Is the BGE REALLY that much more efficient than what I'm used to?

vb4677 · July 2016

I've been using a gas vertical water smoker for about a decade, and routinely pulled out some good BBQ. Now that I've moved over to the "Green Side," I'm 3 cooks in on my LBGE, and it seems I'm over cooking my proteins - a 2# brisket, some country style ribs, and a slab of spare ribs were all edible, but not competition worthy as they were all over cooked. Dome temp was in the 225F-250F sweet spot for the entirety of each cook. Placesetter legs up, drip pan on aluminum foil balls, no water...

Saturday, I did my typical 3-2-1 spare ribs (without liquid in the 2 spot, even!) and I almost couldn't get them off the grid because they were literally falling off the bone! Also, I'm not seeing much in terms of smoke rings developing either. And I've got the firebox fully loaded with BGE Lump + apple wood chips & chunks mixed throughout. I light the center with a BGE starter, let it run for a bit, then slowly bring it up to temp and let the white smoke turn to blue.

Now, I've got two 9.5# pork shoulders to cook for this weekend and I'm getting a little concerned about my times & temps for the BGE... on the gasser I'd run 240F-250F for about 14 hours to an internal temp of 195F-200F. FTC for a couple of hours and shred some marvelous pulled pork. What do I need to take into consideration ?

As I re-researched the spare ribs, I'm seeing a lot of folks running at 225F-250F but only 4 to 5 hours - so that would prevent my spare ribs from overcooking...

Dome therm has not been calibrated, but when compared to my digital probe left on the grill I was within 10F-20F of each other.

So, do I need to adjust anything, even including my expectations?

buzd504 · July 2016

Cook to temperature and feel, not time. If your meat is overdone, then you are cooking it too long.

For ribs, I don't foil, and they take between 4 and 5 hours (I cook around 275).

For pulled pork, I usually finish right around 200. No need to FTC pork unless you need to serve it later.

Don't worry about the smoke ring - sometimes you get one and sometimes you don't - it doesn't have any affect on flavor.

fishlessman · July 2016

there really is no need to foil ribs in a bge, it causes them to turn to mush if cooked in foil for too long a time

lousubcap · July 2016

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. With your gas water experience you have a solid handle on the smoking process. There are many here who have transitioned to the "Green Side" and have had to make some adjustments. I'm sure they will be along. I have no pearls of wisdom as it reads like you have it under control from the process side.
Just for the sake of eliminating another variable I would calibrate the dome thermo in some boiling water.
Then just go til you hit the feel you want on the low&slow protein. FWIW-

pgprescott · July 2016

The real difference is the extremely moist and low air flow environment compared to almost all other cookers. IMO, everything will cook faster. YES.

SkinnyV · July 2016

Operator Error.... That is all.

GATraveller · July 2016

I cook everything on the BGE by internal temp and therefore have no idea how long anything takes to cook.

fishlessman · July 2016

were you using the water pan in your gas smoker, that changes everything as well, thermo at top will read high, but down near the grill/water it will be closer to 212 degrees. every smoker and setup is different, so if your cooking on a water smoker over water your cooking at near 212, much longer cook than 250 at the grate in a bge. my ribs this weekend around 250 dome raised indirect went about 3.5 hours, no foil, no water pan.

HeavyG · July 2016

GATraveller said:

I cook everything on the BGE by internal temp and therefore have no idea how long anything takes to cook.

So do you start your ribs two days in advance just to be sure they'll be ready?

vb4677 · July 2016

lousubcap said:

Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey. With your gas water experience you have a solid handle on the smoking process. There are many here who have transitioned to the "Green Side" and have had to make some adjustments. I'm sure they will be along. I have no pearls of wisdom as it reads like you have it under control from the process side.
Just for the sake of eliminating another variable I would calibrate the dome thermo in some boiling water.
Then just go til you hit the feel you want on the low&slow protein. FWIW-

Yeah, this is next on the list... calibrate my dome therm...and then my "Green Side Zen."

vb4677 · July 2016

pgprescott said:

The real difference is the extremely moist and low air flow environment compared to almost all other cookers. IMO, everything will cook faster. YES.

