Surprise 4th of July Chef - BGE First Time

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RanchoStarvo

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So I was told I'm the chef at the family BBQ on July 4th, which is fine, but where we are having it only has a BGE and a gas grill. In-law's brother is letting us use his house and pool on the 4th while he us out of town. I have zero experience with a kamado cooker, and frankly, never really cared too much for them, for reasons that probably wouldn't make sense to you all.

Anyways, I can build a fire and figure out just about any cooker out there, but never had experience with a kamado. Pretty sure I'm going to over do the charcoal and the temp is going over 600 degrees, forcing me to grill the ribs or something.

I have a great technique for ribs on a gas grill if it boils down to that, but I only pull that out if the situation is dire.

Any tips on a blind first time BGE run for spare or baby back ribs? Should I opt for the idiot proof pork butt instead? I feel like I'm about to go play a round of golf with clubs that don't fit me or shoot a rifle I didn't sight in myself.
 
You can do this! First, make sure you are using quality lump in the BGE - do not use briquets. You'll only want a small ratio of lit vs unlit lump to fire it up, unless of course your grilling, but doesn't sound like what your plan is. Ceramics not only heat up quickly, they retain heat better than any other cooker, and the downside is once it gets over temp, it takes forever to get it down, SO...start closing down your vents as you are about 25 degrees from your target temp.

I'm sure other Kamado owners will chime in...
 
Moose said:
You can do this! First, make sure you are using quality lump in the BGE - do not use briquets. You'll only want a small ratio of lit vs unlit lump to fire it up, unless of course your grilling, but doesn't sound like what your plan is. Ceramics not only heat up quickly, they retain heat better than any other cooker, and the downside is once it gets over temp, it takes forever to get it down, SO...start closing down your vents as you are about 25 degrees from your target temp.

I'm sure other Kamado owners will chime in...
Click to expand...

Thanks! Closing down vents 25 degrees before target temp is a great tip.
 
What is your normal smoker?

I find if I light the BGE with as many lit coals as the WSM would use I am cranking around 400 degrees. LoL

If he has a chimney you can always light it as usual, then if you get the BGE over temp, just remove some charcoal. Really the BGE is fairly easy to use, just make sure you have the plate setter the correct direction or you can dry out the rubs... o_O Don't ask me how I know this.
 
I learned on a BGE before my stick burner, and verticle smoker. Think of it as any other cooker. Vents open gets hotter, vents closed for cooler. The trick is what moose said. Catch the temp on the way up and start closing vents before you over shoot. That sucker takes forever to come back down if you go over!
 
If you are going to cook in the sub 300 range, assume that you need VERY little vent open. So, when it approaches target -25, AGRESSIVELY close the vents. Watch the temp and if it starts to drop, open a touch. If it keeps rising, clamp down more. Make slight adjustments to get hotter, and be patient. Be less patient and make larger adjustments to cool down, but then expect to wait to see results.
 
Starting my Kamado I use one of them weber starter cubes with a torch. In the middle of the lump. Open up bottom vent and top once lit close the lid and wait for it to come up to 50 degrees below temp then adjust bottom vent.
Load the meat and keep the lid close. You open the lid to much your temp will shoot way to high. That Kamado should stay within 5-10 degrees that whole cook.
I would ask the in-laws brother what setting he usually runs.
 
I've never used a komado but I've watched my buddy cool on his BGE several times. From what I can tell, how I'd approach it would be to get a very early start and start out with just a few lit coals and the vents open. Allow the fire to spread as the temp rises to make sure you don't overshoot the target temp. It will take longer to get where you want to be, but I think it would reduce your chances of over-shooting and struggling to get it to come back down.
 
If it's your first time using it I'd shut the vents down aggressively 50* from the target temp. As others have said you can make it hotter easier but cooling them down is not as easy.

If you do over shoot badly close the vents down wait 15 min open the cooker every 15 mins to let the heat build up out. This way you can get the temp back down. Another trick I used if overshooting is to put a pizza stone or heat sink inside to absorb some heat until it gets to the desired temp.
 
I love my Egg To cook the ribs once you get to temp the top and lower vents are barely opened. Go to the Naked Whiz site and click ceramic cookers That will give you a lot of info. Moose is right with using lump To build the fire you will want to use the large pieces in the bottom to help promote airflow
 
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