Yes, and yes.  Break in burn, and throw some meat on there!  I think most people say to stay below 400 first couple of burns, but I don't know how official that is.  I think its good practice just to get your temp control down.  To my knowledge, there isn't anything you need to burn off, so you should be good to cook right away.

Do you own a dog?  ...If so, you might think about tying it's leash to your egg. (It's the way to become an instant sensation on the forum )

grillman65 said:

I was thinking of doing a spatchcock chicken for my first cook

I think that's a great idea, get it out of the way before everyone tells you to do a spatch.  Good stuff, great first cook.  One bit of advice, don't wait too long before you start wrapping stuff in bacon.

Welcome to the madness, go find a good meat cutter, a loan and someone who enjoys listening to you extrapolate on your new found mistress.

Here are my .02. Buy an extra bag of lump. then start learning temps. Here is how I would start and exactly what I did. Get a small flip notepad. Take notes. trust me it's handy for the first couple months.

Do this with some yard work or a project that takes several hours. Just trust me. Your egg will break in, and you will get a feel for things. at the end you can cook some chicken you can be proud of. A picture at recording time helps the memory as well.

Fill it right up to the top of the firebox (bowl) at the bottom. Door open, no top. Light your egg and wait maybe 5 minutes with the dome open. Then close the dome and shut your bottom door to literally 1/4--3/8 from full shut. Put on your daisy wheel, shut, with the petals open. Go take a walk around the block for 30 minutes. DO NOT OPEN or Fool with your draft. Record Temperature. Leave it alone for 30 more minutes and go clean something. Record Temperature. Then move the bottom draft 1/8 inch to the right and leave it be for another 30 minutes. Do this until you hit 400 degrees. 

If you take pictures and record this it will greatly reduce the amount of time you take scratching your head in the beginning and trying to remember what 350 degrees looks like.

It will also teach you to trust your egg. These things are like fully loaded trailer trucks. Very stable and able to go long distances but slow to stop and change lanes. Temp changes take time. Also once you go past your target temp, it will take a couple of hours to get it back down. 

As someone else said, the cost of the egg is just the beginning. Enjoy

Welcome. Have fun. Enjoy the ride. EGG ON!!!

Ozzie_Isaac said:

show previous quotes

grillman65 said:

Not any more, she died.

Sure kill the joke with a real dead dog.

Of course, on the other hand... it would add pathos.

Keep it under 350 first three or four cooks.I would not cook on first burn ,let any mfg. stuff burn off first . Again under 350 so your dome seals seat and glue cures correctly .

grillman65 said:

OK, today is the day I should get my BGE.  I noticed some people use three bricks to raise their grate. What size are these bricks or pavers.

I use fire bricks specifically designed for fireplaces, wood ovens, etc.  You can get the at home improvement stores.