Inaugural BGE Cook!!! (and initial musings from a n00b)

[caliking]

I couldn't wait any longer... had to slap together a cart of some sort and asemble my LBGE. Nothing fancy - a handsaw, a drill, a square, and 5 hours later I had a cart. Why didn't I just buy a nest? Because that would be too easy, too sensible, and the more logical thing to do.

Here's how it all looked in my car. On sale at Bering's in Houston.


Seated in its new cart. I want to build a table for it eventually, but that will take some time and research. The cart isn'tmuch to look at, but ir gets the job done and is pretty easy to move around.



First lighting for its maiden voyage!


I had some lights installed so I don't have to cook in the dark anymore.


Maiden cook was some beef short ribs dusted with Plowboys Bovine bold. Foiled at 160ish and pulled at 206°F.



This is the first time I cooked short ribs, because i am tired of buying meatless racks of beef ribs, even though they do come out great on the drum. The ribs were a tad dry, and not all of them were rendered until tender, so they were just a bit tough. I liked them though.

Results may have been less than par, because of the temps bouncing around. Lit it up with the top and bottom open, tuened around and within 5 mins the temps were about 400°F. Yikes! Adjusted both top and bottom and got back down to 260ish, then let it drift up to about 315°F because dinner was getting late and we were hungry. It was a fun cook nonetheless. It's going to take a little time to figure out how to cook on the BGE.

I have to get a few lower temp cooks in first to set the gasket and then I'll try pizzas, tandoori chicken, naans, and such. I miss the familiarity of my drums and kettles, since i had those all dialed in and knew how they behaved, but its good to step out of your comfort zone now and then to learn something new.



My BGE has a bit of an underbite. Does not affect temps or seal, but I was considering trying these adjustments at some point:

Kamado - Kamado Lid adjustment.. Big Green Egg - Primo - With several.. - YouTube

Kamado - Kamado Lid adjustment.. Big Green Egg - Primo - With several.. - YouTube

[Bonewagon]

Sort ribs look pretty good to me. Congrats on your new toy.

[LMAJ]

Congrats on the first cook!

[rlt]

Thats a great first cook. Congrats on the purchase.

[Phubar]

Very nice Sir!

[shirknwrk]

2nd and 3rd pictures had me thinking "Nudge, roll.... SPLASH!"

Looks like you're on your way to good eats, more friends and weight gain.
(Happened to me... except for the friends part)

[el_matt]

Nice Egg. I'm really liking that cart too.

Matt

[Bluebird]

That cart looks great!

[Big George's BBQ]

Very nice you will love your Egg. Do yourself a favor and cover the plate setter with foil and /or a pan to catch the drippings. Go to the Naked Wiz site They have designs for a table

[caliking]

Originally Posted by shirknwrk

2nd and 3rd pictures had me thinking "Nudge, roll.... SPLASH!"

Looks like you're on your way to good eats, more friends and weight gain.
(Happened to me... except for the friends part)

Trust me, I already thought of how I would fish it out of the brink if that happened!

[caliking]

Originally Posted by Big George's BBQ

Very nice you will love your Egg. Do yourself a favor and cover the plate setter with foil and /or a pan to catch the drippings. Go to the Naked Wiz site They have designs for a table

Thanks for the tip. I was wondering whether I needed to foil the platesetter.

[JMSetzler]

Looks Fantastic! Yer gonna love the kamado!

[Chargrilld]

where did you get the cart?
did u make it?
have u got plans? :)

[caliking]

Originally Posted by Chargrilld

where did you get the cart?
did u make it?
have u got plans? :)

I made the cart, but no I didn't really have any plans drawn up. Dashed to Home Depot and Harbor Freight before they closed on Friday night and figured out the design once I got home.

It's put together with 2x4's, 2.5" exterior screws, 5/8" threaded rod for the axles, and 10" pneumatic wheels. The important dimensions are- 21" for the diameter of the LBGE, and 15" from the bottom of the cooker to the top of the top shelf/surface. You have to place the cooker on some sort of stone tile to protect the wood of the cart underneath. In my case, there was a 2" tile underneath, plus the lower shelf (the 2x4's were 1.5" thick) so I attached the lower support for the shelf at 19" from the top of the top shelf. Did that make sense? I don't think I explained it very well. Made 2 24" squares then joined them with 4 vertical pieces and then put screws in wherever I could. The squares were made out of 2 24" pieces and 2 21" pieces. There is no glue or bracing really, so the screws are it.

It is not stained, and will probably not last very long, but it got me cooking this weekend, so it works for me. I want to build a nice table for it but it will take some time.

[drbbq]

You need to start with much more charcoal. That will help sustain your temps. Just snuff it out when you're done and whatever wasn't used will still be there for next time. You control temp by how much air you give the fire, not by how much fuel you load in.