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egguitarist
egguitarist Posts: 93
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Had my first post the other night. Just got a LBGE and on the 2nd cook dove into a brisket. Got some great advice from Grandpa grub and a cool picture of a stratocaster :) .Two questions?

Is it typical for the egg temp when starting to go quickly from 200 up to 350? I had to close all the vents for a half hour to get it to drop to 200 then stabilized it at 225. I then put brisket on and evertyhing was gret for a couple of hours-so I left :ohmy: When I returned at 7hrs into the cook the dome temp was 140 but the fire was out. All the coal in the middle was burnt to ash along with two of the three wood chunks. The entire perimeter of the fire ring still had unburned coal.I finished it up in the oven. Came out great.2nd question is does anyone know why that burn pattern came about. I'm sure it's some sort of operator error. Thanks in advance-love the forum

Comments

  • Austin Smoker
    Austin Smoker Posts: 1,467
    Talk to us about how you lit it?

    It sounds like you lit in the the middle and it went vertical (down) on you. For a low and slo, I will light in at LEAST 3 spots - kind of in a triangle pattern with the points half way between the fire ring and the center. I did some ribs yeasterday and lit in 5 places (including the center) and had the most consistent temperature and smoke to date.

    As for temp control, until you get real confident, keep a close eye on the egg for at least an hour after any adjustment. Because of the ceramic, it can take awhile for the adjustments to find their full effect.
  • Fidel
    Fidel Posts: 10,172
    Believe it or not, sometimes a center burn "just happens". I would hypothesize that it occurs due to only a few airholes in the grate being open, the others clogged with small lump or ash - causing more concentrated airflow up through one section of the lump and not enabling the surrounding lump to ignite as easily.

    To avoid it, on long cooks I use a "long ranger" - though I used to use a long stick - to poke in and stir the lump about every 4-6 hours. This spreads the fire a little and gives a little boost of smoke. It also knocks the ash off the burning lump to better expose the glowing part to the surrounding lump. Yea, I know, it sounds like a load of BS, but it works for me.

    Sounds like a Naked Whiz test to me!!!
  • Rascal
    Rascal Posts: 3,923
    I've got a large Egg and after cleaning & filling with a fresh load of lump (larger pieces on the bottom) I light it in 3 places with a MAPP torch (@ 11, 3 & 7 O'clock) to get a good, even burn going. You'll also want to have a plate setter in there (legs up) along with a drip pan (insulated from the plate setter with some 1/2" copper pipe elbows and filled with about 1 inch of water (replenished as necessary during the cook). Throttle back the vents as you approach your desired temp (about 250F for a pork butt) and give the fire at least 30 minuters to stabilize & burn off the unwanted VOC's (undesirable stuff). At this point, the smoke coming out of the top should be very close to clear and with the temp stabilized, you're ready to cook! 8 - )
  • hmm, not to disagree with the other fellas, but when i do a lo and slo, first, i fill up to with in about an inch of the top of the fire ring with some nice wood chunks spaced around the load of lump. ..make sure all the holes in the fire grate and fire box of clean of any accumulated ash and the bottom of the egg is cleaned out good.. .. then i light in only one spot at the very back of the egg (12 o'clock). .. as the egg temps starts to creep up on 200 degrees i set the plate setter in the egg with one of the 'feet' set right over the spot that i lit (so that my meat doesn't end up sitting over the hot spot). .. now i close the bottom vent to about the width of credit card and close the daisy wheel down to about a 1/4 width on the small hole and keep an eye on them as the temps creep up to my desired temps of around 250 dome temp. .. .if you want to insure your fire won't go out and you plan on doing lots of overnight cooks, invest in a bbq guru, you won't be sorry. ...

    now. ..here is one of the most important lessons i've learned in 6 years of egging .. .. . ready ... .

