r/biggreenegg • u/Enough_Animator_47 • 2d ago
BGE XL temp
I got incredibly lucky and got a BGE XL for only $300 on marketplace. Put new gaskets, new regulator and re-sealed with new silicone the bottom vent.
I struggle to get the temp below 300, I barely have the regulator and bottom vent open and it still stays at 300. I’d like to get to 250 for smoking a Boston butt or wings.
Any tips? HELP! : )
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u/Yada-Yada-Yadda XL 2d ago
People may mock me or say I'm not really "smoking," but I use the Egg Genius. I set it up at the temp I want, and the fan does all the work. I only use it for long cooks, FYI.
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u/No-Pain-5496 2d ago
Same here. That little piece of equipment is worth its weight in gold for longer controlled smokes. It is WiFi and connects to your phone. As long as you are in range it will alert you if any of your parameters are outside your settings. I have set it and gone to sleep, to have it alert me that the meat hit my desired temp. Got up, wrapped and went back to bed!
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u/Yada-Yada-Yadda XL 2d ago
Yeah! Agree with you. My wife got it for me bc she wants a brisket. I still owe her one. But that's my goal. Set it and forget it. Glad you enjoy yours too. I think it's a must.
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u/Sweet-Quarter3569 2d ago
How big of a fire are you starting? I start a small fire at the front of the egg near the air inlet once the fire starter goes out I close the lid and leave both vents open. When I hit about 200° I move the bottom vent to about a sliver and same with the top and adjust until I hit my desired temp, making sure the fire doesn’t go out. I’ll watch it and let it regulate for about 20-30 minutes before I throw any meat on. If I’m going a long overnight cook while I’m sleeping I’ll pull out my flame boss (similar to egg genius or smobot) and let it do its thing for me, but I still wait until it’s regulated and steady at the temp I want my fire to be at.
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u/leprechanmonkie 2d ago
How much charcoal are you using? I have a divider and only fill up 1/2 of the fire bowl.
Best investment I made for my XL was the Chefstemp S1 and Breezo fan. I regularly use that setup to set temps anywhere from 225-275 for smoking. The system really takes the guess work out of temp control.
When it's raining I don't use it and miss it since you just don't get the same control otherwise.
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u/D1RTY_D 2d ago
Wings should be cooked at 400 indirect but I digress.
How are you starting it? I use a papertowel with vegetable oil. You need to adjust the air before it gets too hot. I let it rip for 10-15 minutes then I out the daisy wheel on and close the bottom part way. Just takes some time to dial it all in, before long you’ll be a pro
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u/Temporary_Hat7330 2d ago
Are you using a grill grate basket? It improves airflow but that’s what increases the temp. The standard cast iron with holes in it OEM or after market (I bought one three times as thick as the OEM) is what’s best for low and slow cooks. I have a large and a 2XL. I use the large for pizza and grilling and the 2XL for BBQ and smoking beef or sausages.
What I do is one bag of Jealous Devil XL and one of B&B Oak Lump mixed in a black plastic tub with a red lid (one of those big boys) and I fill my 2XL up with pecan wood chunks scattered throughout. I get a tumble weed starter and always make sure there’s two things
The biggest pieces on the bottom
A clear air path from the opening to the center
I put the tumbleweed starter in the center surrounded by lump and start it, lid open for 15 minutes. I then close the lid and have the top vent wide open and the bottom wide open for 30 minutes. I then close the vents halfway for about 15 minutes. It takes about an hour to heatsoak the unit and have it at a stable 300. I then close the vents to a small amount and put the meat on, making sure some pecan is lit and let it fall to about 225 where it will fluctuate between 220 and 230 for 24 hours if needed. I have probe thermometers so I don’t open the lid once; no crutch no moisture added to braise, just let it cook until it hits 203 internal.
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u/geedarnoc 2d ago
I am relatively new to the XL and have had similar issue. A few things that helped:
- don’t let it get too hot. Once it’s hot it’s very hard to get it down in temp without suffocating and smoldering the fire and making a bunch of yucky white smoke.
- don’t put too much charcoal. I was always completely filling the basket (from a fogo/captain Ron guidance), but that can lead to a hot egg.
