BGE Advice

I wouldn't overshoot and try to bring it back down. Once 130 lbs. of ceramic gets hot, it stays hot. Air temp. inside the cooker may drop, then shoot up briefly after you open it but will return to previous temp. Use a remote thermometer at grid level if you have one. When using a plate setter, the dome temp will be 10-15° hotter than grid temp. This difference will minimize as the cook progresses.

Subzerogriller said:

Oh, one more question: does wind affect a BGE the way it can a WSM? It's supposed to be very windy on Saturday...

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Wind will only affect the temperature if it is blowing into the lower vent. It will supercharge the cooker. You can turn the cooker or simply close the lower vent more to compensate.

Subzerogriller said:

Thanks for the help, guys. I was planning on a drip pan filled with water to double as the heat diffuser. Is this a good idea or bad?

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Be careful about cooking on that Egg, it may just get you to wanting one! :biggrin1:

I don't put any water in the drip pan, and in fact stopped using a drip pan. Now I just get some heavy duty foil and fold it in half then turn all the sides up to keep any drips in, and place that on my plate setter. Depending on how long your ribs are, they may hang over the plate setter some, and if you make this "boat" the right length, part of it can overhang the plate setter the same place your ribs overhang and give them some protection from direct heat.

i'm sure there are nearly as many ways as there are people....

regarding overshooting your temp at first...... i only light my egg in the middle of the lump and i leave it open for about 15-20 minutes or until the center of the lump begins to turn white. with the bottom vent still all the way open and the top opened about half way, i close it and see what temp it comes up to in a couple or so minutes. if doesn't move much, i open it back up for, say 10 more minutes and then try again.

i can't foresee a way you will have any problems using this.

Yeah a dip pan on the placesetter will make clean up a breeze. No need for water. Should be a fun cook.

I have quite a few cooks under my belt with ceramic kamados now. Some of the things you need to be aware of here have been mentioned. I personally don't see a need for a water pan in a kamado. These things heat evenly by nature but to each his own on that topic.

As for over shooting your temperature, its NOT a big deal on a ceramic kamado UNLESS you let it get high and don't do something about it within a reasonable amount of time. The ceramics dont heat up as fast as the cooking chamber for obvious reasons. Until the ceramics start to get hotter than you want its relatively easy to bring the cooking chamber temp back down by simply closing a vent. I have done several experiments to improve my process and one of them has been just the opposite of what is being said here.

For instance, if I want to cook at 300 degrees, I'll start the fire in my fire box and let the dome temp come up to 350 or 375. At that point, I'll open the lid, put in my heat deflector (or plate setter in your case), grill, and the meat I want to cook. When I close the lid, the introduction of the cold platesetter, grill, and food will cause the temp to stabilize back down around 250/275ish and then I can just spend a few minutes watching the temps and tweaking the vents.

Since the ceramics do take a while to stabilize as they absorb heat, you will need to watch it for 45 minutes to an hour after you put your food on. Once the ceramics do stabilize, you will find that it will be rock solid at that temp for a long time unless its windy.

I have a large BGE which is my go to for ribs. I use lump. Put large pieces in the bottom and gradually put smaller pieces as you move your way up. I scatter several pieces of small smoking wood throughout the layers.
Make sure the bottom vent is wide open and the adjustable vent on the lid is removed.
I make 2 holes equidistant from the center of the coal basket and put a BGE lighting thingy in each hole. They probably won't give you those so bring a MAPP torch or something like that to light them or the spot around the holes. Wait about 10 minutes until you have several nice flamey spots.
Close the lid of the BGE for 5 minutes or so. Put the adjustable vent on top with the vents in the open position. Close the bottom about half way. As the temp approaches 250, start closing off the bottom vent. The top vent will be within about a half an inch from closed to hold 250.

I cook ribs (spares, not babybacks) for 4 hours at 275 without foil, spritzing frequently after the rub has become firm. Or I cook at 275 until the rub has set and it looks pretty. Then I put in foil, bone down, with a little Peach Nectar (about 5 oz). Wrap the foil till airtight. Cook till toothpick tender. During the last 20 minutes I warm up whatever sauce I am going to use. I then sauce the ribs and let it glace until it is a Mahogany but not dark color. Pull them and let them rest for 15-20 minutes. Time to eat!

Congratulations on your 6th place! Hope to see a big first place next year for you!

Congrats on you're first egg cook!
I've cooked quite a bit with and without a drip pan, and I've always had better results on ribs and butts, using a drip pan. I partially fill it with a mixture of apple juice/cider vinegar and water. I foil the rack where the plate setter doesn't cover to keep from burning the ends and sprits the meat hourly with the same mixture that's in the pan. I've never experiences an noticeable temp increase on a windy day.