Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

What's the order you do things at start of a cook?

Alpharetta_EggHead
Alpharetta_EggHead Posts: 13
in EggHead Forum
Newbie here. My first step is to light the fire starter and let it burn for 10-15 minutes with the grill open and bottom vent open. What I am trying to figure out is ... what is next after you close the grill and put the vents halfway?

1. Do you put your deflector plate on and let temps rise to 25-50 degrees of your target temp before you mess with vents?
2. Or before you close the grill, do you go ahead and put on the deflector plate, grate AND the food?

I've been doing No. 1, but I feel No. 2 may be right because opening up the grill multiple times makes the fire harder to control. Thoughts? Thanks!


· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Chris8938
    Chris8938 Posts: 156
    I always get the fire started, then put all the internals as soon as possible.  That way the plate setter doesn't become a huge heat sink trying to get it up to temp later.  Once fire is going and internals are on, close up and wait to come to temp, closing down vents 50ish degrees before set point.  I would NOT put food on right away until you have established a good, clean fire with nice blue smoke.  Hope that helps!.
    XL BGE, Lg BGE, MiniMax BGE, Mini BGE

    Appleton, WI 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Jstroke
    Jstroke Posts: 2,605
    Fill egg to the brim, light fire with weedburner, add smoking wood and internals, keep cap off and vent wide open until withen 50 degrees and smoke clears. Adjust vents, add food. Watch temp periodically while working in the shop. 

    If if I need to cook early in the morning or need food portable for early departure, I will fire the lump the night before and let the smoke clear. Then shut it down. This way I have clean smoke out of the gate.
    Columbus, Ohio--A Gasser filled with Matchlight and an Ugly Drum.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
    I would add one step: "make sure temp is stable before adding food". If you add food before reaching a stable temp you can easily end up chasing temps all day. 
    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.
     
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SandyHookEgger
    SandyHookEgger Posts: 451
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    Now @northGAcock has the important step in the right place. A true professional.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,216
    edited January 2019
    Did you ever get youR temp control situation taken care of? Can you set and hold temp now? 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,216
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    Sadly that’s a pumpkin spiced latte. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fred19Flintstone
    Fred19Flintstone Posts: 8,174
    First I grab an adult beverage.  Then I pull the egg out of the garage.  Dump in lump and then light it with a weed burner.  Open the vents a little and get a beverage refill.  Wait for the temp to stabilize and the good smoke to arrive.  Cook something tasty.  It’s that simple.
    Flint, Michigan
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,897
    House rules; light the BGE- time for an adult supervisory beverage; food on-time for adult beverage.  Then as deemed by the cook/situation.
    Now to answer your question:
    Light the lump with dome and bottom vent full open (light in one spot for L&S-three spots for hot&fast).  If going L&S, once around a softball sized fire is burning (around 8-10 mins), load the internals, shut dome, install dfmt and bottom vent around 1-11/2" open.  Once temp gets within around 50 *F of target, further adjust bottom vent and dfmt.  Get things stable (clean smoke by now) and commence the cook.  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.  
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,173
    DoubleEgger said:
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    Sadly that’s a pumpkin spiced latte. 
    Says the one who does not open frosty beverages. 
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • GoldenQ
    GoldenQ Posts: 592
    I agree with Chris 8938
    I XL  and 1 Weber Kettle  And 1 Weber Q220       Outside Alvin, TX-- South of Houston
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Alpharetta_EggHead
    Alpharetta_EggHead Posts: 13
    DoubleEgger said:
    Did you ever get youR temp control situation taken care of? Can you set and hold temp now? 
    No I am still all over the place. Reading here, looks like I need to stabilize temps with internals before adding the food. 

    I am curious what "stabilize" temps means? Is that for a few minutes or 30 minutes or an hour? Thanks, Michael
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,897
    edited January 2019
    Stable - if L&S then no vent movement and temperature steady for around an hour (minimum); longer is better as I run w/o a controller.  If hot& fast it depends on the how long is expected for the cook...if around an hour or less, (think chix wings) I just get into the desired range and  after a few minutes, go.  If protracted then give it around 30 minutes but I don't worry much about it at high temps.  FWIW- 
    Edit:  I guess said another way-stable is when you can trust the BGE to perform in the temperature range you want for the cook w/o micromanagement. 
    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.  
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,173
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    I usually finish the same way I start too.  ;)
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • bubbajack
    bubbajack Posts: 1,174
    northGAcock said:
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    I usually finish the same way I start too.  ;)
    What about all that time it takes to cook? I sure hope you do not waste it on just cooking, it my take me a couple frosty's just to get the egg stabilized =) , a couple to cook and one to finish and then a sarsaparilla of some sort after. You are way to disciplined!
    I drink cheap beer so I can afford good bourbon.

    Salisbury, NC...... XL,Lx3,Mx2,S, MM, Mini BGE, FireDisc x2. Blackstone 22", Offset smoker, weber kettle 22"


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 19,216
    Alpharetta_EggHead said:
    DoubleEgger said:
    Did you ever get youR temp control situation taken care of? Can you set and hold temp now? 
    No I am still all over the place. Reading here, looks like I need to stabilize temps with internals before adding the food. 

    I am curious what "stabilize" temps means? Is that for a few minutes or 30 minutes or an hour? Thanks, Michael
    Stabilized can take 15-20 minutes, it can take longer depending on what temp you are trying to stabilize to. I usually let the low and slows stabilize longer. Maybe as much as 45 mins to 1 hour. 

    Definitely let your internal components heat up with the egg. I do let the fire get going pretty good before adding the platesetter (Eggcov.... whatever it’s called now). It’s a heat sink. It takes a while to get the XL going with the platesetter installed right after you light the egg. 

    The number one thing I can tell you is to mess around with controlling the egg temp when you don’t plan on cooking anything. Fill
    up your egg and practice with it without the stress of cooking food. I highly recommend this. Until you get to the point of being able to control the temperature, everything else doesn’t matter. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Foghorn
    Foghorn Posts: 10,228
    bubbajack said:
    northGAcock said:
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    I usually finish the same way I start too.  ;)
    What about all that time it takes to cook? I sure hope you do not waste it on just cooking, it my take me a couple frosty's just to get the egg stabilized =) , a couple to cook and one to finish and then a sarsaparilla of some sort after. You are way to disciplined!
    I suspect that is not a criticism that @northGAcock has to deal with very often.  I suspect he has just not been fully revealing.

    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

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,173
    Foghorn said:
    bubbajack said:
    northGAcock said:
    northGAcock said:
    I usually start by opening an ice cold frosty beverage. It all seems to go well from there.
    I usually finish the same way I start too.  ;)
    What about all that time it takes to cook? I sure hope you do not waste it on just cooking, it my take me a couple frosty's just to get the egg stabilized =) , a couple to cook and one to finish and then a sarsaparilla of some sort after. You are way to disciplined!
    I suspect that is not a criticism that @northGAcock has to deal with very often.  I suspect he has just not been fully revealing.
    Guys, guys, guys......I am sorry I left out the middle of my cooks. Though my consumption is not what it use to be......I generally have a few along the way too. Just setting the record straight here.  ;)
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories