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Pre-Heat Times

erikjs71
erikjs71 Posts: 69
in EggHead Forum
I was just wondering how long most egg-ers pre-heat their BGE's before they start to cook.  Also, it seems you would want to wait longer for indirect cooking, since the plate-setter is so thick.

Everyone have a great holiday weekend!!
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Comments

  • bradleya123
    bradleya123 Posts: 485
    The pizza stone pre-heats for 40 minutes for the best pizza.
    Retired Navy, LBGE
    Pinehurst, NC

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  • Egger09
    Egger09 Posts: 5
    til I cant hold my hand on the outside of ceramic for more than a few seconds
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  • maso
    maso Posts: 240
    If you're using clean lump like rockwood I start cooking as soon as it's at the temp I want. Grilling that is. The only reason I've found to let it heat soak while grilling is for presentation. So that the meat really sizzles when it hits the grill. If I'm hungry I don't care and want to start cooking asap. 

    Always wait for the lump to burn clean tho. 
    Large BGE in Moore, OK
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  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,227
    With a load of fresh lump in my XL it typically takes about 45 minutes for all the bad smoke from the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) to burn off and turn to good smoke.  I start my fire with a Rutland firestarter square and I can reduce this to about 25 minutes if I use 4 squares instead of 1.   For any long indirect cook I typically load up with fresh lump.  And it really takes about an hour to get it stabilized (temp is stable and smoke smells good) in most cases.

    If I have enough old lump in the egg to do the cook I don't add fresh lump and I don't have to worry about VOCs.  With 4 firestarter squares I can be cooking something direct in about 15 minutes.

    I hope that helps.  


    XXL BGE, Karebecue, Klose BYC, Chargiller Akorn Kamado, Weber Smokey Mountain, Grand Turbo gasser, Weber Smoky Joe, and the wheelbarrow that my grandfather used to cook steaks from his cattle

    San Antonio, TX

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,785
    Depends on the type/cook temp of the cook.  If a low&slow (indirect) I will generally light at least two-three hours before planning to load the protein.  If indirect and hot  it generally takes around 45-60 minutes to get everything up to temp (350*F+).  If direct and hot then I figure around 30 minutes (all above referenced to the LBGE).  At a minimum-wait for the clean smoke.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 15,936
    edited September 2017
    Grilling - as others have said - heat it and go, usually not a worry.  

    For indirect, depends, the lower the target temp, the earlier I start because I need to let the fire get going with less airflow (rather than suddenly shut it down).  In other words, it takes me longer to get stable at 225 than 300.

    For pizza if I'm doing a bunch like with people over, I'll light maybe two hours early just to get it out of the way and let it cruise 300 or so, then maybe 15 min before I want to cook, I'll open it up and let it climb.  At 300, you're not burning charcoal too fast that you're wasting it, but you have enough of a fire that you can go from 300 to 500 or more pretty quickly and the ceramics will come along quickly too.
    THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
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  • Powak
    Powak Posts: 1,412
    Legume said:
    Grilling - as others have said - heat it and go, usually not a worry.  

    For indirect, depends, the lower the target temp, the earlier I start because I need to let the fire get going with less airflow (rather than suddenly shut it down).  In other words, it takes me longer to get stable at 225 than 300.

    For pizza if I'm doing a bunch like with people over, I'll light maybe two hours early just to get it out of the way and let it cruise 300 or so, then maybe 15 min before I want to cook, I'll open it up and let it climb.  At 300, you're not burning charcoal too fast that you're wasting it, but you have enough of a fire that you can go from 300 to 500 or more pretty quickly and the ceramics will come along quickly too.
    I've often wondered if anyone else does this? I like the idea of letting the egg idle at low temp especially if you're trying to time when to proceed with a short cook.
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  • Rte1985
    Rte1985 Posts: 304
    lousubcap said:
    Depends on the type/cook temp of the cook.  If a low&slow (indirect) I will generally light at least two-three hours before planning to load the protein.  If indirect and hot  it generally takes around 45-60 minutes to get everything up to temp (350*F+).  If direct and hot then I figure around 30 minutes (all above referenced to the LBGE).  At a minimum-wait for the clean smoke.  FWIW-
    Roughly same here
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  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,656
    I don't think I ever wait more than an hour, even on a low-and-slow, since I've switched to Rockwood, and usually I'm cooking within half an hour to 45 minutes.  When I used to use BGE charcoal (made by Royal Oak), I had more trouble with "bad" white smoke, and it varied how long it took for that to go away.  Sometimes half an hour, sometimes 45 minutes or even more before I really thought the "bad smoke" had gone away.  Still, though, it didn't usually take more than an hour.  But most of the time, with Rockwood, once the temp is stable, there's no appreciable white smoke.  Sometimes I'm grilling in 10 minutes (I light with a torch, so it's fast), and low-and-slow within half an hour or so.
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  • ninnymugs
    ninnymugs Posts: 87
    Maybe a stupid question. But I am am still new. How do I know the difference between bad smoke and good smoke. How do I know if the egg is putting off the good stuff?  Also should I wait to put wood on until it's at that stage or can that go on while I am stabilizing Andy getting the "good smoke"
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    How do I know if the egg is putting off the good stuff?  Smell it. If it smells good, it will taste good.  If it smells bad, it will taste bad.

    Some also use smoke color as an indicator - black/gray = awful,  white = not good, bluish = ok, not visible = good.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • erikjs71
    erikjs71 Posts: 69
    Thanks for all the comments!!

    Man, I have to say, I tried a bag of Rockwood and was very underwhelmed...  Before that I used FOGO and was blown away.. Otherwise I just use Nature-Glo which my local butcher sells..  I like it better that BGE.

    As for wood chips, or chunks.. Do you usually add those during the pre-heat or right before the cook?  I know you want to get a clean/ clear smoke coming out, but when chunks and chips are added, the smoke goes grey again.

    Soaked or un-soaked??
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