Temperature Control Thoughts & Discoveries - Glad I Searched For Solutions

Like many, I read the forum often without signing in, always picking up useful information and enjoying many discussions.

An avid BBQ guy now at 70, can remember when my Dad let me grill steaks for the family at the age of 11, having given me explicit directions regarding settings, times, etc., which my Mother later told me he nervously watched in the distance, hoping I wouldn’t burn the meat. I didn’t.

I now have numerous grills, my large BGE being my favorite, which I’ve enjoyed for somewhere between 20 and 25 years. Now I’m down to cooking for just myself and occasionally my son and his wife, it’s still as fun now as it was many years ago.

The past year of so, I finally “graduated” to remote temperature monitoring (went from “sticking” with a digital thermometer, a Meater+ and on to a Flame Boss), which obviously made me more aware of both meat and internal dome temperatures. As an example, I struggled a good bit with maintaining an internal temperature of say 250^, for a butt, as it seemed no matter how hard I’d try, I’d end up with 325-350^ or more. This forum is Great! Read it and you can always glean some good, useful information. Temperature control is my case in point! I read in a few places that an old gasket could possibly be a cause of not being able to maintain a lower, more desired temperature. Then somewhere (as I recall), lighting the lump with too many starters might get the fire too hot right from the beginning. I FINALLY took that information to heart! I carefully replaced the upper and lower BGE gasket, let it sit closed for a day and then planned a cook. Meat prepped, I loaded my lump and used 2 small fire starters at the far end of the firebox, almost next to each other (not the usual 4 fire starters spaced across the lump). With the smoke “right,” I put the plate setter in place, drip pan, grill and rack for the Boston butt in place along with the temperature probes in place. After a few vent adjustments, I was able to keep my in-dome temperature between 240-250^. That’s something I haven’t done in Years! Gee, a simple gasket (and maybe the way I changed lighting my lump) made All The Difference!! I’m actually thinking of making a calendar reminder to replace my gasket every 2 years, if not every year. It’s cheap (cheaper than overcooking meat) and hey, it’ll give this Old Fart something useful to do in my spare time!!