I finally belong here

ckali7 · April 2016

Welcome aboard! You and your family will love that grill!

Downr@nge · April 2016

Awesome man! Congrats!

Eggzellent · April 2016

I was the same way with mine not too long ago and enjoy just throwing everything in there at the last minute (including wood chips)...watching it smoke to beat the band..and wondering all afternoon what it will look like when the probe tells me to open it up again. I don't worry about much when using the GrillGrates.

NPHuskerFL · April 2016

Welcome. What kind of ribs? Oink or Moo? I'd vote for short ribs. Or plate ribs.

matoch · April 2016

NPHuskerFL said:

Welcome. What kind of ribs? Oink or Moo? I'd vote for short ribs. Or plate ribs.

I'm doing pork ribs. Although i couldnt get a plate setter so i had to rig something else so i could cook indirect. They look and smell pretty good so far.

Foghorn · April 2016

Welcome. And what time should I stop by for some ribs?

RAC · April 2016

Welcome!

matoch · April 2016

I'd say today was relatively successful. The temp got away a bit high during the day and the lump went out a couple times but overall things were pretty good.

lessons learned:

i need something effective to light the lump

i need to figure out how to get more smoke flavor On the meat

although my subtitute platesetter worked i think the real thing would allow better airflow which may have stopped the lump from going out.

SloppyJoe · April 2016

Change your avatar. You're scaring me... Welcome!! Take it in jest.

NPHuskerFL · April 2016

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Looks like you did well to me. If you haven't already bought a PS. I might entice you to review CGS website prior to the PS purchase. Nothing wrong with just a PS (that's what I run w/ on my LG) but, there are other options available.

http://ceramicgrillstore.com/

feef706 · April 2016

matoch said:

I'd say today was relatively successful. The temp got away a bit high during the day and the lump went out a couple times but overall things were pretty good.

Welcome, when you say the lump went out, what temp were you shooting for? I did a Boston butt on the MM for 8ish hours and managed to hold the temp to about 250ish for 6 of those hours, curious how you think your lump went out.

Eggzellent · April 2016

i need something effective to light the lump

i need to figure out how to get more smoke flavor On the meat

although my subtitute platesetter worked i think the real thing would allow better airflow which may have stopped the lump from going out.

You might already have one of those bent tube BenzoMatic torch heads that work on both propane and Mapp gas. I use the propane bottle/tube stuck through the vent hole to hit a small firestarter placed near the hole before the lump went in. It doesn't take much and too much seems to light the entire lump too quick.
When the initial smoke clears, I've been just getting everything staged...throwing a handful of those lightly soaked Oklahoma Joe chips on the flame...quick throwing the guts in with the meat and leaving it. It seems to smoke (evenly) as the lump burns and the 10" stone in the woo (or whatever you come up with) seems to isolate things well enough.
As far as the lump going out; I'm finding that you have to fill the firebox as much as is practical for your setup, be prepared for some lump to be better than others and that my 'scatter chips to the wind' method might exasperate the problem.
I just don't care vs setting it/forgetting it and the quality of the initial smoke that I'm getting.

jabam · April 2016

matoch said:

Thanks everyone.

i kinda forget that my work photo follows me around online

This is me when I'm not working.

Ans these are the two that are usually crawling all over me.
Good looking kids...must take after their momma..jk!

matoch · April 2016

feef706 said:

matoch said:

I'd say today was relatively successful. The temp got away a bit high during the day and the lump went out a couple times but overall things were pretty good.

Welcome, when you say the lump went out, what temp were you shooting for? I did a Boston butt on the MM for 8ish hours and managed to hold the temp to about 250ish for 6 of those hours, curious how you think your lump went out.

I would have been happy anywhere between 210 and 260. It really seemed to want to stick around 200 for a long time which lead me to initially think there may have been an airflow issue. The settings were probably an inch and a half on the bottom vent and the daisy wheel in place with the holes fully open.

i've thought about it a bit more and although the makeshift platesetter may have contributed to reduced airflow I'm not convinced it caused the lump to go out.

When I figured out that it was no longer burning effectively I pulled the grill and makeshift platesetter out to see what was going on. I had only lit one spot in the lump and that had nearly burned to completion and had a good amount of ash left that was covering the holes of the grate. I knocked as much ash through the grate as I could and re-arranged the lump without adding any. I was able to get it burning a bit by blowing onto the lump.

