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    Tips for cooking direct?

    Posts: 135
    in EggHead Forum
    I'm wondering id you guys have some tips for getting things set up to grill direct. It probably seems like a silly question but I just haven't figured it out yet. How do you get a bed of lump lit so you get heat all over the grill? When smokinf i typically light one or two areas and let things get up to temp. When I do the same thing to grill direct I basically get two spots that are really hot and the rest doesn't have much heat at all. This leaves me with one part that's over cooked or burnt and the remaining areas undercooked by comparison.

    I've really only tried a couple times so far but I'd appreciate some tips so I can do a better job grilling direct.

    Thanks,

    James
    Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 3,932
      James, if you really want an even bed of coals, maybe try a chimney starter to light it all and dump it in. 

      But really, I think you may be over thinking things.  Get it lit, and let her rip.  Perfection is nearly unobtainable 
      XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
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    • Posts: 3,901
      never had this problem. What temp and what meat are you referencing? 
      “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
      Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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    • Posts: 3,569
      I only light one spot, the middle. Let it get a decent size before closing the lid to get up to temp (I let it get to a softball size ember on my large). Close lid and let it get to temp. I also let it sit for awhile at temp before I cook. Always have a good, even top layer. 
      Las Vegas, NV


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    • Posts: 1,129
      When wanting high temps I use a weed burner to light it. Will move it around the perimeter very slowly. Once I  get some glowing embers I give it a few minutes with the bottom vent open and the dome up. Depending on how patient like am I will either put the grate on and shut it, leaving the daisy wheel off. If I am in a hurry I will stir up the lump prior to putting the grate on.

      Suppose if I knew what I was in would get a Kick Ash Basket and a stainless Smokeware cap....but I am clueless so... 
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    • Posts: 135
      @johnnyp i probably am over thinking it. I'm not looking for perfection I just want to figure out what I should do differently. Essentially i went to cook 6 hot dogs the other day. I lit two spots in the minimax. When I put the hot dogs on the parts that were over the areas I lit blistered and burned. The hot dogs that were further from those spots took forever to cook. I ended up moving them around non stop to get something edible.

      When you say let her rip how long do you let it run with the lid open before you close the lid and make adjustments?

      @Battleborn I'm starting to think I might be closing the lid and dialing back the vents too early. I wouldn't say the area really got big before I closed the lid.
      Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 138
      I know exactly what you are talking about because I was just thinking the same thing tonight. I lit a spot in the middle of my MM and let it get going with the dome up. I then closed it and when it got up near 400* I adjusted the vents down and held it at 400 for just a bit. When I saw it was holding the temp I put on my food and noticed all the hot coals were still in the middle. And the radiant heat was focused there. And that is where the food was most browned. I was thinking about maybe letting it stabilize for a longer time but might also experiment with the chimney. I'd like to learn to use it even when I don't have a lot of time. 
      LBGE, Minimax
      Owensboro, Kentucky
      Go Cats!
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    • Posts: 3,932
      How are you lighting currently?
      XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
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    • Posts: 135
      johnnyp said:
      How are you lighting currently?
      I light it in two places with a map torch. I wait long eniugh to be sure it's not going to go out when I shut the lid and the close the bottom vent about half way and set the daisy wheel so the vents are open and the wheel is also cracked open a bit. 
      Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 3,569
      matoch said:
      show previous quotes
      I light it in two places with a map torch. I wait long eniugh to be sure it's not going to go out when I shut the lid and the close the bottom vent about half way and set the daisy wheel so the vents are open and the wheel is also cracked open a bit. 
      Leave the bottom vent open and the daisy wheel completely open as well until you get ~25 degrees from desired temp then start shutting down the vent/DW. 
      Las Vegas, NV


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    • Posts: 3,932
      got it.  You're closing your lid too soon.  

      Fire follows the oxygen.  Lid open, that's on the surface.  Lid closed, it burrows toward your grate.  Light a large area with your torch and leave the lid open for a few minutes longer.  
      XL & MM BGE, 36" Blackstone - Newport News, VA
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    • Posts: 135
      johnnyp said:
      got it.  You're closing your lid too soon.  

      Fire follows the oxygen.  Lid open, that's on the surface.  Lid closed, it burrows toward your grate.  Light a large area with your torch and leave the lid open for a few minutes longer.  
      Alright I'll give that a shot next time. Thanks.
      Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 138
      So I made a hole down to the fire grate and placed an oil soaked paper towel to start, covered with smaller chunks but left the dome open for about 15 minutes. Should I be leaving it open longer or lighting closer to the top?
      LBGE, Minimax
      Owensboro, Kentucky
      Go Cats!
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    • Posts: 10,490
      I know what you mean and I have struggled with this as well.  I think you have the right idea- you need to let the fire spread out over the bed of coals if you want an even cooking surface.  If you don't want searing temps I find it helps to start with less charcoal.  Try filling the fire box only about 1/2 way, light up, leave the lid open until you have coals burning all the way across before you close the dome.

      Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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    • Posts: 2,657
      edited June 2016
      SmokeyPitt said:
      Ileave the lid open until you have coals burning all the way across before you close the dome.
      This is a subtlety that is often lost. 
      Sometimes you want to feed the fire from below (vent) and sometimes the top. Dome open. 

      When i want a wide bed of coals, like for a lot of steaks, i will use a trick that @thenakedwhiz dropped in his paella tutorial

      when you starter materials have burned out, shut the lower vent and open the dome. Instead of the fire diving down under, it will climb and spread out

      you can't really control it but you don't really need to control a fire for searing


      [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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    • Posts: 446
      I let the fire get to temp I want and stabilize there. Once the fire is mature I take the ash tool and speed the coals. You have to be careful to not spread to soon or you won't maintain temp for very long. Works great for me.
      Narcoossee, FL

      LBGE, Nest, Mates, Plate Setter, Ash Tool. I'm a simple guy.
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    • Posts: 34,722
      Give the process @Darby_Crenshaw describes.  Works like champ.  Be mindful of burping the BGE once you get that hot bed of lump going otherwise you will be in for quite a show when you open the dome.  
      Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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    • Posts: 2,657
      edited June 2016
      It's frankly too hot (sometimes i mean)

      other night we just did four steaks and i filled just under grate level, lit a fire for as long as it took to clear(smoke) then knocked open the pile and spread them around a bit. Often they cool down (when fed from below) but they were plenty hot at that short distance from the grate
      [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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    • Posts: 8,524
      Not sure if I missed the comment but for things like hot dogs or burgers or wings you need to be raised direct, IMO. Get the grid higher into the dome, at least to the felt line, in this way the softball size bed of coals will provide IR heat to almost the entire grid area, hotter in the centre and rear but still it will heat most of the grid. 
      This way you can cook at higher temps with the dome closed. If you are trying to hot sear over the whole grid area, briquettes in a kettle do a much better job and are quite inexpensive vs using lump. 
      Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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    • Posts: 135
      Thanks for the thoughts everyone. I have a few things to try out now so we'll see how things go over the next week.
      Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 135
      Thanks everyone. I left the lid open longer to get more of the charcoal engaged before I started cooking and it worked out quite well.
      Edmonton, Alberta - XL & Minimax
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    • Posts: 2,490
      Hair dryer or electric leaf blower will get all coals lit, hot amd even
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