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Flare up help?

saaben
saaben Posts: 28
in EggHead Forum
Okay, I could use some advice. Have had a Large Green Egg for a few months. This weekend was spent learning about flare ups. I had some wings going great Fri night till I tried to baste with olive oil and lemon pepper seasoning. I thought I could get them basted but ended up get some pretty dark. I had some atomic bobs as well on there that were of course caught up in the fire.
Skip to Sun night and I had burgers on there which flamed up like crazy when flipping. I did not push down on them. I had 8 burgers on there so by the time I had added 7 pieces of cheese I had some major fire going. Should I use the place setter more to prevent flare ups or raise the grid. I wanted to do ABT's and shish kabobs on Wed for a dinner but a little concerned. Thoughts are appreciated.
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Comments

  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,261
    I use angus, 80/20 on the MM for burgers, cooking with the dome down. I raise it only to flip, and that minimizes the flare ups. When using the XL for several I do the same thing, not raised or using a PS. I don't use a lot of lump for high heat fast cooks. I typically use about 3/4 to a full Weber Chimney of lump. Too much lump may be the problem. The BGE does a fabulous job holding temp, so you don't need to go full bin.
    elevating the grill surface will help, as well as the use of the PS.

    Hope this helps,
    Merry Christmas.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
    I go 400 or so with burgers. Often raised

    Helps keep down the flaring. 


    truth is though, if you are doing a lot of burgers with the lid up for a while, it's a pain. Flares like crazy

    not sure about too much fuel being a cause, unless the thing is overfilled so that the lump is just under the grate. More fuel doesn't make for higher temps. Distance between the meat and lump is what you want to keep things more managaeable. Try raised grid (makes flipping easier too), and try less than nuclear temps. No need


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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,459
    Agree with Darby and will add, try closing the bottom vent some when lid is raised for a long time, still will get some fire build, but it helps slow things down a little. 
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  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
    For your wings, it appears you were helping the flare with the olive oil.  Add that with opening your lid (adding O2) you have a fire.  

    I like raised indirect for wings.  You can also take those off, place in a bowl, coat with your sauce, then place back.  

    Burgers can be a pain.  As Yolk said, close your bottom vent.  That helps tremendously.  Also, got raised and lower (350°-400°) until burgers have rendered some fat, then cook.  
    ------------------------------
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,454
    When I am basting a lot or flipping a lot of anything I find it easier to do plus prevent the flare ups by removing the grill from the egg. My simplest set up for that is an inverted garbage can lid used strictly for this purpose! 

    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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  • pgprescott
    pgprescott Posts: 14,544
    Hard to be sure, but you could be getting your fire too large and then snuffing it while cooking in order to try and keep temp. When you open the lid you are feeding the starved fire.  Sounds like you are having more than usual issue. Try to light a smaller fire and close the vents down a bit sooner and see if that helps. Ron's tip is a good one either way. Like I said, this is a tricky issue. 
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,169
    I use ground round for burgers 85/15 and never have any flare up issues. The round makes a great burger as well. 
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  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 34,583
    taking the grid out for a bunch of burgers as rrp said works well, its not the flareups on burgers that bother me, its the soot ash taste from dripping too much grease down onto the coals. i hate big burger cooks.  cooking the wings in an easily removed fry basket makes a wing cook really easy, no standing there flipping and rotating wings in an out of the hot zone. flip into a big bowl, slip back into basket and back on egg
    image

    image


    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
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  • td66snrf
    td66snrf Posts: 1,838
    Usually the only time you'll have a flare up is with the lid open. With the top and bottom dampers partially opened and the lid closed there isn't enough oxygen to sustain a flame. Hence the beauty of the egg. So you might want to pull your burgers off while you put the cheese on them and then return them to the grill.  Open the lid as little as possible. 
    XLBGE, LBGE, MBGE, SMALL, MINI, 2 Kubs, Fire Magic Gasser
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  • YukonRon
    YukonRon Posts: 17,261
    DoubleEgger said:
    I use ground round for burgers 85/15 and never have any flare up issues. The round makes a great burger as well. 
    +1000. I use 80/20, does pretty well against flair ups.
    "Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber

    XL and MM
    Louisville, Kentucky
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  • 78 T140E
    78 T140E Posts: 110
    edited December 2015
    Using a GrillGrate will also help tame those flare ups.  Also makes great grill marks.
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  • piney
    piney Posts: 1,478
    @RRP I have never thought about removing the grid...Good idea! Note to self..next wing or "mega flip" cook remember Ron
    Lenoir, N.C.
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  • RRP
    RRP Posts: 26,454
    piney said:
    @RRP I have never thought about removing the grid...Good idea! Note to self..next wing or "mega flip" cook remember Ron
    LOL - guess that's a better word association than "garbage + Ron" =)
    BTW here's the simple frame under that lid so that it remains stable.


    Re-gasketing the USA one yard at a time 
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