Thanks - this is what I was hoping to hear!

1move · July 2016

Most meat cuts you can roughly base around 1h roughly per pound. Sounds to me like your pork shoulders will be way over done at 9.5lbs and 14h. Each cook is different but you can gauge most of the time roughly where you will end up. Brisket however is a whole other ball game! Each time you do one it will be a different beast.

jtcBoynton · July 2016

1move said:

Most meat cuts you can roughly base around 1h roughly per pound. Sounds to me like your pork shoulders will be way over done at 9.5lbs and 14h. Each cook is different but you can gauge most of the time roughly where you will end up. Brisket however is a whole other ball game! Each time you do one it will be a different beast.

At 240°, the 14 hour estimate for a 9.5lb butt is pretty text book.

1move · July 2016

jtcBoynton said:

1move said:

Most meat cuts you can roughly base around 1h roughly per pound. Sounds to me like your pork shoulders will be way over done at 9.5lbs and 14h. Each cook is different but you can gauge most of the time roughly where you will end up. Brisket however is a whole other ball game! Each time you do one it will be a different beast.

At 240°, the 14 hour estimate for a 9.5lb butt is pretty text book.

Thank you for the correction. I never really cooked a pork shoulder just based my comment on all other meats. Good to know.

Jstroke · July 2016

Personally I haven't done a shoulder at less than 350 degrees lately so not sure. Hot my friend, after breakfast, done for dinner.

Toxarch · July 2016

Every type of grill/smoker will cook differently and there's always a learning curve. You can 3-2-1 ribs on some smokers, you have to 3-1-1 on others. On my egg, if I am wrapping, it's maybe a 3-.5-.25 for ribs. Ribs are almost always done before 4 hours even unwrapped the whole time and cooking low.

msloan · July 2016

You can achieve a more consistent and aesthetically pleasing smoke ring by soaking your wood chips and chunks in water prior to the cook. Try it. You will see a difference.

msloan · July 2016

fishlessman said:

were you using the water pan in your gas smoker, that changes everything as well, thermo at top will read high, but down near the grill/water it will be closer to 212 degrees. every smoker and setup is different, so if your cooking on a water smoker over water your cooking at near 212, much longer cook than 250 at the grate in a bge. my ribs this weekend around 250 dome raised indirect went about 3.5 hours, no foil, no water pan.

I don't mean to argue with you there but I have a Myron Mixon MMS-48 water cooler and the entire space below the bottom rack is one big water pan and the temps down on near that bottom pan are well in excess of 212.

If im cooking brisket or pork butt at 300 then the bottom rack will be right at 300 as well.

fiver29 · July 2016

I'm going to recommend a couple of sites to check out. These guys have been constantly crafting their approach to how they cook on the BGE over the years. I have found they have dialed in how to cook on one and if I run into an issue during or after a cook it's usually something I overlooked in their explanation. Both have contributed at some point on this forum over the years. There is even an explanation on the first site listed below how to develop a smoke ring every time if you want.

http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html

http://http//www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm

fishlessman · July 2016

msloan said:

fishlessman said:

were you using the water pan in your gas smoker, that changes everything as well, thermo at top will read high, but down near the grill/water it will be closer to 212 degrees. every smoker and setup is different, so if your cooking on a water smoker over water your cooking at near 212, much longer cook than 250 at the grate in a bge. my ribs this weekend around 250 dome raised indirect went about 3.5 hours, no foil, no water pan.

I don't mean to argue with you there but I have a Myron Mixon MMS-48 water cooler and the entire space below the bottom rack is one big water pan and the temps down on near that bottom pan are well in excess of 212.

