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

Maintaining low and slow temps

Options
Unknown
Unknown
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
First timer with spare ribs on my new xl. Started with a slow, gradual start up to 225 and maintained for 3/4 hr. Put ribs on direct on invertted V rack and temp was steady for about 40min with top closed and damper open just a hair. Temp started rising to 275-280 and I closed the damper completely. It has now been on 310 for the past hr and I am at a loss. Does the XL have a different temp maintainance strategy Perhaps too much lump? Any thoughts would be appreciated
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
    Options
    Badger Smoke,
    The amount of lump should not matter. Any chance one of the ribs was touching the thermometer?
    At a loss right now as to why.[p]Mike
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chuckls
    chuckls Posts: 399
    Options
    Badger Smoke,
    There has to be O2 to keep the fire going - if the damper's closed, & the top's shut way down, the only way for air to get in is if you open the lid & 'peek' - thus my 2'nd rule for lo&slo - NO PEEKING![p]Chuck
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Options
    Badger Smoke,
    Newby here too--i've got my 2nd pork butt on right now, 1st was outside temp + 40 degrees or so. Much more "throteling / restricting" of vents required at + 80 degrees.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    Options
    Never peeked, until now as I pulled them off after 2 hrs half-chared. Could the felt seal be contibuting to an O2 rush? I was told by the BGE people that this was for cushioning the top when closing and not for an air-tight seal. There was very little smoke coming out, but it was there. Seal has never been damaged and never had issues with higher temps

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chuckls
    chuckls Posts: 399
    Options
    Badger Smoke,[p]I guess it could be the felt seal - usually they fit pretty good but the air gotta be coming in from somewhere.
    Otherwise, as you know getting the egg to cool down once it gets hot takes a while. I don't have any experience at all with the XL...[p]Chuck

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • egret
    egret Posts: 4,170
    Options
    Badger Smoke,
    Do you have the spring-assist mechanism installed? If so, you're probably getting significant air flow between gaskets in the hinge area. Solution : remove those two springs!
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • City Slicker
    City Slicker Posts: 95
    Options
    Badger Smoke,
    I have had my XL do the same, usually when I put a bunch of new lump in. I think that even with the vents all shut down to minimum, the fire still spreads slowly. Once the ceramics are fully warmed up on the egg, it does not take a lot of additional combustion to increase the dome temp. When I keep the lump level down to just above the breather holes, especially after its been burned, I don't seem to get that effect. I am a newb owner also, only about 40 cooks so far so I could just be blowing hot air :) Oh, almost forgot. I do have an air leak around the back edge. The old spring assist at work. That could be letting in enough fresh air to keep the fire spreading.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories