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Big Green Egg
- Thread starter langmotorsports
- Start date
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I think Big Green Egg Brand Lump is so expensive because you are paying for the name. That's my theory anyway.
I have two BGE's (lg and small) and I use what ever lump I can get my hands on in the winter around here. I prefer Royal Oak.
Feel free to PM me with any BGE questions, I would love to share what I have learned so far with mine ... here's one tip:
The thing I intially couldnt figure out was why my temp would drop unexpectedly after having the temp locked in for 4 or 5 hours ... why now? I would think ... What I found (by reading BGE site) was that the ash was probably building up around the lump at the bottom and restricting the air flow thru the cast iron holed plate that holds the lump. I cut a coat hanger to lenght and bent the tip up to make a replica of this guys tool made just for jiggling the lump to allow some of the ash to free itself around the hole. This is what I tried to make (its a life saver) http://thirdeyebbq.com/WiggleRods.aspx I wouldnt mind buying one of his, my coat hanger is always getting tossed by someone cleaning up!
And yes .... don't use lighter fluid, use an vegtable or olive oil soaked paper towel, or these http://www.northlineexpress.com/item...gle&kw=5RU-50C
Feel free to PM me with any BGE questions, I would love to share what I have learned so far with mine ... here's one tip:
The thing I intially couldnt figure out was why my temp would drop unexpectedly after having the temp locked in for 4 or 5 hours ... why now? I would think ... What I found (by reading BGE site) was that the ash was probably building up around the lump at the bottom and restricting the air flow thru the cast iron holed plate that holds the lump. I cut a coat hanger to lenght and bent the tip up to make a replica of this guys tool made just for jiggling the lump to allow some of the ash to free itself around the hole. This is what I tried to make (its a life saver) http://thirdeyebbq.com/WiggleRods.aspx I wouldnt mind buying one of his, my coat hanger is always getting tossed by someone cleaning up!
And yes .... don't use lighter fluid, use an vegtable or olive oil soaked paper towel, or these http://www.northlineexpress.com/item...gle&kw=5RU-50C
This is probably the main complaint I had against the BGE was the air intake holes in the bottom are pretty small and if you are smoking for several hours they like to clog up with ash and can mess with your heat. That is one main reason I love my UDS so much is the fire basket is so much bigger and I don't have the issue of ash building up and restricting my aire intake causing my temps to drop. The other problem I had with the egg is they are so darn heavy so if you want to move it around to get it out of the wind or take it with you for a weekend you need a few guys to help you out. But thats why they are so efficient because they are so well insulated with all that ceramic. How is the Egg treating you so far have you gotten to break it in yet?
I have found that if I stay away from certain brands of lump, the ash is not as bad. Certain brands seem to have larger pieces further down the bag too ... that doesnt contribute to as much little pieces blocking the holes either.
Dont get me wrong, I have a metal barrel still sitting on the side of my house, It was ready to be made into a drum. But I went with the Egg cause it fits in my outdoor kitchen plans alot better than the drum, and that I wanted to be able to grill and smoke from the same charcoal unit with ease. Now I cook with a Wok on it and do pizza, as well as smoke & grill. I still have my chargriller offset for bigger smokes and LOVE feeding real pieces of wood into that ... and I still use my MES for jerky. Heck, my barrel may turn into a smoker yet! (after I build the outdoor kitchen thuogh)
Dont get me wrong, I have a metal barrel still sitting on the side of my house, It was ready to be made into a drum. But I went with the Egg cause it fits in my outdoor kitchen plans alot better than the drum, and that I wanted to be able to grill and smoke from the same charcoal unit with ease. Now I cook with a Wok on it and do pizza, as well as smoke & grill. I still have my chargriller offset for bigger smokes and LOVE feeding real pieces of wood into that ... and I still use my MES for jerky. Heck, my barrel may turn into a smoker yet! (after I build the outdoor kitchen thuogh)
langmotorsports
Fire Starter
Fried steaks Friday night.....turned out great! Have a turkey on at 225 as we speak!! I have learned it is going to take some time to learn the tricks on getting temps set on this thing. One other thing i dont know if i am going to like is the lack of being able to add wood chips mid to late smoke but we will see how the turkey turns out. I am seriously considering getting a digiq 2 for the egg........appears to be a set it and forget it system with tons of good reviews.
