Beautiful day for my inaugural cook!

Jcl5150 · February 2016

Today was my inaugural cook on my BGE. I live on Lake Erie in northern Ohio, and the weather today was 68 and sunny, almost unheard of for late February. I did two spatchcock chickens, one with a Montreal rub and one with a Cajun rub. Did indirect with the plate setter legs up at 400. After an hour my Thermapen read 172 so I took them off and let 'em rest. My wife, son, and I ate 'em up along with hand-cut sweet potato fries. Definitely the best chicken I've ever had. Thanks for all the tips and advice. I've been lurking here about a year. Now I can't wait for the next cook!

pgprescott · February 2016

Great job and great choice of inaugural cooks. Keep em coming. Welcome aboard.

YEMTrey · February 2016

Congrats on the inaugural cook and great looking birds.

northGAcock · February 2016

It is all about getting it dirty. Very nice start.

Robo2015 · February 2016

Look at that white egg! Welcome to the club, the birds looked great.

Ladeback69 · February 2016

Great looking food and egg. It won't be that clean again. I see your cutting board has a crack in it. We just used ours that looked like that in the fire pit lat night. Smelled good and burned hot.

NC_Egghead · February 2016

Nice cook and welcome!

tarheelmatt · February 2016

Spatched chicken is one of the first things for many to cook on their first try.

Yours looks good.

Just a tip (if you care). Wrap your PS with foil to keep it from gunking up.

Jcl5150 · February 2016

tarheelmatt said:

Spatched chicken is one of the first things for many to cook on their first try.

Yours looks good.

Just a tip (if you care). Wrap your PS with foil to keep it from gunking up.

Thanks. Thought about a drip pan too late. I'll have to try to clean it when it cools.

Jcl5150 · February 2016

Also, the taste was good but I'd like it to be less smokey if possible. I used the BGE lump I got for free with the purchase. Are other lumps less smokey?

tarheelmatt · February 2016

Jcl5150 said:

Also, the taste was good but I'd like it to be less smokey if possible. I used the BGE lump I got for free with the purchase. Are other lumps less smokey?

Yeah, Fogo and Rockwood are both very neutral. There are other ,but I have no experience with those.

tarheelmatt · February 2016

Did you add extra smoke wood/chips?

Jcl5150 · February 2016

tarheelmatt said:

Did you add extra smoke wood/chips?

No. I put the chicken on right when it got to temperature, which took about twenty minutes. Maybe I should have let the smoke burn off a bit more.

tarheelmatt · February 2016

Yes, that's the trick. Chicken/poultry takes on smoke very easily, good and bad.

NPHuskerFL · February 2016

Looks good. Welcome aboard. FWIW let the radiant heat clean the PS. A pizza cook would suffice. Then moving forward shield with foil. Enjoy the journey.

Mattman3969 · February 2016

Jcl5150 said:

Also, the taste was good but I'd like it to be less smokey if possible. I used the BGE lump I got for free with the purchase. Are other lumps less smokey?

Jcl5150 said:

tarheelmatt said:

Did you add extra smoke wood/chips?

No. I put the chicken on right when it got to temperature, which took about twenty minutes. Maybe I should have let the smoke burn off a bit more.

tarheelmatt said
Yeah, Fogo and Rockwood are both very neutral. There are other ,but I have no experience with those.

@jcl5150 - there is a strong possibility that you didn't have a truly clean fire if you put the protein on as soon as the egg hit temp. A trick I like to use is to hold my hand over the top vent for a few secs and then smell my hand. If it smells good then the meat goes on if it smells like a campfire then I wait till I get good smoke.

@tarheelmatt made some awesome recommendations on lump. My experience is BGE/RO burn more smokey than the brands that Matt listed. May be worth trying either to see if it is the smoke profile you are looking for.

Sammi · February 2016

Great start, nothing wrong with those yard birds.
Welcome

Slabotnick · February 2016

The cook looks delicious. Welcome to the family!

jarc · February 2016

Tasty looking birds.

JohnnyTarheel · February 2016

Good looking birds. Great first cook... What's next?

bluebird66 · February 2016

Looking good!

johnmitchell · February 2016

Welcome. Fantastic looking first cook.. A suggestion/tip for keeping your cutting board in tact, I oil mine with a mineral oil and this seems to protect against drying out/cracking.. Or.... You could go the @Ladeback69 route which would also sort it out

.... Once again welcome and have fun..

YukonRon · February 2016

Nailed it!
Welcome to the machine. Be prepared for wallet genocide. The purchase of a BGE is the least expensive part of the deal, keeping it and continuing the lifestyle is where the real expense comes. You have been warned.
Seriously, have fun and invite me for dinner.

SmokingPiney · February 2016

Great way to start out on the Egg. The chicken looks good!

LRW · February 2016

@Jcl5150Living in Ohio by Lake Erie you might want to look for Humphrey's Charcoal I have been using it. It starts quick and produces very little smoke. It's made in PA and they have a satellite branch in Cleveland. http://www.humphrey-charcoal.com/charmore.html

Jcl5150 · February 2016

LRW said:

@Jcl5150Living in Ohio by Lake Erie you might want to look for Humphrey's Charcoal I have been using it. It starts quick and produces very little smoke. It's made in PA and they have a satellite branch in Cleveland. http://www.humphrey-charcoal.com/charmore.html

Thanks for the heads up! The Lowe's behind my house has Cowboy brand. Some posts say it isn't smokey, some say it is.

lousubcap · February 2016

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. Strong start right there.
And regarding lump-a hot topic around here for sure. If you can get Humphrey give it a try.

LRW · February 2016

Jcl5150 said:

LRW said:

@Jcl5150Living in Ohio by Lake Erie you might want to look for Humphrey's Charcoal I have been using it. It starts quick and produces very little smoke. It's made in PA and they have a satellite branch in Cleveland. http://www.humphrey-charcoal.com/charmore.html

Thanks for the heads up! The Lowe's behind my house has Cowboy brand. Some posts say it isn't smokey, some say it is.

I tried Cowboy it left a bad taste in the meat. Since I started using Humphrey's I haven't had that issue. Humphrey's cost more but worth it.

Scottborasjr · February 2016

There are few things I will be steadfast about when it comes to cooking as there are numerous ways to skin the cat. But one thing I do live by is "Don't use Cowboy lump!"

Great looking birds. Welcome to the asylum.

northGAcock · February 2016

Ladeback69 said:

Great looking food and egg. It won't be that clean again. I see your cutting board has a crack in it. We just used ours that looked like that in the fire pit lat night. Smelled good and burned hot.

Nice sacrifice to the cooking Gods.

Steve76 · February 2016

Great first cook! Congratulations... Gonna try ribs next??

Beautiful day for my inaugural cook!

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