Playing with Temperature control & setting up for direct and indirect cooking

Once you have had that first cook it is worth spending a little time practicing adjusting the temperature of the EGG and setting the EGG up for Direct (like a conventional BBQ) and Indirect (like an oven) cooking.  You can do this after that first cook, or at another time as you don’t need any food in the EGG to practice this

My friend Nic Williams has a very nice page on his website showing the approximate settings of the draft door and the metal top of the EGG for different temperatures – you can find that here: Adjusting the Temperature of your EGG.

Light the EGG and start by getting the temperature to 180C as on the first simple cook:

• simply with the stainless grid or cast iron grid directly above the charcoal. Let the temperature stabilise at 180C –  Then……
• add your plate setter and see the temperature drop. Now try and get the setting right so it stabilises at 110C. (you might need to leave a little time to get it to stabilise this low as cooling down takes time with the EGG)
• with the plate setter in place open up the draft door and the metal cap and again bring the temperature up to 180C and let it stabilise.
• once stabilised with the platesetter and the stainless grid in place open the vents a little and bring the temperature up to 220C.  If you have a Baking stone pop this on the grid before bringing up the temperature. This is now the perfect temperature for baking bread.

With this experience you are ready to move to something a little more challenging