Glad you are liking the egg. Yea some of those temp rigs for the smokers are awesome you can truly set it and forget it. Just a little spendy is the only downfall.
langmotorsports
Fire Starter
I agree on the cost of the temp rigs but appear to be well worth the money.........just had the turkey, incredibley juicy and flavorful but did not take the smoke like i was hoping for but as i said first time smoking with it so it was kind of a quick run through. Will wait to make judgement on it.........anyone have any suggestions or tricks on pouring more smoke through the egg? Im really not liking not being able to add chips to it without pulling the meat, grate etc etc......
Just saw this - Congrats on the Egg. I have had one for a couple of years and love it. We use Royal Oak or Humphreys.
I am sure you have checked out the Egg forum - make sure you do a couple of low and slows so you don't fry the gasket.
once you get that done- have at it. A couple of good additions - plate setter, pizza stone, wiggle rod, and maybe an adjustable rig from the ceramicgrill store -
http://www.ceramicgrillstore.com/ceramicgrillstore/
Friday night is pizza night here. I did a 3 pound rib roast last week. Brisket, ribs, bread - there is no limit on what you will want to cook on the Egg.
Check out Rick's Tropical Delight's website - just make sure you eat before you do or you may be gnawing off your own arm. http://www.rickstropicaldelight.com/
Let's see the qview.
As far as getting more smoke - throw in some chunks of wood - no rwason to use chips. We usually throw in 3-4 fist size whunks of wood if we are doing low and slow - just dispurse them throughout the charcoal.
I am sure you have checked out the Egg forum - make sure you do a couple of low and slows so you don't fry the gasket.
once you get that done- have at it. A couple of good additions - plate setter, pizza stone, wiggle rod, and maybe an adjustable rig from the ceramicgrill store -
http://www.ceramicgrillstore.com/ceramicgrillstore/
Friday night is pizza night here. I did a 3 pound rib roast last week. Brisket, ribs, bread - there is no limit on what you will want to cook on the Egg.
Check out Rick's Tropical Delight's website - just make sure you eat before you do or you may be gnawing off your own arm. http://www.rickstropicaldelight.com/
Let's see the qview.
As far as getting more smoke - throw in some chunks of wood - no rwason to use chips. We usually throw in 3-4 fist size whunks of wood if we are doing low and slow - just dispurse them throughout the charcoal.
I have 'layered' chips or chunks though out the charcoal bed as I load the lump. Pour some lump in, place chips or a chunk in, then another 'layer' of lump and then some more chips/chunk ... you get the picture, as the lump burns it will find new chips/chunks.
I'm in the process of making my BGE GRILL into one that hinges so that I can lift sections of the grid to add chunks or chips without having to take anything off
jd08
Fire Starter
- Feb 17, 2010
- 52
- 10
The only two accessories you need are a platesetter for smoking and indirect cooking and a propane/mapp torch. Why use a chimney and have a hot ember fall on your nice gasket or deck or foot when all you need to do is hold the propane torch in two or three places for 30 seconds and leave it alone for five minutes?
Also, your fire will last for hours unattended if you build your fire correctly. Place the larger pieces on the bottom then cover with smaller pieces and all will be fine. I've gone over 18 hours using that method without the need for a wiggle rod.
Here's where I got my information and it worked like a charm.
Also, your fire will last for hours unattended if you build your fire correctly. Place the larger pieces on the bottom then cover with smaller pieces and all will be fine. I've gone over 18 hours using that method without the need for a wiggle rod.
Here's where I got my information and it worked like a charm.
I don't have one and have never used one. I have heard great things about them except for the price.
Here is a link to a fan of them:
http://askabutcher.proboards.com/index.cgi
If you really have trouble with it, you could ship it to me for a few years of testing and I would report back to you.
Here is a link to a fan of them:
http://askabutcher.proboards.com/index.cgi
If you really have trouble with it, you could ship it to me for a few years of testing and I would report back to you.
Like any other egg, don't drop it. At least you got it for free. As for the lump, does the BGE company know something about lump charcoal that the cavemen didn't?
Because we knew all there was to know. Us & naked whiz. UGH!
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