New Egg - First Cook Suggestions?

My first cook was today and I did ABT's just to get my feet wet and see if I can regulate the temperature. No problem at all - 275 indirect for almost an hour. They were awesome. 

Tomorrow I'm cooking spatchcock chicken with hasselback sweet potatoes and I'm going to shoot for 350 indirect over a water pan. 

Congrats on your Egg! 

From what I've been reading, about an hour and a half. I'll let the instant read thermometer make the call. 

For spatchcock chicken I'd suggest raised-direct (if you have that option) at 400 degrees. FWIW I use 3 bricks to raise my grate to the felt level to get "raised-direct". Here is an example...

I did a pork loin roast for mine, 325 for about 1.5-2 hours, although that obviously depends on the size.

Fence,

I'm afraid of getting past 350 on the first few cooks. 

SmokingPiney said:

Tomorrow I'm cooking spatchcock chicken with hasselback sweet potatoes and I'm going to shoot for 350 indirect over a water pan

i would recommend not using a water pan for anything the egg.  They can cause temp spikes if not properly monitored in the egg, which can really confuse folks who aren't entirely sure about how to find and hold a temp in the BGE yet.  I've found it's simply not needed for any cook, but I would especially not use one for a spatchcock. It'll ruin the crispy skin you're shooting for. Run 400-425 indirect for about an hour and pull when the IT of the breast hits 160. People also like to do raised direct at 375 however, since it is one of your first cooks, I'd say try indirect first. With a raised direct you run the possibility of charring the underside of the bird if there are flair ups or you have a temp spike. Indirect is virtually foolproof. 

Dont worry about going over 350 for your first few cooks. That thought process is meant to protect your gasket, but the sooner you get rid of that factory gasket the sooner you can install a Rutland and never have to worry about it again. 

My first cook was a spatchcock chicken raised direct at 375-400. Honestly the gasket will be just fine, when it goes get one from @RRP cheap and the last forever from what I've gathered.  Congrats on the new egg bought my not long ago and have cooked a ton on it. 

ChillyWillis said:

SmokingPiney said:

Tomorrow I'm cooking spatchcock chicken with hasselback sweet potatoes and I'm going to shoot for 350 indirect over a water pan

i would recommend not using a water pan for anything the egg.  They can cause temp spikes if not properly monitored in the egg, which can really confuse folks who aren't entirely sure about how to find and hold a temp in the BGE yet.  I've found it's simply not needed for any cook, but I would especially not use one for a spatchcock. It'll ruin the crispy skin you're shooting for. Run 400-425 indirect for about an hour and pull when the IT of the breast hits 160. People also like to do raised direct at 375 however, since it is one of your first cooks, I'd say try indirect first. With a raised direct you run the possibility of charring the underside of the bird if there are flair ups or you have a temp spike. Indirect is virtually foolproof. 

Dont worry about going over 350 for your first few cooks. That thought process is meant to protect your gasket, but the sooner you get rid of that factory gasket the sooner you can install a Rutland and never have to worry about it again. 

Thanks, Chilly. I'll skip the water pan and run 400 indirect. 

Lots to learn here.....

EggMarauder, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. 

EggMarauder said:

Hey ChillyWillis, I am curious about the Rutland? 1st I've heard of that, being a newbie to this whole thing. Can you help enlighten me??

Rutland is a company that makes fiberglass gaskets for wood stoves. Many people around here have installed them on their eggs when the factory gasket fails, because they can handle exposure to MUCH higher heats than the BGE gasket. One of the guys around here that make this forum great @RRP gets a fantastic price on Rutland and will send you the proper amount that you need for your sized egg for a nominal price (I forget exactly how much it cost but if I remember correctly it is under $5). 

Once you you have a Rutland you'll never need to worry about a gasket failure again. Ive been waiting for a few years now for my factory gasket to fail so I can install one.