If im cooking brisket or pork butt at 300 then the bottom rack will be right at 300 as well.

try cooking a brisket in an inexpensive bullet smoker at 225 top temp and measuring the temp under the brisket just above the water

the trick is to know your cooker. im sure at 5000 dollars your cooker performs better than a hundred dollar propane bullet style smoker

i cooked on one of those for along time

AD18 · July 2016

I rarely, if ever, rely on the dome thermometer for my long cooks. Hot and fast, yes. I always use a Maverick remote thermometer on the grate beside whatever I'm cooking. Know exactly what temp I have where I need it. Agree with above posts on getting your times down pat, need to learn your cooker. Have fun learnin':):)

gdenby · July 2016

One other thing. During long cooks, the PS reaches about 600F from absorbing much of the IR from the lump. This makes the interior of the Egg a bit more like an oven. Myself, I only use the 'setter when I want more of an oven effect. Usually I use pie tins, or various odd metal containers I've found 2nd hand. Those only get to about 250F, so the heat at the felt level is more even.

jtcBoynton · July 2016

AD18 said:

I rarely, if ever, rely on the dome thermometer for my long cooks. Hot and fast, yes. I always use a Maverick remote thermometer on the grate beside whatever I'm cooking. Know exactly what temp I have where I need it. Agree with above posts on getting your times down pat, need to learn your cooker. Have fun learnin':):)

I find that the grate area is one of the most limiting factors of the egg. I routinely have the grate full of the item being cooked - leaving no room for the proper placement of a grate level temperature probe. Grate level probes need to be out of the direct updrafts around the edges and not too close to the cold meat. Finding a location for the probe to get a consistent temp is difficult. Exact temps also vary from the front side to the left side to the back side to the right side to the under side to the top side. I find the dome temps give you a consistent reading of whether you have a steady state within the egg. I think knowing if you have a steady heat source is more important than the exact temp.

AD18 · July 2016

jtcBoynton said:

AD18 said:

I rarely, if ever, rely on the dome thermometer for my long cooks. Hot and fast, yes. I always use a Maverick remote thermometer on the grate beside whatever I'm cooking. Know exactly what temp I have where I need it. Agree with above posts on getting your times down pat, need to learn your cooker. Have fun learnin':):)

I find that the grate area is one of the most limiting factors of the egg. I routinely have the grate full of the item being cooked - leaving no room for the proper placement of a grate level temperature probe. Grate level probes need to be out of the direct updrafts around the edges and not too close to the cold meat. Finding a location for the probe to get a consistent temp is difficult. Exact temps also vary from the front side to the left side to the back side to the right side to the under side to the top side. I find the dome temps give you a consistent reading of whether you have a steady state within the egg. I think knowing if you have a steady heat source is more important than the exact temp.

Agree with what you say. Seldom do I have a full grate and you do have to be careful where you put the probe. Dome works fine, just depends on how picky you are about grate vs dome temp differences at start of cook.

msloan · July 2016

fishlessman said:

msloan said:

fishlessman said:

were you using the water pan in your gas smoker, that changes everything as well, thermo at top will read high, but down near the grill/water it will be closer to 212 degrees. every smoker and setup is different, so if your cooking on a water smoker over water your cooking at near 212, much longer cook than 250 at the grate in a bge. my ribs this weekend around 250 dome raised indirect went about 3.5 hours, no foil, no water pan.

I don't mean to argue with you there but I have a Myron Mixon MMS-48 water cooler and the entire space below the bottom rack is one big water pan and the temps down on near that bottom pan are well in excess of 212.

If im cooking brisket or pork butt at 300 then the bottom rack will be right at 300 as well.

try cooking a brisket in an inexpensive bullet smoker at 225 top temp and measuring the temp under the brisket just above the water the trick is to know your cooker. im sure at 5000 dollars your cooker performs better than a hundred dollar propane bullet style smoker i cooked on one of those for along time

I'm sure that's a valid point.....and yes, with my cooker, it typically performs at a high level and very much maintains fairly even temps throughout the cook chamber.

fishlessman · July 2016

msloan said:

fishlessman said:

msloan said:

fishlessman said:

were you using the water pan in your gas smoker, that changes everything as well, thermo at top will read high, but down near the grill/water it will be closer to 212 degrees. every smoker and setup is different, so if your cooking on a water smoker over water your cooking at near 212, much longer cook than 250 at the grate in a bge. my ribs this weekend around 250 dome raised indirect went about 3.5 hours, no foil, no water pan.

