If I want a hot fire quickly, I light from the bottom vent. For low and slow, from the top. For me, bottom lighting seems to get hotter faster, and can get ahead of me and overshoot for a low and slow. . I don't see how it should really matter on bark results, as it is an indirect cook, ans as MCN stated, 250 degrees is 250 degrees.

i cant explain why but im two for two with this method, one wit mustard and one without. i use a spring heat type vent controller on the dome that wont let me overshoot temps. after all these years cooking butts from a top lit lump in the egg, ive never seen this problem

MrCookingNurse · July 2013

"A spring heat type vent controller"????
:-t

What's that?

fishlessman · July 2013

the origional no fail guru, a spring opens and closes the vent as it heats up and cools down

Tjcoley · July 2013

Interesting! Never saw that before - can you set a temp?

MrCookingNurse · July 2013

That's what I was thinking.

Man that's sweet!! You make that? Looks really cool.

Hi54putty · July 2013

fishlessman said:
the origional no fail guru, a spring opens and closes the vent as it heats up and cools down

I want it

Aviator · July 2013

I want one too. Please.

OP, that makes zero sense. I ALWAYS light from bottom vent. After the fire is lit and the VOCs are gone, I dial down and let the egg settle to where I want and then put the food in there. Takes a while, but the ceramic of the egg sure takes a while to evenly heat up.

I think your temp thermometer is way off. Calibrate it first.

onedbguru · July 2013

Never heard of lighting through the vent... doesn't make sense to me... I start with 1/2 a chimney red-hot, pour into the center (XL) and cover until the firebox is full. sprinkle in smoking chips, put in PS, drip pan, grate and meat.(get the dome up to ~275 with grate temp at 225-250.

fishlessman · July 2013

Tjcoley said:

Interesting! Never saw that before - can you set a temp?

it came with 3 pins of different lengths for 3 temp settings and turning the top will further dial the temps in small increments. guru made them but either folks wanted fans and computers added or there was some type of pattern infringement, they werent around long and ive never seen another. with this theres no need to stabilize, get the egg lit and temps climbing, open lower vent by about a third, drop it on top and it stabilizes around 235 to 250 by itself and holds the temp right there

nolaegghead · July 2013

I always light from the top. I don't think it matters if you're going to burn hot and don't have but a small amount of lump in the egg. If you have the egg fueled up (say 10 pounds in a large), lighting from the bottom gives you a fire at the bottom. You're essentially cooking a big bed of unburned lump - driving off VOCs. It's like lighting a candle then turning it upside down.

fishlessman · July 2013

nolaegghead said:

I always light from the top. I don't think it matters if you're going to burn hot and don't have but a small amount of lump in the egg. If you have the egg fueled up (say 10 pounds in a large), lighting from the bottom gives you a fire at the bottom. You're essentially cooking a big bed of unburned lump - driving off VOCs. It's like lighting a candle then turning it upside down.

ive done it that way to, but lately for fast lighting ive been doing it from the bottom, my maine camp egg is always wet and from the botttom i can get it to 500 in 5 minutes or less with the napkin trick. seems to be best for me lighting for roasting temps and searing. that egg is extremely wet. dont think candle, think bonfire, nobody lights a bonfire from the top

it just hasnt worked for me with low and slows, the heat is fine but the product is off for some reason. for temps 300 on up it works fine. when i say wet egg, you cant get it over 300 in an hour after you scrape out the ash mud , toss out the old lump and add fresh, and light with a weedburner, its been so wet hot and humid lately that the tile floors in the house have puddles on them sometimes

eddiepro · July 2013

In my brief year experience with my XL, I have always lit from the top. I usually cut a starter cube into 4 and position at 12, 3, 6, & 9 in the egg for lows and slows. For high heat, I cut the cube in half and position at 12 & 6 while pushing closer to the center of the charcoal.

And if you are looking for something different, I love my PartyQ!

-ed

MrCookingNurse · July 2013

Come on guys, just buy MAP torch B-)

TonyA · July 2013

I'm pretty sure 250 isn't really just 250. I'm not able to explain it, but there is a difference between radiant heat, convection heat and their combined effect. With a small fire at the bottom, the charcoal on top is absorbing a lot if not most of the radiant heat. I'm going to suspect the ceramic is also not quite as hot - neither the defuser of choice or the dome which both drive their own radiant heat generated from the radiant heat created from the fire.

Take an upright (ugly) drum smoker for example .. I can cook a 10lb butt at 250 deg to 200 internal in 10 hours because it receives radiant heat directly from the fire and convection heat from the contained area.

The point is moot for roasting or grilling temps because you are igniting most if not all of the charcoal.

scottc454 · July 2013

MrCookingNurse said:

Come on guys, just buy MAP torch B-)

I have one, but a Weber starter cube requires less time at the egg to start. You have to stand there with a torch for a minute or so avoiding sparks. I can light a weber starter cube in 2 seconds then leave.

When I'm in a hurry to grill, I use the starter cube from below. Otherwise I light from the top with the torch.

problem lighting egg thru lower vent

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