Blue smoke ruined my ribs.

Hamilton · February 2009

Did the first low 'n slow on the new XL and everything was going great till the final hour. I pulled the ribs off and removed the platesetter in order to go direct for a short time to char to the rib tips - just like I always do.

Then all of the sudden the blue smoke started coming out of the Egg - big time, and it stunk. Looking back I should have pulled the ribs and let that stuff burn off.

Anyway, I can not figure out why that happened and what caused it, this has never happened with any of my other Eggs.

At the start I let the Egg settle in for an hour before throwing on the ribs and was using brand new lump.

Help! :(

Cincykid · February 2009

I have an XL as well. How did you start the lump? I normally use 2 paper towels with oil so I can get a good portion of it lit and wait out the bad smoke. If you started with a single fire starter or two you may have had fresh lump starting all throughout the cook (or at the end of the cook) throwing off the bad smoke. My thought is that opening up the egg at the end brought in a ton of fresh air and the unlit lump ignited as you went direct.

Semolina Pilchard · February 2009

The only time I get nasty smoke like that is if it has been a while since I have done a cleaning burn and I get the egg over 500 degrees. At low and slow temps that should not be the problem. The fact that this happened after pulling the plate setter leads me to belive it was fat dripping on the fire. Were the ribs extra fatty?

Hamilton · February 2009

Hey Don,

I start the fire with a propane weed burner. I don't spend a lot of time getting everything glowing for a low 'n slow but maybe that's where I made my mistake.

I thought by doing an hour pre-heat, any chance of blue smoke would be gone. But the XL holds so much charcoal some of it might have been hidden. Maybe I'll hit the charcoal longer with the weed burner next time.

I appreciate the help,
Hamilton

Hamilton · February 2009

Hi Semolina,

The ribs were baby backs that had most of the fat trimmed off, and I was using a drip pan.

However, the smoke smelled more like old damp charcoal than fat drippings and it sure made the ribs bitter tasting.

Thanks for the reply,
Hamilton

Cincykid · February 2009

What kind of lump were you using and how do you store it? An hour burn off should be fine to stabilize the temp and get rid of bad smoke (especially for a low and slow). I have put butts and ribs on mine without issue in a shorter period than that. With my flip ring and an extra grate I can fit 7 slabs bone side down for the entire cook without dripping barely any fat into the fire (wrap you platesetter with foil). Having never used a propane burner to start the fire, I have no idea how it would react in this case or how much lump would be left unlit when you get to the target temp.

Hamilton · February 2009

I use Best of the West in 40 lb bag, been using it for years with no problems. It is stored inside my tool shed.

I think you are probably right thinking that all the fresh air hit some cold charcoal and that started the blue smoke. I've had 4 Eggs and this is the first time this has ever happened.

Do you fill the entire firebox with charcoal, or is it possible to just make a smaller pile in the center since the grate is so wide?

Thanks.

Blue smoke ruined my ribs.

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