Having trouble getting Big Joe to low and slow

[dawg]

Hi folks, Im doing my second cook on my new Kamado Big Joe and I'm having a mare getting it to 220°F. Yesterday I managed to keep it at about 275 while it cooked but that was with about a 5mm gap in the low vent and the daisy wheel almost shut. Today I'm trying to get it lower so I've shut everything, 1hr and half later and its dropping down from the 270 it was at. I'm guessing its going out but how long does that take, how much charcoal is burnt in the snuff! For some info, I only used a single eco cube to light it and I shut the lid before it started to flare, even with small gaps top and bottom it still gets up to the 270 mark. Yesterday I used a bag of sainsburys value rubbish but today I got some Big K from Waitrose. Is it the coal? Its all pretty small pieces, even the big k stuff and I bought 6 bags!
Right now I'm at 244, the daisy wheel is shut and I have a 2mm gap in the bottom, is this normal?

Any advice greatly apreciated.

Alan

Oh its brisket today so thats why i wanted to get it nice and low.

[JEC]

Hello on my XL egg to get 225 I have to have the daisy wheel around 95% shut and then bottom vent no more than 2mm, light with one cube only and don't let it get over target temperature. I shut vents right down when it gets to 200. If it does overshoot open the lid to get as much temp out as you can and then close the lid, there is limit to this though as the fire with roar given half a chance. I have a ash screen on my egg which helps, if you done have one you may need a smaller lower vent gap as well. Hope that helps.

[JEC]

Oh by the way I shouldn't sweat it, you'll be fine up to 275 and even 350, several runs at higher temps have shown no reduction in moistness in either beef or pork.

[YetiDave]

Don't fight the fire, just work on building it. Fighting to get temps down will only result in a choked off fire and nasty smoke. Start your fire how you intend to keep it - a little lit fuel and the vents set how you'd expect to see them through the entire cook, don't go dumping in tons of lit fuel, opening up the vents wide and waiting for that sucker to get up to temp as you risk overstoking that fire. And getting a fire nice and hot is a lot easier to do than cooling it down - restricting the airflow will cause the fuel to burn improperly and start to smoke, which you don't want

Some cookers are happier at different temperatures and there's nothing wrong with cooking a little hotter than you'd like. You shouldn't notice too much, if any, difference between a butt cooked at 225 and a butt cooked at 275

As an aside, I've been cooking with that 'sainsburys value rubbish' all summer - just as good as anything I've bought from Liverpool Wood Pellets, and a lot cheaper too I'm going to stock up all I can store for over winter

[RobinC]

As an aside, I've been cooking with that 'sainsburys value rubbish' all summer - just as good as anything I've bought from Liverpool Wood Pellets, and a lot cheaper too I'm going to stock up all I can store for over winter

I've used some of the Sainsbury stuff and it is ok. Pieces are a little small so tends to burn a little quicker than other lump I've had. But the value is certainly there.

[YetiDave]

I dunno about that, I managed 30+ hours on 12kg

[dawg]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I'm a few hours in and I've got 234, seems fairly stable, I'm still wondering how well shutting down the vents actually puts out the fire, I'm thinking this thing must leak like a sinking boat! So I will start my low cooks at what I'm at now, top vent fully closed, bottom vent 2mm, seems a very long way from the instruction manual. Yesterday I did my first beer can chicken with a full bag of sainburys chips, cooked for about 2.5 hours and there wasn't much left this morning, I was thinking it must of been due to the small size of coal but maybe I have a leaky Joe, more investigation needed. Thanks again for replying to my post, I'm sure your all smoking and enjoying a sunny Sunday!

Alan

[BadBoyzofBBQ]

Hi
Do you have the defector plate installed?

[YetiDave]

There are a lot of variables that'll affect the temperature, most notably the atmospheric temp and wind. High wind in a well insulated cooker can cause a heat rise (air being pushed through those vents),
Whereas in a leaky cooker - heat loss. Cold weather will eat fuel and you'll need those vents opened much further. If you want lower temps you could try briquettes, which won't burn as hot, but you'll get better fuel economy. Just don't try cheap briquettes

[dawg]

Yeah deflector is installed, the big Joe comes with just about everything. Very pleased so far all though I was expecting more red in the glaze,