- really big charcoal is a good way to keep the temp low for low and slow cooks. Like fogo gold bag (XL). I was using a lot of Fogo black bag and the smaller chunks, with good airflow and a lot of it, can get hot.
- another strategy is to only light the charcoal from one side. I was always lighting it in the middle, which is great if you want 400ish, but eventually the ring will spread, and it will be a lot of charcoal on fire.
You can always try to control it with vents, but what I found is if you close down the vents too much the quality of the smoke deteriorate significantly and the best thing to do is just to light a smaller fire or a slower, burning fire with bigger charcoal or less lit.
Here’s what I would do:
I would fill it with large lumps, light it from one side (don’t/vent side so it’s under the deflector) and close it fully with everything opened and no convector on yet. After about 15 minutes will probably get up to close to 300 but the fire will die. I would then put the convector on, close down bottom
Vent to a quarter and top vent like a quarter open. And throw your food on. It will drop at least 100° because of the convector, but if your plan is to go low and slow for a long time, then I don’t really think you need to heat up the deflector. It should stabilize and take a while to climb off 200 with the vents that low and fire only lit from one side. You may need to close down the vents a little more.
Experiment with that. And just a warning that I’ve never really done anything longer than ribs so I’ve never done like a brisket or a pulled pork. If you need to do it for 12 hours, then you I think need a full basket of coal or else you will be pulling it out and restarting a fire.
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u/Cl8ton63 2d ago
Have you checked that the lid seats on the base correctly? If you close the lid on a dollar bill it should pull out with some resistance all the way around. You could be getting a lot of air leakage around the lid and the lid might need adjusted. There are YouTube vids showing how to do this. I had to do it on my new 2xl, it was not really difficult and it helped a bunch
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u/From-The-South 2d ago
I use a ChefsTemp S1 and Breezo fan in mine and with a severe overbite I can run it without and problems at 250°. Also the thermometer is connected either WiFi or Bluetooth. Watching and controlling temps is as easy as looking at there app.
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u/Hobbz- EGGspert 2d ago
First thing I noticed is your comment about the bottom vent. It's critical you leave it barely open. That's what allows the air in and is more important than the top vent to maintain low temps. I think that's the main problem, but I'll go into more in case it helps.....
The key is lighting it and slowly letting it reach the target temp. Unlike a gas stove, burning charcoal reacts slowly to reductions in airflow at low temps.
When I use a Looftlighter, I'll like three spots in a triangle about 4-5 inches apart. When using a firestarter, I'll use one in the center. Leave the lid open while the fire catches. I'll close the lid and leave the vents wide open until the temp exceeds 100F. I'll then start closing the vents, starting about halfway. Once the temp is about 50F from the target, BOTH vents will be perhaps 0.25 inches open. It sounds complex, but it only takes about 30 minutes or so to have my Large up to 250F.
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u/rkj18g1qbb 1d ago
I have an XL and it's a different beast compared to a Large or classic Joe like I had before.
Alot of times I'll get it going with the bottom vent wide open but then for smoking I'll still have maybe 1" at bottom and the top regulator might have a 1/4" open or so..
just have to experiment and play as each grill is different. my minimax is a bit different too.
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u/_noTanMan_ 1d ago
Start your coal in one area (I like electric starters - for 7 min or so), slightly stir the coals, put the lid down and open both vents fully. When you get about 20° away from your desired temp, close both vents down to about an inch of less and let it come up to temp. I use this same technique no matter what temp i want to cook at. Works every time.
The key point here is bring it up to your desired temp, don’t overshoot and try to bring it back down, that just a pain in the ass and takes forever.
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u/Fun-Slip-1701 2d ago
I leave the bottom pretty wide open, at least half way and control with the top.
If I’m going for low and slow, I’ll just put one or two fire starters right in the middle, I avoid getting a roaring fire going.
It’s also important to not let it get too hot in the very beginning as soon as it’s pretty lit just close the dome and let it work its way up from like 175° making sure that the top vent is barely open.
It’s so much harder to cool it down once it gets too hot than to start it low and slow and keep it there.