New Guy with an Egg, and question, of course

Spenser · December 2009

First, recent convert from the Bradley to the BGE. Having a great time with it making bread, and just started some meat products, and here is the problem. I have calibrated my Temperature Gauge on the outside of the Egg as directed, and have cooked three roasts in it since then, all at reported EGG temp of 325 to go low and slow. First roast did not fall apart, even after cooking for over 2 hours at 325 for a 2 pound roast. Second roast was a TV roast, smoke ring, melt in your mouth beef goodness, again, same time, same temp, and the third roast on Sunday, a little less than 2 pounds, smoked longer, 2 1/2 hours, no smoke, no melt in your mouth goodness, tough and stringey. So, I know that my watch works, and time was long, but results are not repeatable leading me to question the temperature gauge. So, do I need to calibrate it every time I use the BGE? Do I replace it with something more accurate? Do I smoke/cook longer than I think is needed just to get that flavor back? Any help for the new guy is truly appreciated!

BENTE · December 2009

no all you have to do is cook to meat temprature.. meaning you need a meat thermometer.. not sure what kind of internal temp you are getting but diffrent cuts take heat in diffrently. but the one thing that does not change is what temprature the meat is internally..

welcome to the forum

Rusty Rooster · December 2009

First, welcome. You are trying to cook by time and your meat is proving to you, that does not always work. You need to learn to cook till the internal temp. of your meat is your target temp. Really, it is not done till it is done and two pieces in your egg together will not always cook the same time to be done.
Secondly, smoke ring is a chemical reaction, not a product of smoke persay. Cooking at a dome temp of 325, is approx. 300 at your grid. If you are really trying to smoke low & slow and not roast the meat go ahead and drop your dome temp to 275 or even 250. Of course this will extend your cook time considerabally.
Experament, you will learn and keep on asking here.

Rusty Rooster · December 2009

OK, Terry so you can say the same thing in a lot fewer words. haha

fishlessman · December 2009

when you say roast, we need to know what specific cut you have. and do you mean falling apart, thats a lower temp over night cook and you may want a bigger piece of chuck roast to start with. heres a link to a cook that took about 14 hours to get it to fall apart
http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=103156&catid=1

Shiff · December 2009

You didn't say what cuts of meat you were roasting. Some cuts are naturally tough and others are tender. Some need high heat for a shorter time and others need low and slow (225-250 at the grid) for longer times.

As others have said, you need to cook by temperature. I use a maverick remote ET-73 thermometer which has 2 probes - one for the meat and a second for the egg temp. I use this on all low and slow cooks. I also have a Thermapen to check meat temperature when I'm doing high temp cooking.

Carolina Q · December 2009

Rusty Rooster wrote:

...two pieces in your egg together will not always cook the same time to be done.

Even two parts of the same piece of meat will not always be done at the same time. The last butt I cooked, I wound up pulling half of it while it was still on the grid! The other half was at about 185. I ate dinner while the other half was still cooking!

Celtic Wolf · December 2009

You did not say what type of Beef Roast you were cooking, or what the internal temp of the meat was. We do not cook to time. Cook to temp, because time will bit you in your butt every time.

The smoke ring is a product of how cold the meat is when you put it on. The ring itself stops at 140 degrees or so. Unless you are cooking chuck roasts or briskets most people pull beef long before it reaches 140.

Having said that sometimes you just get meat that sucks..

BENTE · December 2009

now that is truely a funny picture :laugh:

Carolina Q · December 2009

I was not amused.

Tasted good though. Both halves.

Misippi Egger · December 2009

Ha!

Looks like a "creature" slipped up and took a huge bite out of it on the grill! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

fishlessman · December 2009

temps of 300 on up are roasting temps and they are for cuts like sirloin, ribeye, tenderloin, this chart will work better but you need a good thermometer
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/doneness_chart.htm

Carolina Q · December 2009

Correct. That would be, umm, me.

Spenser · December 2009

Thank you one and all for the prompt responses! It is obvious that i need to change from thinking in time to temperature. I have considered the cuts of meat, one was a round roast, while the most recent was a chuck, which I expected should fall apart given the time smoked/cooked/grilled.

Shiff · December 2009

I have found most round roasts to be a little on the tough side and are best cooked in a dutch oven with liquid. I've had good luck making pulled beef using chuck roasts by following Clays BBQ beef recipe in the cookbook section. It is a combination of roasting then dutch oven cooking.

Little Steven · December 2009

Spenser,

Welcome,

I didn't see any reference to the grade of beef in any of the other posts. That is a huge factor.

Steve

fishlessman · December 2009

the round roast makes a good pit beef, cook at 375/400 and use the chart i posted shooting for medium rare, its usally a tough cut andd slicing as thin as possible helps big time, it also makes a great potroast as has been mentioned. the chuck is hit or miss at roasting temps, mostly miss, either cook similar to the pulled beef i posted, use clayq's recipe, or make potroast with it.

gdenby · December 2009

Often, bigger cuts will end up being more tender than small. I learned this with pork shoulder. Started with thick "country-style ribs." Then moved to bigger chunks of butt, 2 - 3 pounds. Didn't get a good result till I did a 6 pounder. The big mass will cook more slowly, giving the connective tissue time to disintegrate, without drying out. With chucks, I try to start with at least 4 pounds, and expect maybe seven hours, altho at a lower temperature.

Misippi Egger · December 2009

Don't you have homework to do?

You need to work on your 3rd grade spelling lesson before you criticize someone else's spelling. How about learning the different uses of to, too, and two? (Check your msg above).

Little Steven · December 2009

Ya know. I would like to send you some Bomba free of charge. Just e-mail me your address.

Steve

troutman · December 2009

If I start posting anonymously as a childish little wimp, can I get some free Bomba?
Not sure I can reach as low as this goat t**d, but I'll do my best if there's Bomba in it for me.

Little Steven · December 2009

Troutman,

Pretty funny. :laugh:

Steve

Jeffersonian · December 2009

Yeah, no kidding...we can call it "trolling for treats!" :woohoo:

New Guy with an Egg, and question, of course

Comments

Categories