British BBQ Society Forums

Did my fist cook on the BGE XL today and the first batch of ribs and wings went brilliantly. Had a couple of extra ribs that I chucked on afterwards and when I went to check on them after 2 hours there was a black drip line from the vented cap down the back of the outside of the egg and when I looked in I saw that the ribs in the middle seem to have been dripped on (no rain during this 2 hours by the way) - any idea what this is?

I cooked at 225-250 although the temp rose for a bit to 300 before I got it under control.

Sounds like a creosote buildup

Normally soot accumulating on a damp egg or creosote from burning charcoal, either way nothing to worry about.

JEC wrote:Normally soot accumulating on a damp egg or creosote from burning charcoal, either way nothing to worry about.

But this is from my first cook. Could it be from the charcoal dust causing soot as I just poured the bag into the firebox?

Possibly but all charcoal will produce soot when it burns

The problem for me was mainly because it dripped back down onto on of the racks of ribs.

Charcoal shouldn't produce any soot when it burns, that's why you can cook with it. Creosote usually builds up very gradually over time but can build quickly if you don't have a clean burning fire

I'm not a fan of the BGE lump, found it quite funky with stones and other crap it the bags, plus it was quite smoky for my family, my money is that's the cause one way or another. The only other thing it could have been is oil from the daisy wheel.

I have been disapointed with BGE lump as well, very random what you get in the bag. I have had the black run on the outside but only after not using for a while and it being damp.

So what do you guys use?