For low and slow do you immediately adjust the vents when you first close the dome?

nolaegghead said:

I've started eggs up more times than I can count, have experimented with all kinds of techniques, studied the science, over-thought every aspect of this, measured metrics of various techniques based on physical observations, etc.

Regarding "smoking", AKA "low and slow bbq", if quality is king and you have time, here is the way to achieve the highest quality Q on a big green egg:

1. Mix your smoke wood up with your lump when you fuel up. 

2. Light a small fire in one spot on top, nearer to the front than back, on lump that is touching other lump.

3. Let that establish, but not get big.  Your goal is a small, hot fire. 

4. After 5 minutes or so, when you're sure the fire is established, put your woo, plate setter, AR, whatever in and close the lid.  SET THE VENTS FOR YOUR FINAL TEMP.

5. It will take forever for the system to get up to temp - 225F is perfect to start, but you can put your meat on as soon as the smoke is good.  Maybe 30-40 minutes, maybe 2 hours before it gets to 225F.

(note on above)  You always want good smoke.  Number 1 rule is good smoke.  Bad smoke contaminates your food.  Some people learn BBQ tastes like bad smoke.  Sorry, you've been ruined by your dad's ignorance.  If you taste good BBQ, you know it.  I'm telling you how to get a good fire, the best smoke, and it's a slow process on the egg.

6. So you put your cold meat in, dome thermo might register just above ambient, but the smoke is good - nice and blue, almost invisible, smells like incense.  That's a good thing.  Your meat benefits from a slow, initial cook.  I will emphasize that later, you just want to get into the cooking part. But now, you're bathing your meat (sounds delicious, right?) in fragrant smoke and all that carbon monoxide and deliciousness is settling, nay, condensing on your cold meat.

7. Let it naturally work it's way up until the heat load and the heat source equalize around 225-275F.  Now this might take hours, but be patient, grasshopper.

8. Drink, yell at the kids on your lawn, check out infowars.com or something to kill time.  Enjoy yourself.  You'll probably be on statins soon (if not already).  Nothing to be ashamed about.  This ain't Ethiopia. 

9. Monitor for the stall.  Once your meat hits 160F or so, it's just gonna start drying out as the natural moisture is a "refrigerant" that evaporates, it's effective "latent heat" negating any rise in temp to the ultimate goal, breaking down collagen.  This is where you do a Leroy Jenkins and open the vents and raise the temp up to 300-350F.  Overpower the stall, minimize the amount of time you spend just "drying" meat and cook the MF-er.

10. Drink, yell at kids on the lawn, mutter things to your wife she won't hear, kill some more time.  But every once and a while, if you're shooting for "perfection", take a peek and monitor the external condition of the meat (aka "bark").  If it is perfect, and it may never well be so this is optional, then "arrest" the bark development by wrapping in some butcher paper.  There is almost never "too much" bark for butts, but it's all in pursuit of the perfect bbq.  Your personal preference is more important than other people's, unless you're doing a competition.

11. Forget about thermometers once you're over 190F.  You won't need it again.  Jiggle it like an internet gif.  if it jiggles, give it a "stab" test.  Wooden skewer, thermapen probe, filet knife, doesn't matter, you want to probe it and it should be like warm butter.  Don't worry about juice running out, you won't dry it out.  You are a master BBQ guy.

12.  Once it's no longer tight and there's virtually no resistance when probed, the sucka is done.  Pull it off and put on a cooking rack, let it cool because it no longer needs to be cooked, it needs to *NOT* over cook. That is why you let it cool, preferably until it's below 160F where it will not continue to lose moisture like a 30 year old marriage.  THEN, serve (ideally you want it a little cooler, maybe 120-140F) or put in a cooler or oven to keep warm until you want to eat.

That's it.

You can start a big fire and heat it up fast, but then you shut down the vents and you have a big smoldering fire, which equals crappy smoke/taste.  You can get perfectly good results with a myriad of techniques, but this one is the best, and you need time.  But your dad won't care either way, because he thinks BBQ should taste like an ashtray mixed with chimney creosote.  So you're good either way.

nolaegghead said:

 

8. Drink, yell at the kids on your lawn, check out infowars.com

I knew that would pay off someday.

jeffwit said:

Sorry I’m confused, but do you inhale the smoke or not?