Professional chef here. Your videos have been the best produced and most informative videos that I've found since I purchased my kamado a year ago. Thank you for that.
Your videos are on the $! Absolutely a fan of your channel!! I am kinda new to the BGE world. I cleaned out my BGE today before I started another cook and could not believe how much easier it started now that it has air flow and how I was able to control the temp so much easier. Also picked up the MEATER to see the temp of the meat and wow! Love it…Ordered 😊some FOGO today along with some chucks of hickory. Can’t wait to see it arrive. I am pumped!!
I just read a comment on wind. I have smoked both times with wind conditions. At least 10 mph. I think it affects the temp control for sure. This might be a reason I am having a hard time controlling the temp. Yesterday I had both vents just about shut and still found it hard to maintain 250 for smoked Turkey.
I like to think of the vents as if I’m driving a vehicle. Bottom is like a gas pedal and used for major adjustments to air flow, top is like a brake pedal and used for minor adjustments to air flow. Always fun videos, Ron!!
Always thought the screen was a flow limiter for temperature control. It truly is a safety as i have the burn marks on my composite deck to prove it when I accidentally left it open during a charcoal burnout.
I adjust temp with the lower vent and have the top cap vent wide open. I’ve found that if I leave the bottom open and reduce the top vent, it creates that creature flavor on food. No bueno!
I struggled to get mine to drop yesterday from 350 to 225. I also watched the dirty smoke video and watched it go from white to blue like you said. I put chunks under lumps. I over cooked ribs but im learning this awesome egg. Thank you
On my second egg, left my first one behind mover said to expensive to crate and move. Really like your videos learning a lot! Especially on temp control!
I must've lucked out because right as I'm starting to use my dad's neglected BGE this series begins. So thankful for the videos. Going to pick up some fogo for my next bag of lump.
I have had a BGE XL for 7 years, LOVE IT! If anyone has experience with the BGE Genius I would like HONEST feedback please. I smoke Butt, Briskett, Ribs 95% of the time . I have had many sleepless nights worried about keeping temp at 225-235 degrees. Please ANY help would be appreciated.
Love your content thank for instructions well noted.. and also I seen Carrols Sausage in Ga there multiple locations in that area I’m a truck driver and went to Medley down there and my way back up seen it… I also grew up in Knoxville Tn…. An hour or so North of Chattanooga went that festival was I will be trying to attend one soon… again thank you for the awesome content😁😁
Hey Karie, you are very welcome and I'm glad that you are getting some value out of them! Yes, any of Carrolls Sausages are great and their snack sticks are what dreams are made of!
Do you prefer using the top fully open and adjusting the bottom for all cooks ? Or do you sometimes reverse it and have bottom fully open and adjust top ? I have only just started to look to do these techniques from watching you channel as was always playing about with both vents simultaneously- was very difficult for a beginner 😂
Been grilling all my life but new to smoking. I've done a few briskets, and roasts and have ONE QUESTION. Is the smoke too bitter when you light it partially in the middle and start your smoking? I was always taught to burn the coals until the thick white smoke goes away. But if you do that on a smoking project, the coals will get too hot and burn out too fast.
Yes, you do not want to put the meat in there while the smoke is thick white. Put your wood in after the coals have been burnng for a bit. Then wait until the smoke starts to turn from white to blue.
Hey Donny, I usually go about 350 for burgers but I usually grill them direct so the temp is variable. There are many different ways to do ribs. If you search our channel, we have done videos on a few of the different methods.
Ok, I’m really struggling. I have the top vent wide open and the lower vent open enough to hit 300f. It sits there happily for a while (20-40 mins) but then the temp starts to climb. I haven’t touched the vents. What’s going on?? Thanks
Hey Mark, once the fire is settled, it will tend to climb. Just shut the bottom vent more if it starts to climb. If i gets too hot, you can always dump some new charcoal on top and that will actually lower the temperature.
Hi Dave, if you're losing sleep over it, you may want to look at the Egg Genius or Flameboss Temperature controlers. They make it alomost foolproof for a good piece of mind. I also recommend mixing some of our Black Bag with Super Premium when doing long overnight smokes. I hope this helps.
@@FOGOcharcoal They're too expensive for for me (bought my BGE with stimulus money from a local dealer :-) though surely foolproof. Lots of people do overnight smokes and say it's easy so I figure there's a better way to try out there.
@@davemarkham4059 Dave, if the controller gig is too expensive, the next best option may be monitoring. ThermoPro and others make wireless monitoring of both pit and meat temperature for about $50. Put the remote unit by your bed and it will wake you if either go outside of parameters you set.
No matter what I do the temperature just keeps slowly going up very slowly. I started out just like you did in your video and now it’s up after a few hours 20° and it won’t go back down don’t know what I’m doing wrong but I’m really not liking this thing
Hmm, I'm not sure, try catching the temps a bit sooner on the way up. It should hold steady once you get it to temp. Maybe check for air leaks. Put a piece of paper in between the dome and base. It should have a little tug to it when you pull on it. Do this in multiple spots.
