str8wire Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Last night was my first cook and I am having a difficult time keeping the temp under 250. I barley had the dampers open at all. Also I feel like a have used a lot of charcoal. The only type I have right now is BGE charcoal. Any recommendations. I am going to try Pizza tonight. Any recommendations on the temp. Thanks, Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryR Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 I had the same problem early in my first cook last night. Turned out my lid wasn't completly closed. See this POST Once I closed the lid completly I've been golden for the last 14 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 temp First realize you don't need the temp as low as you think for a low and slow. But certainly you CAN keep the temp under control. Do a Minion Method fire start. Just start a small amount of charcoal in the center of your charcoal basket and let it slowly spread. For sub 250 temps, the bottom damper opening should be very slight, the thickness of a coin. The top damper should be just cracked enough that some smoke is able to flow. That will ballpark your temps in the low to middle 200's for a low and slow. Believe it or not, any temp below 300 will yield perfect "low and slow" results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orthoman Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 temp control It is also important to pay attention to how you light the charcoal. You definitely do not want to light all of your charcoal at once. You should light just a small, central portion of the charcoal, then once you are sure it is going well, close down the dampers. For 220 to 250, the top one should be about .5 to .75 of one complete turn open, and the bottom one should just have the tiniest sliver open. With this combination, I have a relatively easy time keeping it at 220 to 240 without hardly even having to look at the temp gauge. I have done cooks where I set this and watch it for an hour or so, then I go to bed and get some sleep! best pork shoulder in the world is done in the morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Does anyone use Daisy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 clarify Are you referencing the daisy wheel bottom damper? I think most of us are specifically referring to the daisy wheel when we mention the "bottom damper". Although sometimes some folks do actually pull the entire door open to one degree or another for a super hot fire. In particular when I said to open the bottom damper a coin width I meant the 3 daisy wheel slots should be about a coin width open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Re: clarify Are you referencing the daisy wheel bottom damper? Yes. I slide the door itself out so it is open a couple of coin thicknesses. I can't recall ever using the Daisey wheel. If I want more heat I slide the door open more. The top vent from closed I back it up to the 8-9 o'clock position of the first turn. If I want more smoke I open it more. Sometimes the top vent spits a little black. When that happens I open the vent a little more. What is everyone else doing? (Most of my cooks are L&S) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 ash By opening the entire door, ash can get in the mating surface and prevent the door closing. In order to snuff out the air and shut the fire down, you would need to remove the door completely after each cook, clean the ash out of the door opening, and replace the door. The door will be hot and burning embers could fall out during said maneuver. The daisy wheel requires no such shenanigans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 ? So, for the forum members, how many people don't use the daisy wheel and just pull the whole door open? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 doc, i LOVE the daisy wheel! and "Minion method" is right, altho it reveals you as a steelie lover (shuuuuuun...)! altho this generally refers to using briquettes in a WSM, right? i use the ELDER WARD method (har!) from the BGE website. it's the same thing, but he suggests going thru your bag of lump, putting the largest pieces you have in the basket first, and then sort of brick-laying the rest on top. supposedly, this allows for better airflow thru the stack. what i do then is light about 1/4 to 1/3 of a chimney of lump and dump it on top. before i ran out of mapp gas tho, i would just use the torch and light a few lumps on top of the pile. the main thing to remember here is, not too much fuel lit at once, and it should burn down thru the pile, not UP. don't light a chimney of lump, put it in the basket, then dump the rest of the lump on top of that. this will make a HOT fire, regardless of your drafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Weber Smoky Mountain No, not a steelie lover, but I DO read their forums, full of great info and recipes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 tell you the truth, a real bbq man (or woman) should be able to cook in almost any vessel, imo. i wouldn't mind owning a WSM for sure! and i bet everybody here started on a weber kettle or ECB. the first time i realized there was a difference between grilling and bbq was on a weber kettle. i AM a steelie lover myself; one never forgets their first love! and, to tell you the truth, i almost feel guilty cooking on a ceramic pit; it's way too easy to claim any virtuosity for oneself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Absolutely use the daisy wheel. The only time I slide the door open is when I want a FAST jump in the heat. Like after cooking some steaks and potatoes and want to put a good crust on the meat. A full open daisy wheel will get you over 500* dome, and its just so easy to make fine adjustments with the dial. The door would be much more difficult to get a precise setting. And as others have said, you want to keep that door frame clean, so it seals tightly and facilitates a quick snuff of the fire when you are done. I am surprised that you can keep the grill down in the 250 neighborhood using the whole door. 250 for me is like the thickness of a coin (at the outside of the dial) on the daisy wheel and about 1/2 a turn on the dome top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 WSM I would definitely use a WSM, and plenty of folks get great results with it. Even competition wins. But the insulating properties of the ceramic make it so much more versatile and useful. And we can get really long cooks with less fuel. Especially in the cold and the wind. The WSM folks have to cook up all kinds of wind deflectors and insulating blankets that we just don't need. I had a Brinkmann Gourmet Charcoal Smoker, but it was impossible to control the air flow. It has a loose fitting lid (on purpose) and the lid and the cooker are not perfectly round. So it was impossible to fit a gasket to make it air tight. Before I got my KK I tried like hell to mod that thing to get it air tight, and then add a daisy wheel top vent from the WSM. Could not get it to work. In fact, I just gave it to a local humane society resale shop yesterday. But, if someone could get it airtight, it's only about $50.00; so a lot cheaper than a WSM. It has a great charcoal basket, and the bottom vent can be readily adapted for a Guru or Stoker. I just got tired of fooling with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted February 23, 2010 Report Share Posted February 23, 2010 Daisy wheel FTW! I usually open the wheel fully and adjust temp with the dome (for grilling 350 - 450) L&S is generally Guru controlled. I only pull the door out for pizza and searing (or to get the temp up faster when starting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 For roasting without the Stoker and grilling, I set the daisy wheel where I think it should be, open the top vent alot and pull the door out and inch so, which brings the KK up to temp quickly. When it gets close to the temp I'm looking for I push the door in and adjust with the top vent. For searing I pull the door way out and keep the lid open and for L&S its Stoker all the way with door and daisy wheel closed and top open a little bit. These techniques work good except my fire doesn't shut down as quickly as it should and I know a little bit of ash between the door and the frame contributes to this. I'm trading off lump for time. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 These techniques work good except my fire doesn't shut down as quickly as it should and I know a little bit of ash between the door and the frame contributes to this. Susan I use a small paint brush for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Cook_Shack - Check with Dennis. The Daisy Wheel control is an integral part of the KK experience. So much so that he has assembled a document that shows the pics of some Daisy Wheel openings and the approximate corresponding temperature. The only time I open my doors (front and back) is when I want a roaring fire for sear cooking. Otherwise, I bring my temps up slowly using the Daisy Wheel. This technique gives ample time for the KK to heat soak as well. Happy KK'ing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 Thanks Condo will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loquitur Posted February 25, 2010 Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 I use a small paint brush for this. Great idea, Cook_Shack - thanks Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
