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bad charcoal?

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MA egger
MA egger Posts: 51
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Still learning the ways of the egg. I did some burgers and chicken drumsticks tonight and lit the lump using a BGE lighter cube and let it heat up to 400 and left it to burn off for 30 mins. It was dark and I was working by flashlight, but it seemed that there was still white smoke and a bit of an acrid smell. The kids were starving, so I went ahead and cooked anyway, and the burgers had a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Are there bad batches of lump out there? I did find what looked like a piece of a branch, complete with bark (albeit black all the way through) which I chucked out. I've left it going to burn it all off, but even now, 90+ minutes later, there's still a bit of a smell to the smoke.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

JPY
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Comments

  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
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    What brand of lump? Just my opinion, a lot of people close the egg after lighting the cube. You want the cube to be gone (or close to it) before closing the dome for your burn time.

    Mike
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  • MA egger
    MA egger Posts: 51
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    I wasn't sure about naming names here, but since you ask, it's Wicked Good Charcoal's Weekend Warrior mix. I did close the egg shortly after lighting the cube, I'll try leaving it open next time, although I worry I'll have problems keeping the temp down then.

    JPY
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  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
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    I use a napkin with EVOO on it to lite. Try that. I have never been a big fan of the cubes. Let me know how it works.
    You can't be looking at more that 10 minutes before shutting vents down.

    Mike
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  • FlaPoolman
    FlaPoolman Posts: 11,677
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    Also the grease from the burgers will produce white smoke long after they are pulled.
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  • MA egger
    MA egger Posts: 51
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    Mike, just to be sure I understand your acronyms, you use a napkin soaked in extra virgin olive oil? Sounds pretty cool, I think I might have to try that.

    Just checked on the egg and it's still got a powerful funky smell to it, so I'm going to shut it down and then clean it out at the weekend.

    JPY
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    Oh yeah...You can run into a bad bag of lump here and there, though fortunately it's the expeption to the rule. This lump had burned to 400* stabilized for an hour. When I opened it up to sear our dinner....this is what happened!

    DSC02076.jpg

    This was Royal Oak BTW :whistle:
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  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
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    Yes, that sounds so weird it still smells bad. Stike gave me the idea, not mine. I don't need him drawing a pumpkin of me. LOL

    Mike
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  • Car Wash Mike
    Car Wash Mike Posts: 11,244
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    Can you make that happen on command? That would be a cool shot over looking the ocean.

    Mike
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    LOL!! Still have some of that same lump left!!! Perhaps we bring the balance to the Sunshine Fest! :woohoo: Would be a cool effect at the afterparty.... :whistle:
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  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
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    MA...Just remove the DFMT and open the lower vent all the way....let that nasty stuff just burn off!
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  • Lovenbrau
    Lovenbrau Posts: 307
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    I have been using Cowboy because where I live that is the only game in town. Lots of Hardwood floor scraps. Got a bag of BGE out of town and just found a large piece of metal? WTF.
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    you located in MA? Maybe I can help. I use WG WW all the time and I haven't experienced anything like what you are describing. gimme a shout
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  • Hungry in Lilburn
    Hungry in Lilburn Posts: 756
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    If you do a search you will see where I had posted regarding bad luck with Wicked Good Weekend Warrior. I contacted the company and they responded back. They said they thought about it and had some possibilities for me to consider:
    1-When I tore the bag open I must have gotten a piece of the plastic inner lining into the fire pit. It melted on the burn and gave off a petrolleum after taste
    2-The dealer may have sat the bags of lump near petrolleum based products and it picked up the smell and taste from there
    3-I did not let it burn long enough before using it.

    I ended up using the rest of the bag as mix for my BFE lump. I would start my fire with BGE and then put some WGWW on top of it. Did that until all of the bag was gone. My wife refused to eat anything cooked with it so I did not buy anymore. I was looking at doing a bulk purchase at $15 a bag but after that experience I decided it was not worth the risk. My dealer says he will not order anymore either.
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  • Eggmoramus
    Eggmoramus Posts: 84
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    I've been using WGCWW for a year with very good results.
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  • Jupiter Jim
    Jupiter Jim Posts: 3,351
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    I had the same problem with 6 bags I got from an ACE Hardware in the Atlanta area. Every cook had that acrid taste and I think it was where they stored the bags in the back of the store as there were none on the floor.
    I use Royal Oak that I get from Wally World.
    I can't believe that all of the W Good is bad because to many Eggers use it and love it.
    Jupiter Jim

    I'm only hungry when I'm awake!

    Okeechobee FL. Winter

    West Jefferson NC Summer

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