Would there be any chance of breaking the ceramic deflector if it went in too cold? The last time i needed to use the deflector it was in the bottome if my grill cabinet frozen down with some moisture that had keaked in. To be safe i brought it in the house and warmed it up slowly to 200° in the oven before taking it back out to the Egg. Judging by the palm trees in your yard chances are you have never experienced that
Hahaaa, you are correct, although I did grow up in NY. I would definitely imagine that you'd run the risk of cracking it if putting it in there too cold.
I recently inherited my dad's BGE, and have yet to do an actual cook on it. As it had sat at my parents river cabin for over a year, unused, it was pretty nasty inside. These videos showed me how to do a cleaning burn, and given me great insight and ideas on what all I can do with it! Without these videos, I wouldn't know about so many of the attachments, like the Eggspander and pizza stone & wedges. I had already bought a bag of Royal Oak lump charcoal, prior to knowing anything about various brands, but will probably be trying the FOGO lump charcoal, once I finish this bag. Thanks for the great content and easy explanations!
I know it’s going to seem self serving but that’s exactly why we sell this one. www.fogocharcoal.com/collections/accessories/products/fogo-temperature-gauge-for-ceramic-grill
Hello from central Florida! I’m a rookie with the BGE, very thankful for all your videos. I calibrated my thermometer like you explained but still having a tough time keeping my temps below 250! With the regulator darn near closed and also the bottom vent closed, I cannot seem to get below 300. Very frustrating when trying to cook low and slow. Any other suggestions? Thank you.
Hmmm, the only thing that I can think of is to catch the temp while it is still rising and close down the vents a bit earlier. This will prevent the fire from burining too hot.
Fired up my big green egg for the first time today. I followed your method of setting it for smoking at around 250 and it held that for a while and then all of a sudden it started to spike and I close the vents down pretty much almost all the way and it’s still continue to climb so not sure what I’m doing wrong?
Hmm, that is odd. Maybe check for air gaps? Put a piece of paper in between the dome and base. It should grab the paper if you try to pull it out. Other than tha, I can only surmise that the vents were still too wide open. Once the fire starts building, it can be tough to get it back under control. I'll dump some fresh lump on the fire, that help to extinguish it a bit. Let me know how that works and what you find.
@@FOGOcharcoal I finally figured out what was going on. There was a fairly good gap in the back by the hinges in the gasket. I loosened the bolts let the dome settle and then tightened them back up and it’s working perfectly. Much to learn. Doing a brisket today and it’s holding at 245 like a charm.
Being new to the BGE this was very informative as all your videos. Going to try leaning the top vent open and controlling the temp with the bottom vent only. Have done three cooks and have been using both vents to control the temp! Thanks Ron!!!
I'm still finding this hard. I have tried using the one vent system and using both vents. I have found that it is very difficult to hold this thing at 225 . I have had some better success at 250 but even that creeps up into the 270 range over time. If I want it at 250 I start regulating the vents at 230 but it still gets too hot. I have just started to try and hold it around 250-270 and just use the meat probe to gauge when it's done.
I think the biggest mistake new BGE owners encounter on on this is not leading the desired temp and damping down a bit at a time to let the Egg stabilize at the desired temp. It takes patience at first, but you will quickly be able to judge it after a few cooks.
Another very informative video for this new Egg owner. Thank you Capt Ron............oh by the way, what gloves is it you're wearing during this video? I don't see them on the FOGO website.
I’ve always been a gas grill guy but a great friend of mine just gave me his large egg with rolling full table set up with a granite topper. I’m stoked. I’ve never used a charcoal grill and I’ve got to say, your videos are a god send. Thank you! Subscribed and liked.
I'm a fan! I'm running a Large BGE with a Smokeware cap. Man, I love that thing... given it as a gift many times. Credit card-sized opening top and bottom = 220-225 degrees for seriously low-and-slow pork butt, ribs and more. Great tips (add charcoal!) and keep up the great work. Cheers!
Ron, I notice you have your BGE next to your house in a screened-in porch. My husband is resisting this idea for fire safety but I think it would be advantageous with the inclement weather we have in the winter. How can I set his mind at ease?
I have 4 that I burn on that screened in enclosure. I have never ever ever ever had an issue. I have no ventilation. I do have a portable fan that I may use sometimes to disperse the smoke when I light it but other than that, hundreds and hundreds of cooks without incident. The ceiling isn't even discolored.
Hey Cap’n, I’ve been reviewing your care videos, to add to what I already know. Thanks! When I cook, I leave the top vent open and control by the bottom vent. My thinking was it added more smoke flavor bc the meat had more smoke flowing over it. That’s not correct? The other question I have is I’ve noticed the wind impacts temperature control. I don’t have that little device you showed. However, I use a board in front of the bottom vent. Do you have anything you do to control the wind?
Hey Dan, my Eggs are under a covered screen enclosure so we really don't get much wind there. It would be hard fpr me to say. Although, I have Eggs at other peiples house and have never really had a prob with wind making a difference.