The second time it went out I added more lump and put a piece of paper towel in canola oil and then lit it on my gas barbecue. I put this in to light the lump and it did a decent job and stayed lit until the end of the cook.

In short it may have been caused by

makeshift plate setter reduced air flow
vents may have needed to be open further
poor lighting of lump/ash build up may have allowed it to burn out without igniting the rest of the lump.

If anyone has any other idea's of things I can watch out for next time I'd to hear them.

feef706 · April 2016

I don't see how the fire could have gone out with those settings, but I'm limited in experience

matoch · April 2016

NPHuskerFL said:

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome. Looks like you did well to me. If you haven't already bought a PS. I might entice you to review CGS website prior to the PS purchase. Nothing wrong with just a PS (that's what I run w/ on my LG) but, there are other options available.

http://ceramicgrillstore.com/

I might order one of these if I visit family in the states but because I'm in Canada it's just not cost effective. It's roughly $75 USD for the items and another $70 USD to ship it to me. On top of that I then have to covert it to canadian costing me about $180 vs what I figure is $100 for the platesetter.

Thanks for the recommendation though.

blasting · April 2016

Lump that produces a lot of ash can clog up your airflow. Rockwood produces very little, and Royal Oak is pretty decent for low ash as well.

@nphuskerfl made a good suggestion about Ceramic Grill Store. I'd much prefer their set up to a placesetter. Although not sure what's available for a MM since I don't own one.

matoch · April 2016

Eggzellent said:

i need something effective to light the lump
i need to figure out how to get more smoke flavor On the meat
although my subtitute platesetter worked i think the real thing would allow better airflow which may have stopped the lump from going out.
You might already have one of those bent tube BenzoMatic torch heads that work on both propane and Mapp gas. I use the propane bottle/tube stuck through the vent hole to hit a small firestarter placed near the hole before the lump went in. It doesn't take much and too much seems to light the entire lump too quick.
When the initial smoke clears, I've been just getting everything staged...throwing a handful of those lightly soaked Oklahoma Joe chips on the flame...quick throwing the guts in with the meat and leaving it. It seems to smoke (evenly) as the lump burns and the 10" stone in the woo (or whatever you come up with) seems to isolate things well enough.
As far as the lump going out; I'm finding that you have to fill the firebox as much as is practical for your setup, be prepared for some lump to be better than others and that my 'scatter chips to the wind' method might exasperate the problem.
I just don't care vs setting it/forgetting it and the quality of the initial smoke that I'm getting.

I actually stopped and looked at the torch you described today but I wasn't sure if they worked upside down or not so I figured I'd go do some reading.

Would you consider the BGE or other brand fire starters to be a necessity or can you light lump directly with one of those torches?

When you say a handful would you grab the absolute most you could grab with one hand or is it just what you'd get if you stuck your hand in and pulled out a comfortable amount?

I grabbed BGE lump this time since I figured it would be a safe choice. I'm going to look around and see what else is available where I live.

Thanks for the comments and ideas.

Eggzellent · April 2016

matoch said:

Eggzellent said:

i need something effective to light the lump
i need to figure out how to get more smoke flavor On the meat
although my subtitute platesetter worked i think the real thing would allow better airflow which may have stopped the lump from going out.
You might already have one of those bent tube BenzoMatic torch heads that work on both propane and Mapp gas. I use the propane bottle/tube stuck through the vent hole to hit a small firestarter placed near the hole before the lump went in. It doesn't take much and too much seems to light the entire lump too quick.
When the initial smoke clears, I've been just getting everything staged...throwing a handful of those lightly soaked Oklahoma Joe chips on the flame...quick throwing the guts in with the meat and leaving it. It seems to smoke (evenly) as the lump burns and the 10" stone in the woo (or whatever you come up with) seems to isolate things well enough.
As far as the lump going out; I'm finding that you have to fill the firebox as much as is practical for your setup, be prepared for some lump to be better than others and that my 'scatter chips to the wind' method might exasperate the problem.
I just don't care vs setting it/forgetting it and the quality of the initial smoke that I'm getting.

I actually stopped and looked at the torch you described today but I wasn't sure if they worked upside down or not so I figured I'd go do some reading.

Would you consider the BGE or other brand fire starters to be a necessity or can you light lump directly with one of those torches?

When you say a handful would you grab the absolute most you could grab with one hand or is it just what you'd get if you stuck your hand in and pulled out a comfortable amount?

