When do You start long cook?

Begger · April 18

I can see a case for starting at 0600 with a chance to eat by 1800.......
But I can also see a case for starting late with an eye to removing cook by noon.

Is there any 'common' practice? I'm a bit of a night owl, so starting late has a certain appeal.

alaskanassasin · April 18

I like to light the night before and toss the protein in the morning.

hoosier_egger · April 18

Im a throw it on at 10:00pm and let the flameboss drive the cook while I sleep. Pull and hold the next day when it’s ready.

Foghorn · April 18

I've done both of the above. They both work. I find being done too early extremely likely if you put it on the night before - even when I wait until midnight and have the egg set at some temp below 250 for the night.

These days, I like to get to bed early as I rarely sleep past 6 AM. So I have taken to trimming and rubbing and lighting the egg the night before. Then I wake up at 0600 or so and just drop the meat on. By noon you have a pretty good idea if you need to increase the temp to drive it home.

GrateEggspectations · April 18

A few considerations…..

The timeline for a given cook relies on a number of variables, so it’s always a bit of a best guess. This is part of why the FTC (foil, towel, cooler) is so helpful. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s about wrapping a protein in foil, bundling it into a towel and then placing it in a cooler for a long rest (up to six hours, in my experience). Helps give you a larger serving window and also reportedly lets the meat become more tender as it rests.

On the safety front, I wouldn’t recommend an overnight cook (or any unsupervised cook) unless your cooking space is fire proof. There have been members here who have set fire to their dwellings. I Egg on a wooden deck, so wouldn’t consider an overnighter. The only time I have done one is when I placed a Mini Max in the middle of my wet lawn, away from any structures or combustibles, in anticipation of a lunch the next day.

Because of this, I’ve generally either stayed up all night or woken up incredibly early for any lunchtime meal featuring a low and slow cook. There’s nothing quite like rolling smoke when the rest of your ‘hood is asleep.

I would encourage you to think about it this way - you can’t really use a schedule to complete a long cook, as “the cow drives the cook” (famous quote of a very active member here). I’ve had good luck having a loose timeline in mind combined with FTC, increasing or reducing your temps along the way to achieve your target timeline.

More art than science.

Corv · April 18

Another overnight hazard is a sudden windstorm. I left my cooling Medium out one night and the next morning saw that it had blown over and was destroyed.

If it had been started and was going, it probably would have caused at least a significant fire in my neighborhood if not a devastating one.

lkapigian · April 18

I’m fully in the day cooking camp , if it’s for tomorrow I start today either early or late morning off the cooker by late afternoon or night, into warming oven

Begger · April 18

First? THANKS all.
Very low possibility of wind storm without notice........
My egg is on a concrete slab. Roof of all houses around here are cement tile. Backside of all homes around here are stucco........

I DID FTC on my first cook with my egg a long time ago. Made a good pork shoulder and the wife took it off very early and prepared for lunch.....hours later.
THAT was my last experiment with longer cooks and overnite.....

I'm going to get a controller of some sort. I'm partial to the FB500 but they are Unavailable. And since the FB400 and the Egg Genius are related and used the same computer part as the FB500, that's the obvious way to go. Ace Hardware is a 10" drive from here and they have the Genius.......

I wish I was more active during early hours. Start at 0400 and react with temp changes as the cook proceedes.
And still have a reasonable dinner time....

alaskanassasin · April 18

I’m a big fan of the (no fan) smobot @Begger but I have no experience with the FB

lousubcap · April 19

@Begger - nothing to add to the above but since you have experience with a protracted cook and no controller then you know your comfort zone and work from there. Save the controller $$ and enjoy the sinkhole of fine cut proteins.
Easy for me to spend your $$.

As long as you are enjoying the cook and the outcome it doesn't matter how you got there.

YukonRon · April 19

For me, it all depends on when My Beautiful Wife has planned her dinner party. It will typically involve either early morning cooks or overnighters.

I use Google, a bellows system, a tooth pick, and a prayer rug.

Start with what you are going to cook; protein type and weight. Next, when you wish to serve, then what options will you have to get it there; butcher paper wrap, or butcher paper wrap towel cooler, etc.

My XL is away from my house, on a concrete pad, so no worries about it not surviving a storm creating catastrophic loss for us, or our wonderful neighbors. (At least so far, over the last 12 years and counting).

I use a bellows system from Thermoworks, does an excellent job with temperature control and alerting with any issues, it does its part, I basically set it up for desired cook temp and add a low range as well, to alert me when to start the tooth pick check. It is done when the toothpick signifies success.

I remain mystified and blissfully joyful that all I do is put the protein on then take it off when alerted to do so, and the magic has happened via toothpick test.

I always let the protein rest after long cooks. Again, depending on the protein cooked, up to 6 hours rest is typical.

I really have zero idea on the cook time when going low and slow, just the recommended and generalized cook times Google gives me. I ask how much time will protein X take to cook at Y temperature it gives me an estimate.

Work backwards from there. Seems to work out so far.

It also gives me an excuse to avoid going shopping with My Beautiful Wife, should she ask me to do so during such a (non)critical time.

It is easy for me to feign ignorance, (because of if you know me no descriptive explanation required) about what I am doing. I tell My Beautiful Wife I have no idea what is going on and the cook needs to be watched closely during whatever time period My Beautiful Wife plans for me to go with her.

Which actually means I sit around in sweat pants, T-shirt and flip flops, having some adult beverages, get hammered and watch sports.

Works every time.

Best of luck! May the Big Green Egg Gods be watching over you.

Begger · April 19

Yes, of course.....A protein 'rest' is vital.

I find it Incredibly Easy to spend OPM......Other Peoples Money.

My quick glance at the Google page showing BGE sale prices? An overachiever could easily clip

3000$

My oven in the kitchen? I doubt will go under maybe 150f. Not suitable for 'rest'.

But I may build a proofing box for bread. A cooler, hot pad and temp controller for THAT. I want to

phase out the bread machine and start doing bread in the oven.

As an aside? NONE of the bakery stores around here will slice my loaf for me. That's the beef.

Slicing fresh baked is a PIA.

StillH2OEgger · April 20

My preference is cooking overnight and then resting as needed. Having said that, I would not consider going overnight without a remote thermometer at the very least, and probably not without a controller -- I have a smobot and it provides peace of mind.

bluebird66 · April 20

Usually very early in the morning.

When do You start long cook?

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