[craigepo]

Having to use lump charcoal is a little different. I tried using their starter sticks, and never did really get the fire hot enough on my first cook of chicken. The 2nd cook I used my old charcoal chimney, which worked really well.

I think I have figured out a few things, like getting the egg to temperature, then loading it. Also, the conveggtor plate, which turns the egg into a convection cooker, really limits the air flow.

The 2nd cook I did was a tri-tip. I was planning on reverse-searing, but the tri-tip was done in 45 minutes! The taste was wonderful, even without using any smoke chips.

My wife took some cooking classes while she was stationed in Naples, and I bought a pizza stone for the egg. So, next on deck is going to be pizza.

One thing I found interesting: when I got home with the egg from the store, two ceramic rings were cracked. I called the store, they said the company stands behind everything, so I just took the rings back and they replaced them free of charge.