I grabbed BGE lump this time since I figured it would be a safe choice. I'm going to look around and see what else is available where I live.

Thanks for the comments and ideas.

"...Would you consider the BGE or other brand fire starters to be a necessity or can you light lump directly with one of those torches?..."

Countless methods and even more firestarters. Some apparently use an oiled napkin/paper towel. I use little chunks of the cardboard looking firestarters as I have them. Some will argue that the fire needs to be started from the top and others just the opposite. I like the vent-hole-bent-tube method with the torch as I really don't need a firestarter even with propane fuel. In comparison I've got a weed burner for the XL. If I'm too lazy to go get a firestarter square or make one I still don't have sparks shooting all over the place using the vent hole/torch regardless. One disadvantage (and it may contribute to more lump burned quickly) is that the highest volume of air needed for rapid fire spreading is closest to the fire using this method. Light it 180 opposite and the air 'struggles' to reach a fire burning at the back of the firebox. Makes sense to me but who knows.

"..When you say a handful would you grab the absolute most you could grab with one hand or is it just what you'd get if you stuck your hand in and pulled out a comfortable amount.."

Probably leaning towards the latter and always leaning towards less on subsequent cooks. At $2 bag (on sale) from Menards (not sure what they have up there) that's probably less than $.50 a cook on the grab-as-much-as-you- can side. I've been trying this on the assumption that most meat only absorbs smoke for so long..some will say soak the chips..some will say not..it seems to smoke plenty long soaked for a short time. I'm guessing that this also contributes to burning the lump fast due to the chips being scattered all over haphazardly.

As offered before..don't do as I do because I'm always looking for the KISS or works by accident method and this cooker seems not to mind. I've always liked the BGE lump that you picked up yet am stuck now with the Menards (straw/ green)/Walmart (orange/red) RO and feel just glad to have it (works fine/doesn't taste bad).

jhl192 · April 2016

Mini to XXL there is plenty to learn here. It's a great hobby and a great way to feed your family at the same time!

1move · April 2016

@matoch you can get Maple Leaf lump at Canadian Tire. I personally tried a whole bunch that were available locally and that's the best one for me.

GrateEggspectations · April 2016

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

Legume · April 2016

DoubleEgger said:

You've always belonged here....

This.

Welcome.

1move · April 2016

GrateEggspectations said:

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

$18.99??? Here it's $22 and still a steal compare to BGE's at $38

matoch · April 2016

1move said:

@matoch you can get Maple Leaf lump at Canadian Tire. I personally tried a whole bunch that were available locally and that's the best one for me.

I'll probably check that out when imfinish the bge stuff. It does seem like other options are half the price.

GrateEggspectations said:

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

I didnt even know costco sold charcoal. I'll have to look the next time I'm there.

blasting · April 2016

1move said:

GrateEggspectations said:

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

$18.99??? Here it's $22 and still a steal compare to BGE's at $38

38$ / bag - HOLY CHIT!!!. I just bought an emergency bag of Royal Oak (same stuff) and paid 10$.

From one canuck to another - yous gettin screwwwwed.

1move · April 2016

blasting said:

1move said:

GrateEggspectations said:

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

$18.99??? Here it's $22 and still a steal compare to BGE's at $38

38$ / bag - HOLY CHIT!!!. I just bought an emergency bag of Royal Oak (same stuff) and paid 10$.

From one canuck to another - yous gettin screwwwwed.

Yeah buddy!!! It costs a ton to ship the stuff to the westcoast and things were always way more in Alberta

GrateEggspectations · April 2016

matoch said:

1move said:

@matoch you can get Maple Leaf lump at Canadian Tire. I personally tried a whole bunch that were available locally and that's the best one for me.

I'll probably check that out when imfinish the bge stuff. It does seem like other options are half the price.

GrateEggspectations said:

I too like the Maple Leaf when I tried it, but the $18.99 price tag at CT makes me much more inclined to grab the $12.99 Basque Nature's Own at Costco. It's also great lump!

I didnt even know costco sold charcoal. I'll have to look the next time I'm there.

Yeah, the Naked Whiz has written a glowing (no pun intended) review of the Basque.

northGAcock · April 2016

A beautiful family you have there. Welcome aboard....Love my MM.

THEdexaTRON · April 2016

Welcome to the MiniMax family. I got one about 2 weeks ago. I'm going to do my first cook tonight on it.
Is that the big green egg rib rack? I've been debating about picking up a rib rack for my egg

I finally belong here

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