I don't mean to argue with you there but I have a Myron Mixon MMS-48 water cooler and the entire space below the bottom rack is one big water pan and the temps down on near that bottom pan are well in excess of 212.

If im cooking brisket or pork butt at 300 then the bottom rack will be right at 300 as well.

try cooking a brisket in an inexpensive bullet smoker at 225 top temp and measuring the temp under the brisket just above the water the trick is to know your cooker. im sure at 5000 dollars your cooker performs better than a hundred dollar propane bullet style smoker i cooked on one of those for along time

I'm sure that's a valid point.....and yes, with my cooker, it typically performs at a high level and very much maintains fairly even temps throughout the cook chamber.

thats a really nice cooker, need to get up close to one and maybe build a smaller version for myself

Ladeback69 · July 2016

@vb4677 welcome to Eggdiction and fellow Kansas City, Missourian. As others have said cook to temp and feel not time with the egg. For ribs I do 2-1-1 or 4 to 5 hours straight through depending on how meaty they are. I like to foil after 2 hours to give the ribs a sweet profile with butter, brown sugar, honey and apple juice. I take that's what you did for completions? The last hour I put them back on to firm back up and the last 30 spread on a little glaze. I have never seen a 2# brisket before, where did you find that? Being that small it may have cooked a lot faster then what you are used to. Again temp and feel, not time.

On the 9.5 lb pork butt's, lately when I have cooked at 250 or so they have been done in about 9 to 10 hours. The egg is very efficient and things tend to cook faster. Just going up to 275 to 300 will knock you cook down to about 6 to 7 hours on the pork butts. I only wrap if I need to get through the stall and have it ready for dinner. I think the rest of your plan on FTC for a few hours and pull are fine. I have FTC'd pork butts for 6 hours before with no problem. Better to start early and be done early then late.

Where in the metro are you located? I am in KCMO north of the river near Liberty.
Happy egging.

vb4677 · July 2016

@Ladeback69 I'm in the Lee's Summit area. Thanks for your reply! I found the brisket at my nearby HyVee. Cute little thing... still very edible, just a tad done.

I was able to talk with a very knowledgeable BGE Dealer this week, and they also confirmed that indeed, these Eggs are much more efficient than what I'm used to. So, the temp probes will go in and I'll watch that more than the clock!

My plan is start the fire late Thursday night, pull the meat out midday, and then FTC it and head to the Lake of the Ozarks (~3 hrs) - should be nice and tender and easy to pull (and eat!) when I get to the cabin.

Ladeback69 · July 2016

vb4677 said:

@Ladeback69 I'm in the Lee's Summit area. Thanks for your reply! I found the brisket at my nearby HyVee. Cute little thing... still very edible, just a tad done.

I was able to talk with a very knowledgeable BGE Dealer this week, and they also confirmed that indeed, these Eggs are much more efficient than what I'm used to. So, the temp probes will go in and I'll watch that more than the clock!

My plan is start the fire late Thursday night, pull the meat out midday, and then FTC it and head to the Lake of the Ozarks (~3 hrs) - should be nice and tender and easy to pull (and eat!) when I get to the cabin.

How is going? Are you about done and ready to leave?

vb4677 · July 2016

Kicked the tires and lit the fires at 11:30 tonite,. Shoulders went on around 12:30. Made some baked beans and some pig shots to put on tomorrow. Been watching the dome temp like a hawk and I'm cruising at 230F. Will let it run whilst I slumber then may boost it to make it in time for dinner. Pics later.

DaveRichardson · July 2016

Welcome to the BGE!

You ought to try cooking at higher temps to cut your cook times wayyyyy shorter! 9 lb boston butt at 350-375 cooked in about 6 hours. The egg is a moisture rich environment, if your thermos are dialed in, you will be fine. I use remote monitoring with the igrill and my phone/ipad and have yet to destroy a big cut of meat.

Is the BGE REALLY that much more efficient than what I'm used to?

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