@@FOGOcharcoal thanks Cap’n, I’m going to try something different with my vents. Of late, I’ve been using the bottom vent to control the temp and leaving the top vent wide open. My thinking was more smoke flow over my protein. Reading a few BGE forums, they explain the fault with this. Leaving the top vent wide open actually increases the temp. Thanks again!
I have used the flame boss system on my egg and have found the need to tape up most of the fan input opening to limit free flow of air. There is no damper on this system. Prior to blocking this flow i could not hold a low temperature and the fan never turned on due to being over temperature.
Great tips. I like the idea of adding charcoal to cool it down. However, my number one rule is watch the temp and DON'T LET IT GET TOO HOT. You can always make it hotter by opening vents a little more. It's always a huge frustration to try to cool it down. An added tip a friend taught me is to close the bottom vent when opening the BGE lid to tend to your food. This will help to keep it from increasing air flow and heating up while you're doing this. I took it another step and drew pencil marks on the rim of the bottom vent. This way I can slide that vent door back to the same place it was before I closed it.
Thank you for this video!!! I haven't tried it yet but I'm having the darnedest time getting a good fire going while controlling the temp. I look forward to trying out your techniques!
I've been over cooking my ribs on the BGE. I'm doing 3-2-1 method, as well have done the 2-1-1 method and still over cooking. Thinking it's temp control.
@@FOGOcharcoal I'm finding that any wrap, foil or paper, are over cooking my ribs. I have the 14inch egg so maybe that's too much concentrated heat within a small space? I have the Large Big Green Egg being delivered this week so I'll see if there is a difference. How long is your typical St Louis style ribs cook? Any advice is much appreciated! Huge fan of your channel. Thank you. -Mario
That's fairly common. I'd recommend to close the bottom vent whenever you open the dome. It allows more air to get to the fire and the heat goes up rapidly when you're at pizza temps. The stone must have heated up more. My pizza setup- conveggtor with the legs up, grate, another smaller conveggtor on the grate and the pizza stone on that. You don't need another conveggtor, just get the pizza stone raised up higher in the dome so more heat gets to the top of the pizza and cooks the top more in synch with the bottom.
We had some technical problems with our regular mic and had to use a different one this time. The problem has been corrected. Good ear, thanks for letting us know, it is appreciated.
Hey Ron! I have only been using ceramic cookers for about 16 months. I have had several opportunities to use your grill cooling technique. Next time I'll know. Thank you sir! BTW, we're sweating in Arkansas as well.😀
Don't have a bge but I was given a free char broil kamander and im assuming is the same concept but instead of me waiting 220 to 230 to close the vent so It can reach at 250 I did it at 200 and it went all the way to 270 until I just close out all the vents and waiting for it to drop to the right temp
I don't have any experience with those. Sounds like that fire was heating quickly. If that happens again, pour some fresh charcoal on top and it'll drop the temp quickly.
@@FOGOcharcoal with shutting the valves I waited about 30 to 45 mins for it to drop to 240 and opened up the valves and I guess it shut off on me so I had to light it up again I did so and at 170 closed the valves still went to 270 but held there and very slowly went up to 300 and by the time ribs hit temp it was at 318. I closed all the vents to cool off and a few hrs later temps still holding at 300 and not cooling down
@@FOGOcharcoal it works great for me man I need to try your method and see bro I just grill the way I grill your way may be better I gotta try it and see my friend
Hi Ron, first of all thank you for your interesting and helpful videos. You always get a thumbs up from me! I tried for Low and Slow your recommendation for the temperature control. Wide open at the top and almost closed at the bottom. Unfortunately I did not manage to keep the temperature at 250 degrees. The temperature got too high. What could be the reason for this? Too much wind maybe? Looking forward to your answer. Many greetings from Germany! Jürgen
Danke, Jurgen! Yes, wind could have played a part in it. If that starts happening, you can also shut the top vent a bit to restrict the air flow even more.
I bought my first BGE IN 1995 2nd one in 2001 3rd one 2015 it all started at a bbq competition in Georgia when some random guy showed up cooking aka demonstrating under a tent cooking steaks..was mr fisher himself..I was intrigued so I struck up a conversation with mr fisher when every stick burner was laughing at him..make a long story short I have 3 different sizes and have done many comp cooks on them work with a catering company so I consider myself an expert on BGE and believe I’m responsible for a lot of ppl owning them a lot of retail stores for having them..I’ve done quite a few demos..and built 1000’s of tables and really only mods I’ve ever made on my xl was a digiq yea I have a lot of accessories all have there place..now I’ve tried every lump charcoal from far and wide years ago and always back to BGE brand I have heard of fugo but I never seen it but idk if I would buy it just because I been burned getting away from BGE brand…
Well, we are definitely glad to have someone of your experience here with us. Hey, try it out, I think that we may just surprise you. I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr Fissher as well. A very nice man!
Hi Rene, That's a great question. We recommend to wait until the dirty white smoke is gone. It will be blue or even clear when it's ready to cook with. Even when it's clear, it will still be giving that smoke flavor.