    EVERY EGG IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHEN IT COMES TO LOW TEMPS!!!!

    some eggs love it at 250 dome temp . . . some like it at 225, some like it 275. .. ..etc. ...i have one egg that is just happy as hell at 250 dome, but my other one won't stay at 250 even with a guru attached to it, its just the way it is. .. so figure out what your egg likes and then adjust times to it accordings. ... 275 dome temp is still lo and slo . .
  • As you can see we all have our ways of lighting the egg. The one thing that I always checks are the wholes to make sure they are not plugged. Other then that I just dump new coals over the old and light in three places. I keep the lid up for about 5 to 10 minutes and then close and add the top. I begin adjusting the temp when it gets to about 600 to my desired cooking level. I usually fine that this works best for me.

    Regarding your question can the egg heat quickly. the answer is yes that is why it is not recommended to leave the egg for long when first stating the fire
  • egguitarist
    egguitarist Posts: 93
    Thanks for the help guys. I did start the fire in three places and used platesetter and drip pan with water and papaya juice. As the flame was going from the firestarter the dome read 200[lid closed}. It never dropped as the coals got going and went quickly to over 300. This was when I closed the vents. Is this normal to have to do to get 225-250 for a start?Also, if your fire is going out while in the middle of a slo cook what can be done? Yhe long ranger idea is a good one. Is the guru the same as that digiqii?
    Thanks a bunch
    Raul
  • jamiemeyer
    jamiemeyer Posts: 97
    I learned a painful lesson after one attempted long cook. Anytime you are about to start a long cook, it is time to clean the egg. I mean all pieces out on the ground, blow it out kinda clean. Get the ashes out of the bottom, make darn sure that the holes in the ring are clean.

    You only have to wake up once at 4:30 a.m. with the fire out to learn that one. Taking things apart at that hour to get the fire going again will demonstrate new words that wifey may not have heard from you before....
  • For a low and slow you light your Egg in one spot!

    FOLLOW the directions Max gave you and you'll have a successful cook. Light in 3 places and you may find you'll have a problem. My 2 cents worth.
  • egguitarist
    egguitarist Posts: 93
    From now on I'm a "one spot man". Hmm, that could be a song title :laugh:
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
    egguitarist,

    Sorry to hear about your cooi. I have had a vertical burn after lighting in several places. I had the dome at 225°, in my opinion is to low with out a Stoker or DigiQ2.

    225° dome will put the grid about 200° or maybe a little less. Without a powered vent system I set the egg dome at 250° and I don't get too worried if it is at 300°. I would prefer 250° ot 275°

    Now Max has been cooking much longer than I, however, I light in 3 or 4 places. My large seems to burn vertical if I light in one place. Besides I like playing with fire so lighting in a few places is just plain old fun for me.

    I have burned through over 300# of lump on my large now and I still have not removed down to the fire box - I just don't like doing that. I do make sure the lump that is in the egg is free of ash and if the remaining pieces are small I will remove them. Put in some larger pieces in the bottom. Then some medium, then the used lump I have and top off up to almost the top of the fire ring.

    For a wiggle stick I went to Lowes/Home Depot and picked up a 3/8" rod and made an L on both ends. The longer L is for the large and medium egg and a smaller L for the small.

    In general the only time I use a wiggle stick is when I can't get up to a high temp. Once in a great while will I stur the burning lump, unless it looks like I am going to get a vertical burn.

    I would not take the egg to 600° or even a higher temp then bring the temp down to your cook temp for a Low and Slow.

    Start closing your vents as you get to your desired temp. It is pretty easy to kill a fire when doing low and slows by sutting all vents in order to cool down the egg. The lump can be out and the dome time still be pretty high. That is the beauty of the ceramics in the egg.

    I very seldom use liquids in the drip pan unless I want to use those dripings for gravy or some other cooking reasons. Your egg does not need water/liquid to 'steam' or keep moist what ever you are cooking.

    You don't need a powered vent system when doing low and slow or even higher temp cooks. It sure makes thing easier though. Now with that said I have a DigiQ2 and a Stoker. Sure makes using the egg easier though.

    Good cooking,

    GG
  • egguitarist
    egguitarist Posts: 93
    Thanks for the info GG. Are the temps most people refer to dome temp?

    Raul