XL grilling temp too hot

diz · January 2019

This is my second egg, 8ish years egging, no problems controlling temp with the dome closed. But when I'm grilling on the XL for a crowd, like I need to man the grill for an hour or so nonstop, cooking several batches of food, I always seem to run into the same problem - with the lid open, the fire gets too hot.

I've tried lighting the fire on one side of the coal - works great initially, but with the lid open it quickly spreads all the way across. Closed the bottom damper entirely - this worked pretty well for long grilling sessions on my old (and missed) Large, but the XL doesn't care about no stinking bottom damper when that huge open grill is exposed to air. Tried piling lump on one side, but with the lid open the lump burns pretty fast so if I start with a pile small enough to push to one side, then after 45 minutes with the lid open I'm running low and it's getting too cool.

I try to manage it by closing the dome periodically, but when the grate gets that hot, you can't leave the food in one place very long without it burning, so I need to open it after a few minutes and it just starts running inferno mode again. I try to stack the batches of food in order of heat tolerance, doing things that can handle volcanic heat last, but the last batches are always more charred than I want them to be.

I have most of the CGS toys. I haven't tried grilling on a raised grate. That would give me less grill area, but I could live with that. Also haven't tried grilling indirect, as it seems wrong. Any suggestions for temperature stability during a long grilling session with the XL?

Thanks!

frazzdaddy · January 2019

I have an XL and indirect may be your best bet. I use a plate setter or the CGS woo and a stone depending on what I'm cooking. I also use CI grates at lid level.

GaBGE · January 2019

@diz Just curious, but what do you cook that you need to leave the dome open for an hour?

DoubleEgger · January 2019

The egg is designed to be used with the dome closed. Remember the ol’ fire triangle? You’ve got too much oxygen. Once the temp hits about 625F, all of the lump in the egg ignites.

JohnH12 · January 2019

I had the same problem with my XL.
I know it's not what you want to hear but the only time I use the egg now is for smoking.
My Weber kettle is the go-to for direct, hot and fast cooking.

diz · January 2019

@GaBGE It's not one thing, it'll be several batches. Last time it was a grill full of chicken thighs, take those off and store in a warm oven, then a grill full of peppers and onions, then a grill full of broccoli. In that order because the chicken does better when rested, the peppers and onions are fine to sit after they are done, and the broccoli is best right off the grill. Maybe what I need is three BGEs so I can do everything at once.

@DoubleEgger understood. Just trying to find out if anyone facing the same challenge has any tips.

@frazzdaddy thanks, I'll try that!

pgprescott · January 2019

I’ve never heard of anyone cooking chicken on any kind of grill with the lid open. Yes maybe on one of those state park open charcoal grills grills with lids are all designed to have the lids closed during cooking I think.

put food on

close lid

open lid and check when reasonable time expires

close lid again

repeat as required

tjv · January 2019

unless you are grilling steaks or burgers, get the grid up. If you have our stuff, CGS, you can first try the xl rig with 20" full grid directly on the fire ring. you are not giving up much cooking area using the 20" grid up, as the inside diameter of the fire ring is a smidge over 21". If you want to go higher, use the woo and xl grid under the rig/20 grid.

Going up, you'll be able to manage the cook, grilling temperatures, better by closing the dome. plus, being a direct cook, the heat will still radiate into the food to slightly crust or render. Cooks will take a little longer but you'll get better results.

I know what you mean by getting to hot with the xl egg and grid on the fire ring....burn the entire fire bowl and it can get rocking hot.....

tom

diz · January 2019

So try indirect and/or raising the grid, and staying ahead of it by keeping the dome closed as much as possible to avoid it getting to the critical 625 when it goes fireball. Thanks everyone!

Durangler · January 2019

I do this when I anticipate the dome to be open often.
2 fire bricks on the fire grate in a "V" configuration. The V can be spread narrower or wider. Stack and lite the lump on the backside (hinge) leaving the front side open. This creates an indirect side and a direct side of the grid. Move food front to back as needed. No need to purchase those expensive stainless steel "L" bracket things sold online.
Lowe's sells clay pot feet that can be set on the fire ring to elevate the grid above felt, if you like. They work great to raise a pizza stone, set on the grid, higher into the dome.

stlcharcoal · January 2019

diz said:

So try indirect and/or raising the grid, and staying ahead of it by keeping the dome closed as much as possible to avoid it getting to the critical 625 when it goes fireball. Thanks everyone!

Yes, keep the lid closed. Otherwise the draft door and chimney position is useless--you might as well be cooking on a Weber if you're leaving the lid open. Keeping the dome closed allows to meter the O2, cook by convection (from above as well as below), and retain the moisture that would otherwise be lost.

Get a grid raiser or some elevated device to give you some more room between the fire and the food. You wouldn't need this in a Large egg because the firebox is much deeper. The XL is shorter than a Large, so you don't have much room to create this gap. Design flaw in my opinion. (Why not make them the same profile other than to save weight and $$$.....how many tweaks on the dome, firebox, fire ring, and plate setter did they have to do so you could get the lid closed over a turkey.....should have just added 4-6 inches to the base and been done with it.)

On the temp, keep in mind, that's not dome temp, that the temp down in the firebox. If you watch the dome temp, you'll usually see the needle start to accelerate when it gets between 450-500F (dome temp). That indicated "flash over" has occurred in the firebox and all the lump is now ignited--you have fuel, the kindling temp (aka "heat"), and metering the O2 is the only thing you can now use to regulate the temp.

jtcBoynton · January 2019

Eggs are designed to control temp by controlling the size of the fire which which is controlled by air flow. Keeping the dome open means losing control of air flow which means losing control of temp.

If you want to have some control of temp with the dome open, you need to limit the fuel. Shift to briquettes and use a specific number to get a given temp. There are guides for open grills to tell you how many briquettes you need. You will have to experiment to make adjustments for your egg. But once dialed in you should know what temp you will get for say 15 briquettes.

Photo Egg · January 2019

Start with less lump and close the bottom vent when you get started cooking with the dome open. It will greatly help.
Avoid using a high sugar content rub and sauce.

SMITTYtheSMOKER · January 2019

I cook for 25 routinely on a couple of XL's. No problem keeping temps under control grilling as long as you keep the dome down. Raised direct is nice for chicken. I like the half moon cast iron griddle for veggies.

etherdome · January 2019

No dome open cooks here for this very reason .

XL grilling temp too hot

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